How to get excused from jury duty in Erie County, Pennsylvania
The excusal routes Erie County, Pennsylvania actually recognizes — what each one needs, who decides, and where it goes.
Erie County does not excuse anyone for financial hardship — and its Jury Coordinator says the easiest answer is simply to turn up and say so. He told this project by email on 10 September 2026: “We do not excuse a potential juror for financial hardship, though we can change their date from 6 months – 1 year… The easiest option is to report for your date of service and let the courtroom know.” Two other things here are unlike anywhere else in this project. Each summons carries three deferrals, not one. And the medical route wants less information, not more: the doctor’s office types a short letter saying you should be excused and whether that is permanent or temporary, and the county specifically does not want your condition named. This is Erie County, Pennsylvania — not the Erie County in New York, which answers almost every one of these questions differently.
Your routes in Erie County, Pennsylvania
Age 75 or olderIncluded — 75+, permanent, but you must ask
A permanent excusal is available at 75 — but the office does not apply it for you. In its own words, it does not age discriminate, so you have to contact them and request it.
Jury Coordinator, Erie County PA — confirmed by email, 10 September 2026. “If an individual is 75+, they can request a permanent excusal from jury service. We do not age discriminate, so an individual must contact us and request the age exemption.”
That sentence is worth reading carefully, because the threshold and the mechanism both differ from everywhere else we have asked. Seventy-five, not seventy. Permanent, not annual. And on request, never automatic — the office will not act on your date of birth without hearing from you.
See the full detail →That sentence is worth reading carefully, because the threshold and the mechanism both differ from everywhere else we have asked. Seventy-five, not seventy. Permanent, not annual. And on request, never automatic — the office will not act on your date of birth without hearing from you.
PostponementIncluded — three per summons, and they renew
Each summons comes with three deferrals of six months to a year. Complete a service and a brand-new summons carries three more.
Jury Coordinator, Erie County PA — confirmed by email, 10 September 2026. “Each summons comes with 3 deferrals. This ranges from 6 months – 1 year. Once service is complete, any future brand-new summons gets 3 more deferrals.”
Three is the most generous postponement allowance in this dataset — Riverside gives one totalling 90 days, Maricopa one that state law bars extending, Onondaga one of 2 to 6 months. Here you have three, each of up to a year, which between them can move service a long way. And they replenish after a completed service.
The office also confirms it “does send confirmation by mail or email”, and will telephone as well on request — though it notes that jurors often ring to check anyway.
See the full detail →Three is the most generous postponement allowance in this dataset — Riverside gives one totalling 90 days, Maricopa one that state law bars extending, Onondaga one of 2 to 6 months. Here you have three, each of up to a year, which between them can move service a long way. And they replenish after a completed service.
The office also confirms it “does send confirmation by mail or email”, and will telephone as well on request — though it notes that jurors often ring to check anyway.
Financial hardshipIncluded — not a ground, but three routes exist
Erie does not excuse for financial hardship. What it offers instead: a date change of six months to a year, a letter to the President Judge, or reporting and telling the courtroom — which is the route the office itself recommends.
Jury Coordinator, Erie County PA — confirmed by email, 10 September 2026. “We do not excuse a potential juror for financial hardship, though we can change their date from 6 months – 1 year in the hopes this will help. Individuals can also write a letter to our president judge explaining their situation. The easiest option is to report for your date of service and let the courtroom know.”
The office adds, of that last route: “99.9% of the time these individuals are dismissed, and their service is considered complete. Which means they are excuse[d] from future jury for a minimum of 1 year, but it is usually much longer.” That is the Jury Coordinator describing his own courtroom’s practice, in writing, and it is quoted here rather than paraphrased. It is not a promise, and whether you are dismissed on the day is the court’s decision and nobody else’s.
There is nothing for us to sell you here, and we would rather say so: the route the county recommends costs nothing, needs no document, and ends your obligation for a year or more.
See the full detail →The office adds, of that last route: “99.9% of the time these individuals are dismissed, and their service is considered complete. Which means they are excuse[d] from future jury for a minimum of 1 year, but it is usually much longer.” That is the Jury Coordinator describing his own courtroom’s practice, in writing, and it is quoted here rather than paraphrased. It is not a promise, and whether you are dismissed on the day is the court’s decision and nobody else’s.
There is nothing for us to sell you here, and we would rather say so: the route the county recommends costs nothing, needs no document, and ends your obligation for a year or more.
Medical excusalIncluded — and the county wants LESS, not more
A phone call to your doctor’s office is enough. Their staff type a short letter saying you should be excused and whether that is permanent or temporary — and Erie specifically does not want your condition named.
Jury Coordinator, Erie County PA — confirmed by email, 10 September 2026. “All they are required to do is contact their doctor’s office by phone, they do not need to make an appointment or be physically in their doctor’s office. The doctor’s office staff only needs to type up a letter stating the potential juror needs to be excused and whether i[t] should be permanent or temporary. We do not require medical history or the naming of a specific condition. This is due to HIPAA.”
This is the reverse of every other county in this project. Los Angeles asks the physician for a diagnosis, a prognosis, whether you are homebound and whether you are employed. Maricopa asks for the specific symptoms and how long they have occurred. Erie asks for none of it, on purpose — and tells you why: the office cannot lawfully interpret clinical information, so sending it does not help and may simply expose it.
There is nothing for us to sell here. A two-line letter from a receptionist, obtained by phone, is the whole requirement.
See the full detail →This is the reverse of every other county in this project. Los Angeles asks the physician for a diagnosis, a prognosis, whether you are homebound and whether you are employed. Maricopa asks for the specific symptoms and how long they have occurred. Erie asks for none of it, on purpose — and tells you why: the office cannot lawfully interpret clinical information, so sending it does not help and may simply expose it.
There is nothing for us to sell here. A two-line letter from a receptionist, obtained by phone, is the whole requirement.
Contact the court
Jury Coordinator, Erie County Court of Common Pleas, PennsylvaniaJury line: (814) 451-6059
Corrected 10 September 2026: the number previously shown here, (814) 451-7699, is the fax. The office accepts requests by phone, fax and email; the juror information email is published on the county website under the “Jury Duty” tab.
Corrected 10 September 2026: the number previously shown here, (814) 451-7699, is the fax. The office accepts requests by phone, fax and email; the juror information email is published on the county website under the “Jury Duty” tab.
Other counties
JuryFree prepares documents and guidance from the facts you provide. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or guarantee any outcome. Court rules and deadlines vary by county and change over time — confirm with the court before you rely on anything here. Questions: [email protected].