Government

Row Officers

Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court

Main - Fee Bill - Forms - Genealogy/Searches - Glossary - Inheritance Tax - Marriage Licenses - Orphans' Court - Public Service - Wills - Public Access - e-Filing

Hours of Operation: The Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court is open for virtual appointments and limited in person appointments within the Administration building. Please call to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins will not be accepted. The office will be open extended hours until 7:30 pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (for virtual appointments). You may reach us at 215-348-6265.

Bucks County Register of Wills Linda Bobrin Announces Pilot Project to Open Probate Estates and Seek Marriage Licenses Via Videoconferencing

Video Tutorial of the Virtual Marriage License Application Process

The ongoing Judicial Emergency for Bucks County has closed the Register of Wills Office for walk-in service. Scheduled appointments in the Administration Building as well as Virtual Appointments are being accepted at this time. This Judicial Emergency will continue while the county works to combat the COVID-19 virus.

Bucks County Register of Wills Linda Bobrin recognizes that, despite the ongoing health crisis, estates still need to be opened and that people are still seeking to be married. Accordingly, Register Bobrin announces the initiation of a pilot program that utilizes teleconferencing technology to open estates and to obtain marriage licenses.

• Before seeking an appointment, we ask the Bar and public to seriously consider whether the specific matter at issue would be considered exigent circumstances by an objective observer.
• Access to the Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court office on the Sixth Floor of the Administration Building is now limited. A system is being implemented by which all emergency business before the Register/Clerk will be conducted in an alternative reception area on the Second Floor of the Administration Building.
• All visitors, including members of the bar with passes allowing access to the Administration Building, are asked to check in with the security officers.
• For more information, please view the Message to the Bar from Linda Bobrin, Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans’ Court

Linda Bobrin, Esquire
Bucks County Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans Court

Linda Bobrin, Esquire is the elected Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court, and  was sworn into office on January 6, 2020.

Linda Bobrin is an attorney and small business owner, having run a solo law practice for the past 24 years. For the past two years, she served on the majority of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors, where she was named vice chair. She was elected to that seat in 2017 following a grueling, grassroots campaign which involved door-knocking and introducing herself to township voters.

Ms. Bobrin’s legal background touched many types of law, centering around disability issues while also overlapping with the area of wills and estates. Her professional experience with clients dealing with serious illness, injury and death, is uniquely suited to deal with the issues handled by the office of the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans Court.

Ms. Bobrin’s legal experience includes dealing with people on a personal level as well as on a professional level, from negotiating with parties to reach amicable resolutions to litigating cases on their behalf. She also has experience as a volunteer with a local hospice program and worked as a member of the “Election Protection” program, run by the Bucks County Democratic Committee, involving travel to polling places on election day to help safeguard voters’ rights.

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 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to collect inheritance tax.

The Register of Wills holds a quasi-judicial position and, if necessary, conducts hearings to determine who should be appointed as executor or administrator of an estate. Some issues brought to a hearing involve issues like forgery, mental capacity and undue influence. The parties have a right to appeal the Register's decision to the Orphans' Court Divison of the Court of Common Pleas.

As Clerk of Orphans' Court, our office serves as the filing office and custodian of records for matters involving adoptions, guardianship and estate litigation. The office also issues all marriage licenses for the County of Bucks.

Our office's primary goal is to serve you, especially during the time when you may be grieving the loss of a loved one.

The information on this website is intended to be of assistance by providing basic information relating to the probate and administration of estates.

Please be assured that our office is committed to providing services to you in a prompt and efficient manner.

Probate Estates & Administrations 
The Register of Wills is the county office where a decedent’s estate paperwork is processed.  When a person passes away, the Register of Wills appoints a personal representative to administer the 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.

The following documents are needed to open an estate:

• Original Will (if any)
• Original death certificate (confirming Bucks County domicile)
• Current government issued photo identification (for executor/administrator)
• Name and address of intestate heirs
• Date of death value(s) for personal and real property owned by decedent
• Cash, check or credit card for payment of fees

Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court/Marriage Licenses
Access to our and records can be obtained by visiting: www.buckscounty.org\rowocrecords and logging in as our “Guest”. If you experience difficulty viewing files, please see the Document Viewing Instructions. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to call the office at (215) 348-6265 during normal business hours.

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 1684. 

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
George Washington “considered marriage as the most interesting event of one's life, the foundation of happiness or misery.” (letter to Burwell Bassett, May 23, 1785).  The Bucks County Orphans’ Court is honored to help you complete the required paperwork and wish you happiness as you take this 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, such as petitions for adoption, petitions for guardianships and estate, or accounting. 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

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. 

Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court
Linda Bobrin, Esquire, Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans' Court
Douglas Wayne, Esquire, 1st Deputy
Colleen F. Strunk, 2nd Deputy
Melissa V. Bond, Solicitor
Bucks County Courthouse
55 East Court Street 
6th Floor, Administration Building
Doylestown, PA 18901

Phone: 215-348-6265
Fax: 215-348-6156 
registerofwills@buckscounty.org
orphanscourt@buckscounty.org

www.facebook.com/BucksRegister

www.twitter.com/BucksRegister

Hours of Operation: The Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court is open for virtual appointments and limited in person appointments within the Administration building. Please call to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins will not be accepted. The office will be open extended hours until 7:30 pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (for virtual appointments). You may reach us at 215-348-6265.

• Before seeking an appointment, we ask the Bar and public to seriously consider whether the specific matter at issue would be considered exigent circumstances by an objective observer.
• Access to the Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court office on the Sixth Floor of the Administration Building is now limited. A system is being implemented by which all emergency business before the Register/Clerk will be conducted in an alternative reception area on the Second Floor of the Administration Building.
• All visitors, including members of the bar with passes allowing access to the Administration Building, are asked to check in with the security officers.
• For more information, please view the Message to the Bar   from Linda Bobrin, Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans’ Court

Offsite Location for Probate & Marriage License Application: 
Lower Bucks Government Service Center 
7321 New Falls Road
Levittown, PA 19055
Phone: 267-580-3585
Hours: Effective Immediately, this office is closed.