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Pennsylvania · Happy Valley · Penn State · #334 Most Populous County in the US
Centre County, Pennsylvania
State College and Happy Valley - Penn State University and the Nittany Lions, Beaver Stadium (one of the largest stadiums in the world), and the geographic center of Pennsylvania, where mountains surround a college town of remarkable vitality. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Centre County residents.
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Office: Centre County Emergency Management Agency / Office of Emergency Services – Willowbank Building, 420 Holmes St., Bellefonte, PA 16823 | Admin: (814) 355-6800 | Non-emergency: 1-800-479-0050
Services: Countywide disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; oversees a countywide 800 MHz radio system coordinating fire dispatch across the county’s numerous volunteer fire companies
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-99, US-322, and US-220 serve Bellefonte, the county seat, with State College as the county’s largest community and home to Penn State University
Transit: CATA (Centre Area Transportation Authority) provides bus service for State College and the Penn State campus area – confirm current routes directly.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Centre Region Code Services handles building permits for State College Borough and surrounding Centre Region municipalities under the PA Uniform Construction Code (a zoning permit must be obtained before a building permit is issued)
Services: Bellefonte Borough – (814) 355-1501, requires separate zoning permits for exterior projects, new businesses, and (notably) keeping chickens (renewed every 3 years); Historic District exterior projects require HARB (Historic Architectural Review Board) approval before a zoning permit can issue
Notes: No single countywide building department – confirm the correct jurisdiction and permitting office for your specific municipality.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Centre County Veterans Affairs Office – Bellefonte, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Centre County Library & Historical Museum – 3 branches plus bookmobile
Main Branch: Bellefonte branch – 203 N. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823 | Fax: (814) 355-2700 | Director: Denise Sticha
Related: Schlow Centre Region Library – 211 South Allen Street, State College, PA, (814) 237-6236 (a separate library system serving State College); additional Centre County Library branches in Centre Hall and Philipsburg.
Services: Provides a complete range of library, historical, and genealogical records; free high-speed internet, early literacy programs, and bookmobile service reaching throughout Centre County.
Notes: State College is served by the separate Schlow Centre Region Library system – confirm which system applies to your community.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Centre County’s seat, Bellefonte, is genuinely and remarkably known as the “Home of Governors” – more Pennsylvania governors called this single small town home than any other town in the state; a monument in Talleyrand Park (named for French statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who reportedly exclaimed “La belle fonte!” – “the beautiful fountain” – upon seeing the town’s namesake Big Spring, source of some 11 million gallons of water daily) commemorates seven governors with ties to Bellefonte: five who served as governor of Pennsylvania (William Bigler, William F. Packer, Andrew Gregg Curtin, James A. Beaver, and Daniel H. Hastings), plus John Bigler, who served as governor of California, and Robert J. Walker, governor of the Kansas Territory; most celebrated among them is Andrew Gregg Curtin, born in Bellefonte in 1815, who served as Pennsylvania’s “War Governor” from 1861 to 1867, mobilizing over 366,000 troops for the Union Army during the Civil War and standing on the platform beside President Lincoln at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery – the very occasion of the Gettysburg Address – which Curtin himself had organized as governor; Curtin, Beaver, and Hastings are all buried together in Union Cemetery behind the Bellefonte Courthouse; the town, founded in 1795 by James Dunlop and his son-in-law James Harris, grew wealthy on 19th-century iron production, leaving behind a well-preserved Victorian downtown spanning Italianate through Queen Anne architectural styles, now home to the Bellefonte Art Museum (in the 1814 Linn House)
Notes: Bellefonte’s genuine, extensively documented status as home to more Pennsylvania governors than any other town in the Commonwealth is a distinctive and historically rich claim.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Centre County GIS – accessible via centrecountypa.gov
Parcel Search: Centre County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Centre County Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Centre County PAWS – 1401 Trout Road, State College, PA 16801 | (814) 237-8722 | Hours: Tue–Fri 12–6 PM, Sat–Sun 11 AM–4 PM (closed Mon)
Services: A no-kill shelter established in 1980, running primarily on volunteer support and donations; promotes animal welfare and safety through adoption, sheltering, education, and community assistance
Related: Pets Come First – 2451 General Potter Highway, Centre Hall, PA, a separate non-euthanasia shelter offering adoption, community cat trap-neuter-release programs, a pet food pantry, and low-cost spay/neuter services.
Notes: Centre County has more than one active shelter/rescue organization – confirm which serves your specific area.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority and PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – dep.pa.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Centre County’s seat, Bellefonte, is genuinely known as the “Home of Governors,” having produced more Pennsylvania governors – including Civil War-era “War Governor” Andrew Gregg Curtin – than any other town in the state. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Centre County
Heritage | State College is home to Penn State University’s main campus, whose Nittany Lions football program draws over 100,000 fans to Beaver Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the world, and the annual Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the world, raises millions for pediatric cancer research each year; Bellefonte’s well-preserved Victorian downtown reflects the county’s 19th-century iron-industry prosperity Outdoors | Bald Eagle State Park and the surrounding Rothrock and Bald Eagle state forests offer extensive hiking, boating, and fishing throughout Centre County’s mountainous terrain Notable | Penn State University dominates Centre County’s identity and economy, drawing hundreds of thousands of alumni and fans to campus each football season, and Bellefonte’s Victorian architecture continues to draw heritage tourism Library | Schlow Centre Region Library and libraries across the county serve the university city and surrounding rural mountain communities
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Address: 102 South Allegheny St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
Phone: (814) 355-6712
Website: pacourts.us/courts/centre
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Centre County Register of Wills, Bellefonte (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Centre County Federation of Public Libraries – Centre Library and Historical Museum, both in Bellefonte, hold local historical resources.
Local societies
No dedicated Centre County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Register of Wills, Centre County Willowbank Office Building, 414 Holmes Street, Suite 2, Bellefonte, PA 16823 (814) 355-6724
Centre County is in central Pennsylvania, seated in Bellefonte – home to Penn State University’s main campus.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Pennsylvania has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate runs through its own statute, the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries (PEF) Code, Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Probate begins at the Register of Wills – an elected county official – in the county where the decedent lived. Routine, uncontested probate happens entirely at the Register of Wills; only disputes escalate to the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas.
Small Estate Petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) – available when the estate’s personal property (excluding real estate) totals $50,000 or less. This lets an interested party petition the Orphans’ Court directly for approval of a proposed distribution, skipping the need to formally open a full probate estate. Real property is never covered by this simplified process.
Formal Probate – required for estates exceeding $50,000 in personal property, or for any estate involving real property that needs to pass through probate. The Register of Wills validates the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative files with the Register of Wills in Centre County, along with the original will if one exists.
The Register of Wills reviews and, if in order, issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative gathers assets, notifies heirs and known creditors, and begins settling the estate.
Pennsylvania has a one-year creditor period running from the date of death, not from any published notice.
A Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500) must be filed with the Register of Wills, regardless of estate size.
Once debts, taxes, and expenses are settled, remaining assets are distributed according to the will or Pennsylvania’s intestacy laws, and the estate is closed.
What it costs
Filing fees vary; check with Centre County directly for current fees.
Pennsylvania has NO separate state estate tax, but its INHERITANCE TAX applies to virtually every estate: 0% to a surviving spouse (and to a parent inheriting from a child 21 or younger), 4.5% to children and other lineal descendants, 12% to siblings, and 15% to everyone else. No dollar exemption.
A 5% early-payment discount applies if paid within 3 months of death; the return and payment are otherwise due within 9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTER OF WILLS
102 South Allegheny St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
(814) 355-6802
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
322 South Allegheny St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
(814) 355-6797
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
420 Holmes St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
(814) 355-6791
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office of Human Services
420 Holmes St, Bellefonte, PA 16823
(814) 355-6786
Assistance Office (DHS)
2222 North Atherton St, State College, PA 16803
(814) 231-4200
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Centre County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Bellefonte, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Bellefonte
Population: 162,000
Area: 1,112 mi²
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Centre County facilities via Amazon.
