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Pennsylvania · Northeast Pennsylvania · #717
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
In the Wyoming Valley's northern branch where the Lackawanna River carved through anthracite coal country, Scranton built its identity on the hardest coal on earth - and on The Office, which used a fictional Scranton paper company to examine American workplace culture so precisely that the city has embraced the association with genuine warmth.
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Office: Lackawanna County Emergency Management Agency – 30 Valley View Business Park, Jessup, PA 18434 | (570) 307-7300 | Fax: (570) 489-3238 | Director: Thomas Taylor
Services: Organizes locally available manpower, supplies, equipment, and services for disaster readiness, response, and recovery; operates the county’s Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for 911 dispatch to police, fire, and EMS
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-81, I-84, and US-6 serve Scranton, the county seat and largest city in northeastern Pennsylvania
Transit: COLTS (County of Lackawanna Transit System) provides local bus service – confirm current routes directly.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: No countywide building department – permits are issued at the MUNICIPAL level
Services: City of Scranton Licensing, Inspections & Permits – 340 North Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503, (570) 348-4193, Fax: (570) 348-4171, Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM; a full-time code officer is on duty Tue–Sat 8 AM–4:30 PM; Scranton’s Animal Control is handled via Code Enforcement, (570) 348-4134 ext. 8217
Notes: Confirm the correct jurisdiction for your specific municipality (e.g., Old Forge Zoning, Olyphant Borough Zoning) outside Scranton city limits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Lackawanna County Veterans Affairs Office – Scranton, PA
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lackawanna County Library System (LCLS)
Main Branch: Albright Memorial Library – 500 Vine Street, Scranton, PA 18509 | (570) 348-3000 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Fri–Sat 9 AM–5 PM, Sun 1–5 PM
Services: A striking Renaissance/French Chateau-style historic building (c. 1890, architects Green & Wicks) on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978; the library has served Scranton since opening in May 1893; during WWII, it served as Lackawanna County’s hub for the national Victory Book Campaign, collecting nearly 35,000 books for soldiers overseas in 1942 alone, with a dedicated campaign phone line installed on-site; today it holds over 240,000 volumes, circulates more than 610,000 items annually, and features a “Creation Station” with Adobe design software and 3D printers alongside standard programming for all ages
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Scranton is genuinely and historically known as “The Electric City,” a nickname earned in 1886 when the city became home to the first commercially successful, continuously operating electric streetcar system powered entirely by electricity in the United States; the achievement built on Scranton’s earlier reputation for electrical innovation – the Dickson Manufacturing Company had installed electric lighting in the city in 1880, just a year after Thomas Edison’s own first successful test of the technology, and by 1883 electricity was already lighting some residential homes; the Scranton Suburban Railway Company (organized by Mr. Sturges and Colonel George Sanderson) began construction of its electric line in July 1886, equipped with technology from the Van DePoele Electric Manufacturing Company; a first trial run took place on November 29, 1886, with inventor Charles Van DePoele himself at the controls, followed by the line’s official opening the very next day, November 30, 1886, running from downtown Scranton to the Green Ridge neighborhood; the streetcars drew their power from overhead wires via a device called a “troller” – the origin of the now-universal word “trolley”; the line’s success, replacing an earlier, much slower and costlier horse-drawn trolley system (25 cents per ride versus the electric line’s opening fare of just 5 cents), quickly reshaped the city, enabling residents to live farther from their jobs and giving rise to the era’s earliest “streetcar suburbs,” including Scranton’s own Green Ridge neighborhood; local pastor David Spencer of Penn Avenue Baptist Church is credited with popularizing the “Electric City” nickname shortly afterward, and the Green Ridge line itself remained in continuous operation for 68 years, until being converted to motor buses in December 1954; today, the Electric City Trolley Museum, located on the grounds of the Steamtown National Historic Site in downtown Scranton, preserves and interprets this pioneering chapter of American transit history
Notes: Scranton’s genuine, extensively documented status as “The Electric City” – home to the nation’s first fully electric streetcar system – is a landmark piece of American transportation and industrial history, distinct from (though complementary to) the region’s broader coal and rail heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lackawanna County GIS – accessible via lackawannacounty.org
Parcel Search: Lackawanna County Assessment Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Lackawanna County Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Griffin Pond Animal Shelter (formerly/DBA the Humane Society of Lackawanna County) – 967 Griffin Pond Road, South Abington Township / Clarks Summit, PA 18411 | Adoption Hours: Noon–4 PM, 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays) | General hours: 9 AM–4:30 PM (closed Tue to the public)
Services: Established in 1938, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving both Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, caring for approximately 200-250 animals daily; not affiliated with any other organization and receives NO federal, state, or county funding, operating entirely on private donations and fundraising; investigates and helps prosecute animal cruelty cases, promotes adoption and humane education, and only uses euthanasia for animals suffering severely or posing safety risks
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – dep.pa.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Lackawanna County’s seat, Scranton, is genuinely and historically “The Electric City,” home to the first commercially successful, fully electric streetcar system in the United States, launched in 1886. 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 Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County’s Scranton was the anthracite coal capital of the world – the underground mines that honey-combed the Wyoming Valley produced the hard coal that heated American homes and powered industrial furnaces from the Civil War through World War II. The industry’s decline left Scranton with the economic challenges common to extractive industry cities, but also a remarkable built heritage: the Electric City (Scranton was among the first American cities with electric streetcars), the Victorian commercial architecture of downtown, and the Steamtown National Historic Site – one of the finest railroad and steam technology museums in the country, preserving the locomotive heritage of the coal and industrial era.
The University of Scranton, Marywood University, and Lackawanna College provide a higher education cluster that has helped sustain the city’s population and professional services economy. The Biden family connection – President Biden spent his boyhood in Scranton and has referenced it throughout his political career – gives the city a political heritage identity. Geisinger Community Medical Center and Regional Hospital of Scranton provide regional healthcare.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Pennsylvania assesses property at 100% of estimated market value (assessed value). Property owners may appeal to the Board of Assessment Revision. Pennsylvania’s senior citizen tax freeze (Act 1) allows qualifying homeowners 65 or older to freeze their property tax. Pennsylvania has an estate tax above $4 million (state level); Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax on transfers to most beneficiaries.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging
200 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503
Phone: (570) 963-6740
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling.
Senior Services
Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging
200 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503
Phone: (570) 963-6740
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lackawanna County Register of Wills, Scranton (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Lackawanna 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, Lackawanna County Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Avenue, Suite 521, Scranton, PA 18503 (570) 963-6702 Lackawanna County is in northeastern Pennsylvania, seated in Scranton.
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 Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna 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
200 Adams Ave, Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 963-6714
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
200 Adams Ave, Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 963-6720
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Area Agency and Human Services
507 Linden St, Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 963-6740
Assistance Office (DHS)
135 Jefferson Ave, Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 963-4500
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lackawanna County Public Health / PA Department of Health regional office – Scranton, PA
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Scranton
Population: 209,000
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Lackawanna County facilities via Amazon.
