• If personal service is not obtainable and the registered or certified mail is returned undelivered, then:
  • Notice shall be sent by regular mail to the last known address of the parent and an affidavit of mailing shall be filed of record.
  • Further notice by publication shall be given once a week during three successive calendar weeks in the local legal periodical and in a newspaper of general circulation published at or near his or her last known residence within the county.
  • The notice by publication shall appear in substantially the following form:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, ADAMS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION

NOTICE

TO: (Party to Whom Notice is Given)

You are hereby notified that a Petition for (Adoption/Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights to Child) has been filed in the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County, Pennsylvania. A hearing has been set for ___ at ___ o'clock, ___.M., prevailing time, at the Courthouse at Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of determining whether or not statutory grounds exist for the (Adoption/Involuntary Termination of Your Parental Rights) with respect to your child.

You should contact your lawyer at once. If you do not have a lawyer or cannot afford one, go to or telephone the office set forth below to find out where you can get help.

Court Administrator

Adams County Courthouse

111-117 Baltimore Street

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325

Telephone Number: 717-337-9846

  1. 4. Proof of notice by publication shall be presented to the Court at the time of the hearing.

Rule 15.7. Impounding--Docket Entries--Reports--Privacy

The docket maintained by the Clerk shall carry only the name and date of each paper filed and shall also carry the date in reference to final action, which entry shall consist of a notation either that the decree was entered or that the petition was dismissed. Adoptions shall be indexed on an annual basis rather than to a term and number. An alphabetical index will be maintained for the