Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2737 (2026)

Powers and duties of the office of the prothonotary.

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 2737. Powers and duties of the office of the prothonotary.

The office of the prothonotary shall have the power and duty to:

(1) Administer oaths and affirmations and take acknowledgments pursuant to section 327 (relating to oaths and acknowledgments), but shall not be compelled to do so in any matters not pertaining to the proper business of the office.

(2) Affix and attest the seal of the court or courts to all the process thereof and to the certifications and exemplifications of all documents and records pertaining to the office of the prothonotary and the business of the court or courts of which it is the prothonotary.

(3) Enter all civil judgments, including judgments by confession.

(4) Enter all satisfactions of civil judgments.

(5) Exercise the authority of the prothonotary as an officer of the court.

(6) Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may now or hereafter be vested in or imposed upon the office by law, home rule charter, order or rule of court, or ordinance of a county governed by a home rule charter or optional plan of government.

(Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days)

1978 Amendment. Act 53 amended par. (3).

Cross References. Section 2737 is referred to in section 2737.1 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 14 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: In Re Admin. Order No. 1-Md-2003, 936 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2007).

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In Re Admin. Order No. 1-Md-2003, 936 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2007). · cites it 2× “Further, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 provides the prothonotary with the same roles over the civil division as the clerk of courts has under § 2757.”

Troutman v. Court of Common Pleas of Berks Cnty., 936 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2007). · cites it 2× “Further, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 provides the prothonotary with the same roles over the civil division as the clerk of courts has under § 2757.”

In Re the Nomination Petition of Ford, 994 A.2d 9 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). · cites it 3× “42 Pa.C.S. § 2737(1). Mr. Farina testified that it is a practice on a daily basis for the Deputy Prothono-taries of Dauphin County to acknowledge documents, including circulator affidavits, on his behalf, as Prothonotary, due to the number of documents that pass through the…”

Petticord v. Joyce, 531 A.2d 1383 (Pa. 1987). · cites it 4× “The question of the duties of the Prothonotary with regard to the certification of his records has not been addressed by this Court since the enactment of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737, [3] which provides in relevant part: The office of the prothonotary shall have the…”

Lansdowne by Lansdowne v. Gc Murphy Co., 517 A.2d 1318 (Pa. 1986). · cites it 2× “This is the only question posed for our consideration by the appellant and not whether its claim against Miracle Equipment Company is still viable.”

Medico v. Makowski, 793 A.2d 167 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002). · cites it 2× “See 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737(3) and (4). If the program the County's Director of Data Processing wants to purchase does not work or is inefficient, he does not have to answer to the voters; the Prothonotary does.”

Dadds v. Walters, 924 A.2d 740 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007). · cites it 2× “Pro-thonotary properly filed the Notices presented by the IRS, pursuant to the powers and duties of the prothonotary pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 and the Lien Act. 4 First, as Section 2 of the Lien Act states, the Lien Act applies only to Federal tax liens.”

Commonwealth, Dep't of Health v. Hanes, 78 A.3d 676 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2013). “24 Likewise, the statutory powers conferred upon the clerk of the orphans’ court division under Section 2777 of the Judicial Code 25 are identical to those conferred upon the prothonotary under Section 2737, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737, and the clerk of courts under Section 2757, 42 Pa.”

Chamberlain v. Altoona Hosp., 567 A.2d 1067 (Pa. 1989). “The prothonotary performs a ministerial function which includes administering oaths, affixing court seals to records, entering judgments on the docket and exercising such other powers and duties “as may .”

Stein v. Penncrest Constr. Corp., 421 A.2d 1074 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1980). “The Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737(3) now provides that “the prothonotary shall have the power and duty to enter all civil judgments, including judgments by confession.”

L.E. Scolforo & The York Dispatch v. The Cnty. of York (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2023). · cites it 2× “) We agree with this assessment, as it is based upon the particular powers and duties of the office of prothonotary, which serve the courts of common pleas as set forth in the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737. Under those principles, Prothonotary is a judicial agency.”

Burford v. Delaware Cnty., Pennsylvania (E.D. Pa. 2019). “Plaintiff has no valid claim against Defendant Martinez as “Prothonotary/Clerk of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas” because Pennsylvania statutory law provides that “there shall be one prothonotary for the court of common pleas” in every Pennsylvania county, 42 Pa.…”

Show all 14 citing cases →

— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2737(1) — 1 case

In Re the Nomination Petition of Ford, 994 A.2d 9 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). “42 Pa.C.S. § 2737(1). Mr. Farina testified that it is a practice on a daily basis for the Deputy Prothono-taries of Dauphin County to acknowledge documents, including circulator affidavits, on his behalf, as Prothonotary, due to the number of documents that pass through the…”

— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2737(3) — 2 cases

Medico v. Makowski, 793 A.2d 167 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002). “See 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737(3) and (4). If the program the County's Director of Data Processing wants to purchase does not work or is inefficient, he does not have to answer to the voters; the Prothonotary does.”

— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2737(4) — 2 cases

In Re Admin. Order No. 1-Md-2003, 936 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2007). “Further, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 provides the prothonotary with the same roles over the civil division as the clerk of courts has under § 2757.”

Troutman v. Court of Common Pleas of Berks Cnty., 936 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2007). “Further, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 provides the prothonotary with the same roles over the civil division as the clerk of courts has under § 2757.”

— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2737(5) — 3 cases

L.E. Scolforo & The York Dispatch v. The Cnty. of York (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2023). “) We agree with this assessment, as it is based upon the particular powers and duties of the office of prothonotary, which serve the courts of common pleas as set forth in the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737. Under those principles, Prothonotary is a judicial agency.”

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