Tax Collector Information

A tax collector shall include every person duly elected or appointed to collect all taxes levied by any political subdivision. The term of office is generally four years.

In boroughs, towns, and townships of the second class, the elected tax collector shall be the collector of the borough/township and school taxes, etc. 

Tax Collector Filing Procedure

Before a Tax Collector may enter upon the duties of their office, they must take and subscribe an Oath of Office, enter a Surety Bond to the Commonwealth for all taxes to be collected by them, and file both the Oath and Bond with the Clerk of Courts. The Oath and Bond are required to be filed by March 15th.

To initiate this process, the certificate form below must be taken to the respective Municipality and/or School Board and request that:

  1. The appropriate Municipal Official(s) complete ALL FIVE (5) PARAGRAPHS of the Certificate found below;
  2. The Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors or Borough Council (“President”) AND its Secretary sign and seal the Certificate; and
  3. The Certificate, with both original signatures and seal, be returned to the Clerk of Courts office.

Once the Certificate has been returned to the Clerk of Courts office, the Clerk of Courts will present it to the Common Pleas Court for entry of an Order, fixing the amount of the Bond. The Clerk of Courts will then scan and email a Copy of the Order to the Tax Collector. When the Order is received, The Tax Collector should then print the Tax Collector Bond and Oath of Office forms below and do the following:

  1.  Together with your insurance carrier, complete the Tax Collector Bond form;
  2. Complete and sign the Oath of Office form in the presence of an Official authorized to administer the Oaths of Office and have that official sign and seal the Oath (The Clerk of Courts is authorized to administer the Oath at their office); and
  3. Return the completed and duly executed ORIGINAL Tax Collector Bond and Oath of Office forms to the Clerk of Courts office for filing and final approval by the Court. 
  4.  A filing fee of $26 is to be paid to the Clerk of Courts office to file the Tax Collector Bond.

Tax Collector Bond Information

The bond may be an annual bond or for the full term at the option of the tax collector.

The bond must have at least one bonding company and have the sufficiency of sureties approved by the Court.

The amount of the bond shall never exceed the estimated amount of the taxes charged in the duplicates delivered to the tax collector.

The bond and oath must be filed in the Office of the Clerk of Courts on or before the 15th day of March of the first year of the term of office.

If any taxing body feels the bond is insufficient, it may petition the Court for an increase in the face amount of the bond.

When a vacancy exists, notice will be sent to the Municipality/ School Board to appoint someone to the position and to notify the Clerk of Courts of the appointment to initiate the bonding process.

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