Lehigh County Court Dockets
A docket is the court's running case log. It lists the case number, caption, filing date, court office, case status, scheduled events, docket entries, orders, judgments, bail or financial entries, and disposition fields when those items are public. A docket is useful for tracking what happened and what is scheduled next. It is not always the full Lehigh County court record. The full file may include complaints, motions, exhibits, orders, affidavits, or notices that must be requested from the correct clerk division.
The distinction matters in Lehigh County because one person may have records at more than one level. A criminal matter may begin with a preliminary arraignment or preliminary hearing in Magisterial District Court, then move to the Court of Common Pleas if charges are held for court. A landlord-tenant case may remain in MDJ court unless appealed. A traffic citation may be handled at the MDJ level, while PennDOT keeps a separate driver history. Searching only Common Pleas can miss lower-court docket activity.
- Docket
- The chronological list of public case events and filings.
- Docket sheet
- The UJS public report that summarizes a case timeline.
- Disposition
- The current or final result of a case, count, charge, or claim.
- Continuance
- A postponed hearing or deadline that appears as a new docket event.
Find Lehigh County Dockets Online
The main online source for Lehigh County court dockets is the Pennsylvania UJS Case Search portal and its docket sheet reports. Use the Common Pleas docket sheet entry point for felony criminal cases, major civil cases, family matters, divorce dockets, appeals from MDJ court, and other Court of Common Pleas cases. Use the Magisterial District Court docket sheet report for traffic, landlord-tenant, summary criminal, small civil, and preliminary criminal events.
The Pennsylvania Courts overview of Courts of Common Pleas gives state-level context for the court where many Lehigh County docket sheets are filed.
That source helps separate Court of Common Pleas docket sheets from lower-court MDJ docket sheets.
- Open UJS Case Search or the specific Common Pleas or MDJ docket report.
- Select the court type that matches the case source.
- Choose Lehigh County if a county filter is shown.
- Search by docket number for the cleanest result, or use party name and date range when the number is unknown.
- Open the docket sheet and review the case status, parties, court office, event list, disposition fields, costs, and next event.
- Contact the court office shown on the docket when an entry is unclear or a certified copy is needed.
Lehigh County Docket Fields
A Lehigh County docket sheet can be read from the top down. The header identifies the court and case. The participant section lists public party information and attorneys where available. The event list shows filings and court actions in date order. Criminal docket sheets may include charge rows, bail entries, offense dates, grading, dispositions, and sentencing fields. Civil docket sheets may show complaint type, judgment entries, service, praecipes, liens, orders, and satisfaction entries.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket number | The case identifier, often including court level and county code. |
| Court and county | The court that owns the docket and the Lehigh County location filter. |
| Caption | The parties and role labels, such as Commonwealth, plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, or respondent. |
| Case status | Whether the case is active, closed, disposed, inactive, appealed, transferred, or restricted. |
| Docket entries | Filing dates, hearings, orders, continuances, pleas, judgments, appeals, and satisfaction events. |
| Financial entries | Bail, fines, costs, restitution, judgments, or sheriff costs when public. |
| Disposition | The outcome of a claim, charge, case, or count if entered and public. |
| Document availability | Public docket sheets usually list entries; document images may require a clerk request. |
Lehigh County Docket Sources
Lehigh County is part of Pennsylvania's 31st Judicial District. The Court of Common Pleas is the general trial court. Magisterial District Courts are the lower trial-court level for many local matters. The correct docket source depends on the first court that handled the case and whether the matter moved to another court through appeal, transfer, or criminal bind-over.
| Court or Office | Docket Use | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas | Felony criminal, major civil, family, juvenile, Orphans' Court, and MDJ appeals. | UJS Common Pleas docket sheets. |
| Magisterial District Courts | Traffic, non-traffic summary matters, small claims, landlord-tenant, preliminary arraignments, and hearings. | UJS MDJ docket sheets and the listed MDJ office. |
| Civil Division / Prothonotary | Civil filings, judgments, liens, divorce filings, and civil copies. | Clerk of Judicial Records Civil Division and county ORA where available. |
| Criminal Division / Clerk of Courts | Criminal docket filings, certified criminal copies, fines, costs, and case-file routing. | UJS criminal docket and Criminal Division copy request. |
| Register of Wills / Orphans' Court | Estate, wills, guardianship, marriage, and Orphans' Court records. | Register of Wills division, ORA, or UJS if a contested Orphans' Court docket appears. |
The Pennsylvania Courts page for Magisterial District Judges explains the lower-court level used for many Lehigh County docket searches.
That lower-court source is central for traffic, landlord-tenant, and preliminary criminal docket records.
Dockets vs Case Records
Lehigh County court dockets are indexes and timelines. They help a reader see whether a case exists, what the current status is, and what events have been entered. The full case record may contain pleadings, signed orders, motions, exhibits, affidavits, return-of-service forms, sentencing orders, or other documents. Public docket access does not mean every filed document is downloadable.
| Point | Docket Sheet | Full Case Record |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Chronological event list. | Documents and case-file materials. |
| Common Access | Often online through UJS. | Often through the Clerk of Judicial Records division. |
| Best Use | Confirm case status and next events. | Review pleadings, orders, and certified copies. |
| Limits | May omit images or sealed details. | May require fee, visit, mail request, redaction, or court order. |
Readers who need the broader file should use the docket number from the Lehigh County court docket and then make a precise copy request through the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, or Register of Wills division. For broader case-file context, see the Lehigh County court records overview.
Read Lehigh County Dockets
Start with the court office line. A Common Pleas docket and an MDJ docket do not carry the same meaning. Then read the caption and case status. In criminal cases, check each charge row rather than only the top case status, because one charge may be dismissed while another is guilty, withdrawn, held for court, or pending. In civil cases, look for judgment, satisfaction, appeal, writ, lien, and order entries that show whether the case has moved beyond filing.
Next, scan the latest docket entries. A recent continuance means the case was postponed, not closed. An appeal entry may move a lower-court case into Common Pleas. A bench warrant entry may mean the person failed to appear or did not comply with a court order. A bail or cost entry can show financial conditions, but the court office should verify payment status and next steps.
Note: A docket sheet can show a warrant entry without serving as a live warrant database.
Lehigh County Docket Requests
When an online search fails, the fallback path is not guesswork. Use the case type to identify the office. Civil, judgment, lien, and divorce docket copies route to the Civil Division or Prothonotary. Criminal docket copies route to the Criminal Division or Clerk of Courts. Estate, guardianship, and marriage-related docket questions route to Register of Wills or Orphans' Court. Lower-court traffic, small claim, landlord-tenant, summary, and preliminary criminal cases may require the MDJ office listed on the UJS result.
Certified copies, older records, restricted entries, and documents missing from the docket sheet often require an in-person or mail request. Current case information through Odyssey Public Access is available at the Civil Division in Room 122 of the Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, PA 18101, with posted Civil Division public access hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed county holidays. The statewide docket remains free, but certified copies and paper records may involve division-specific procedures or fees that should be confirmed before ordering.