Row Officers

Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court

The Register of Wills principal duties include probating wills and accepting for filing all documents necessary to complete the administration of a decedent's estate. If a person dies without a will, the Register, upon petition, will appoint an administrator of the estate.  The Register is also the agent for collection of the Commonwealth's Inheritance Tax.

The Register of Wills holds a quasi-judicial position and, if necessary, conducts hearings to determine the validity of the tendered writings as probatable instruments and resolve questions about forgery, mental capacity and undue influence. The parties have a right to appeal the Register’s decision to the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas.
The Clerk of Orphans’ Court duties include serving the county as the filing office and custodian for adoptions, incapacitated persons and other estate records as well as issuing marriage licenses. 

Probate Estates & Administrations
The Register of Wills is the county office where a decedent’s estate paperwork is processed.  When a person passes away with assets in their name alone, the Register of Wills appoints a personal representative to administer and dispose of that estate.  If the decedent has a Will, the person(s) named in the Will should come to the Register’s office to probate.  If the decedent did not have a Will the next-of-kin should come to the Register’s office to probate.

Genealogical and/or Estate Search
The Bucks County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court are two of the oldest government offices in the country.  Most of our records are available to the public through our Archive Research Center microfilm library as well as many original documents, including wills dating back to 1683. 

Click here for more information on Genealogy/Searches

We also perform searches for current probate estates.  Please contact the Register of Wills office for further details. 

Birth and Death Records from 1907 to the Present can be found at:

Division of Vital Records
101 S. Mercer Street, Room 401
New Castle, PA 16101
(724)656-3100
www.health.state.pa.us/vitalrecords/

Marriage License
Pennsylvania defines marriage as “A civil contract by which one man and one woman take each other for husband and wife.”  23 Pa.C.S. § 1102.  The Bucks County Orphans’ Court is happy to help you complete the required paperwork as you take this next step in your life together. 

Click here for more information on marriage licenses

Orphans’ Court Filings
As well as Marriage License Applications, the Bucks County Orphans’ Court handles a variety of legal documents.  Our office is the custodian of the records; we hold the file and process filing fees.  The Orphans’ Court accepts documents requiring court action like petitions for adoption or accountings to be audited by the Court.  We also accept documents that do not require Court action like a Power of Attorney and a Claim against an estate.

Click here for more information on Orphans’ Court

2012 Orphans' Court Audit Schedule

If you have any legal questions you can research in the Courthouse Law Library, which is open to the public, or you can retain your own attorney. 

Please Note:
All information on this webpage is to inform and not to advise. It is based upon Pennsylvania law. The statements are general, and individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to here.