The County Code provides that “in counties of the sixth class, one person may hold the offices of Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds and Clerk of Orphans’ Court.”   

   The Register of Wills (elected) has jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the granting of letters, thus giving her quasi-judicial powers.  The Register of Wills decides the probate of the will of any resident decedent of the county, or of any non-resident decedent whose real estate lies within the county.  She is the Agent for the Commonwealth for the collection of state inheritance taxes.  The Register of Wills has jurisdiction over the probate of wills and fiduciary accounts, and maintains records on wills, inventories of estates, fiduciary accounts, inheritance taxes, and other miscellaneous records of estates.

   All proceedings relative to estates of persons who have been adjudicated incapacitated, those of estates of minors, and those proceedings relative to adoptions, are filed with the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas (elected).  Adoption records are the only records in the office which are sealed and which may not be seen unless so ordered by the Court.  The Clerk of Orphans’ Court has records of births and deaths from the year 1894 to the year 1905.  Beginning in 1906, those records have been kept by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Vital Records Division, in New Castle, Pennsylvania.  The Clerk of Orphans’ Court also issues marriage licenses and maintains records of those licenses issued. Click here for marriage license requirements.

   The Recorder of Deeds (elected) is responsible for the preservation of records relating to real property in the county.  She is required to record and affix her seal on all recorded deeds, mortgages, subdivision plans, and all other records relating to property ownership.  She records oaths, bonds and commissions of all county officers, notaries public, and District Magistrates.  The Recorder of Deeds also makes record of military discharges (confidential documents), agreements of sale, purchase options, leases, rights-of-way, and easement agreements.  The Recorder of Deeds keeps permanent records of all properly deeds, and is also the Agent for the Commonwealth for the collection of realty transfer taxes. For recording fees click here.   The office of Register, Recorder and Clerk of Orphans’ Court is one of the busiest in the courthouse, with attorneys, title searchers, surveyors, realtors and others, researching property records.  Genealogists also frequently seek data from this office.

The Huntingdon County Register and Recorder is located in the Courthouse. 

The mailing address and phone number are:   

Janet Hanks
Register and Recorder
Courthouse - 223 Penn St.
Huntingdon, PA 16652
(814) 643-2740
(814) 643-8152 - fax
register_recorder@huntingdoncounty.net