Rule Text
(a) Form. Except as otherwise prescribed by this rule, the notice of appeal shall be in substantially the following form:
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
OF
COUNTY
, Plaintiff(s):
v.
, Defendant(s):
Docket or File No.
Offense Tracking Number
NOTICE OF APPEAL
(name all parties taking the appeal) appeal to the (Superior) (Commonwealth) (Supreme) Court of Pennsylvania from the order entered on
(state the date the order was entered). This order has been entered upon the docket as evidenced by the attached copy of the docket entry.
(S) (Address and telephone number)
(Email address)
(b) Caption.
(1) General Rule. The caption of the notice of appeal shall set forth all parties appearing on the record in the trial court on the date the appeal is taken.
(2) Appeal of Custody Action. In an appeal of a custody action where the trial court has used the full name of the parties in the caption, upon application of a party and for cause shown, an appellate court may exercise its discretion to use the initials of the parties in the caption based upon the sensitive nature of the facts included in the case record and the best interest of the child.
(c) Request for Transcript. The request for transcript contemplated by Pa.R.A.P. 1911 or a statement signed by counsel that either there is no verbatim record of the proceedings or the complete transcript has been lodged of record shall accompany the notice of appeal, but the absence of or defect in the request for transcript shall not affect the validity of the appeal.
(d) Docket Entry. The notice of appeal shall include a statement that the order appealed from has been entered on the docket. A copy of the docket entry showing the entry of the order appealed from shall be attached to the notice of appeal.
(e) Content in Criminal Cases. If the Commonwealth takes an appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 311(d), the notice of appeal shall include a certification by counsel that the order will terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution.
(f) Content in Children’s Fast Track Appeals. In a children’s fast track appeal, the notice of appeal shall include a statement advising the appellate court that the appeal is a children’s fast track appeal.
(g) Content in Orphans’ Court Appeals. In an orphans’ court appeal, the notice of appeal shall include a statement advising the appellate court that the appeal is an orphans’ court appeal.
(h) Completely Consolidated Civil Cases. In an appeal of completely consolidated civil cases where only one notice of appeal is filed, a copy of the consolidation order shall be attached to the notice of appeal.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 904 amended through December 10, 1986, effective January 31, 1987, and shall govern all matters thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and practicable, matters then pending, 16 Pa.B. 4951; corrected at January 16, 1987, 17 Pa.B. 246; amended July 7, 1997, effective in 60 days, 27 Pa.B. 3503; amended October 16, 2002, effective immediately, 32 Pa.B. 5402; amended January 13, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 1094, effective as to all appeals filed 60 days or more after adoption; amended December 14, 2015, effective April 1, 2016, for all orders entered on or after that date, 46 Pa.B. 8; amended October 22, 2020, effective January 1, 2021, 50 Pa.B. 6197; amended May 18, 2023, effective immediately, 53 Pa.B. 2940; amended July 26, 2024, effective October 1, 2024, 54 Pa.B. 5079; amended December 11, 2025, effective July 1, 2026, 55 Pa.B. 8740. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (424242) to (424244).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When you file an appeal in Pennsylvania, you must use a specific form that includes basic information about your case. The form needs the names of all parties, the court you are appealing to, and the date of the order you are challenging. You also need to attach a copy of the docket entry that shows the order was officially recorded by the court.
Along with the notice, you should include a request for a transcript of the court proceedings, or a statement explaining why no transcript is needed. If you forget to include this, your appeal is still valid, but it is better to include it.
Some cases have extra requirements. In criminal cases where the government is appealing, the lawyer must certify that the court's order would seriously hurt the prosecution. Cases involving children, such as custody or child welfare matters, must be labeled as "children's fast track" or "orphans' court" appeals so the higher court knows to handle them differently. In custody cases, a parent can ask the court to use initials instead of full names to protect a child's privacy.
If multiple civil cases were combined into one and you are filing a single appeal for all of them, you must attach a copy of the order that combined the cases. Getting these details right helps make sure your appeal moves forward without problems.
Committee Notes
The Offense Tracking Number (OTN) is required only in an appeal in a criminal proceeding. It enables the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts to collect and forward to the Pennsylvania State Police information pertaining to the disposition of all criminal cases as provided by the Criminal History Record Information Act, 18 Pa.C.S. § § 9101 et seq.
A final order pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 341(b)(1) encompasses all prior non-final orders for purposes of appeal. Therefore, a party need not list any prior non-final order in the notice of appeal. See Pa.R.A.P. 341, cmt. [para ] 4.
The notice of appeal must include a statement that the order appealed from has been entered on the docket. Because generally a separate notice of appeal must be filed on each docket on which an appealable order is entered so as to appeal from that order, see Pa.R.A.P. 902(a), the appellant is required to attach to the notice of appeal a copy of the docket entry showing the entry of the order appealed from on that docket. The appellant does not need to certify that the order has been reduced to judgment. This omission does not eliminate the requirement of reducing an order to judgment before there is a final appealable order where required by applicable practice or case law.
Subdivision (b)(1) emphasizes the necessity for the caption to set forth all parties who appear on the record in the trial court on the date an appeal is taken in order to aid the appellate court in accurately identifying the parties in the appeal. A party shall not use ‘‘et al.’’ in a caption. Subdivision (b)(2) provides the authority for an appellate court to initialize captions in custody appeals. See also Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.10.
Information regarding the appropriate appellate court to which an appeal should be taken can be found on the website of the Unified Judicial System at https://www.pacourts.us/learn.
With respect to subdivision (e), in Commonwealth v. Dugger, 486 A.2d 382, 386 (Pa. 1985), the Supreme Court held that the Commonwealth’s certification that an order will terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution is not subject to review as a prerequisite to the Superior Court’s review of the merits of the appeal. The principle in Dugger has been incorporated in and superseded by Pa.R.A.P. 311(d). Commonwealth v. Dixon, 907 A.2d 468, 471 n.8 (Pa. 2006). Thus, the need for a detailed analysis of the effect of the order, formerly necessarily a part of the Commonwealth’s appellate brief, has been eliminated.
A party filing a cross-appeal should identify it as a cross-appeal in the notice of appeal to assure that the prothonotary will process the cross-appeal with the initial appeal. See also Pa.R.A.P. 2113, 2136, and 2185 regarding briefs in cross-appeals and Pa.R.A.P. 2322 regarding oral argument in multiple appeals.
See Pa.R.A.P. 342 for the orders that may be appealed as of right in orphans’ court matters.
A party appealing completely consolidated civil cases using one notice of appeal must attach a copy of the consolidation order to the notice of appeal to assure the applicability of Pa.R.A.P. 902.
Historical Commentary
The following commentary is historical in nature and represents statements of the Committee at the time of rulemaking:
Explanatory Comment—2002
See Comment following Pa.R.A.P., Rule 511.
