The Bureau of Collections is tasked with the collection of court costs and fees, fines, and restitution assessed by the court upon adult and juvenile offenders as well as miscellaneous cases. Funds collected are then distributed among various recipients including, but not limited to: local municipalities, the county general fund, individual county departments, the state Department of Revenue, individual state departments, restitution victims, etc. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) publishes an interactive dashboard illustrating collection statistics on their website here. A breakdown of the statistics is viewable as collaborative statewide figures or by individual counties.
As a matter of case management, people are encouraged to pay their case in full within 60 days of sentencing or at the time the total costs are entered and received in order to avoid a judgment, or lien, being filed against them with the Prothonotary’s Office. Doing so will eliminate the additional resulting fee. If full payment is not received timely, a judgment will be filed for the full assessed amount and will remain on record until the case is paid in full. The judgment will appear on the person’s credit report and will be attached to property sales, estates or probates, settlements, etc. until the case is paid in full. Those unable to immediately pay the balance of their case are assigned a payment plan established upon guidelines and based upon their income, ability to earn, or in accordance with a court order.
Failure to make required payments may result in enforcement actions being taken including, but not limited to: delinquent letters, wage garnishment, driver’s license suspension, increased payments, a warrant being issued for failure to pay, revocation of probation/parole/ARD, contempt actions filed with the court which could result in incarceration, etc. The enforcement remedies can be utilized in combination with, or independent of, any actions taken by the county or state probation/parole offices.
In order to possibly avoid these actions, people are encouraged to notify the Bureau of Collections of an imminent or likely default and seek a modification of the payment plan prior to the default. Be aware, however, that depending on the situation, modifications are not always permissible and at times are not warranted in accordance with guidelines as these obligations are court ordered, and therefore, take priority over most other bills.
Methods of payment accepted:
* Exact change is needed for paying in full. Change is not made at the office. Overpayments can be refunded back to the payor via check but are only mailed out once per month.
** A fee of $2.75 will be charged for each transaction. Each transaction is limited to $1,000.00. Multiple transactions are permitted for payments more than the transaction limit. All online payments are posted the next business day.
*** Receipts will only be mailed back to you if you include a self addressed, stamped envelope.
Payments and docketed case information can be viewed online for free here. Search by case docket number, person’s name, or payment plan number and select the docket sheet associated with the case. Docket sheets can be printed from the website for your records.
Further inquiries can be made by contacting our office:
Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County
Bureau of Collections
P.O. Box 14
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
(570)325-3500 Phone
(570)325-4593 Fax
Hours of operation:
Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Office staff cannot give legal advice. Any questions regarding conditions of supervision, or other details of a case not pertaining to the payment of costs, fines, and restitution should be directed to the appropriate office or an attorney.