Starting Thursday, York County civil court records will be available for free online.

Anyone with Internet access will be able to view public civil-court filings, including lawsuits, family-court documents and liens, according to a news release from the prothonotary's office.

Previously, online access to some of those documents was available by subscription only, at an annual cost of $100. Protection from abuse orders are not being made available online, the release states.

To view the documents, people must use Internet Explorer. Documents filed on or after May 8, 2008, will be available online; for older cases, docket entries will be available.

Go to www.york-county.org and select "prothonotary" from the list of county departments. Then click the "civil case search" button.

York County Prothonotary Pam Lee said the new free service is part of her office's effort to improve public access and internal efficiency.