Rule Text
(a) Service of the petition and temporary order shall be in accordance with Rule 1930.4.
(b) An Affidavit of Service substantially in the form set forth in Rule 1905(d) shall be filed with the prothonotary.
(c) Upon the filing of a protection order with the prothonotary, the prothonotary shall transmit a copy of the order to the State Police PFA Registry in the manner prescribed by the Pennsylvania State Police.
(d) No fee shall be charged to the plaintiff or petitioner for service of any protection from abuse order or pleading or for the registration, filing or service of any foreign protection order.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1901.4 adopted March 9, 1977, effective April 10, 1977, 7 Pa.B. 839; amended June 20, 1985, effective January 1, 1986, 15 Pa.B. 2452; amended March 30, 1994, effective July 1, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 1943; amended October 2, 1995, effective January 1, 1996, 25 Pa.B. 4518; amended March 9, 1998, effective July 1, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 1391; amended May 2, 2006, effective May 9, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 2369. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (242778) and (311799).
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 a court issues a protection from abuse (PFA) order, someone must officially deliver it to the person being restrained. This delivery is called "service," and it follows specific rules about how it must be done. After the order is delivered, the person who served it must fill out a form called an Affidavit of Service and file it with the court clerk (called the prothonotary).
Once the order is filed, the court clerk sends a copy to the Pennsylvania State Police PFA Registry. This is a statewide database that police officers and courts across Pennsylvania can check at any time. It lets law enforcement quickly confirm that a protection order exists and what it requires, making it easier to enforce the order no matter where in the state the victim is located.
If you are the person who asked for the protection order, you will not be charged any fees. This applies to having the order served, filed, or registered, including orders from other states.
Committee Notes
This provision also applies to an order denying a plaintiff’s request for a final protection order.
Explanatory Comment—1997
Subdivision (c) reflects the prothonotary’s role in ensuring that all protection orders reach the new statewide PFA Registry. Pursuant to the 1994 amendments to the Protection From Abuse Act, the Pennsylvania State Police Department is mandated to establish this registry for all protection orders issued or registered in the Commonwealth. Once it becomes fully operational, it will be available at all times to inform law enforcement officers, dispatchers and courts of the existence and terms of protection orders. The Registry represents a major improvement in the manner in which protection orders are registered and verified by not only eliminating the need to register the order in every county where the victim believes enforcement is necessary, but also enabling the police to immediately verify the order for purposes of enforcement. In order to ensure that the information in the Registry remains current, subdivision (c) requires the prothonotary to transmit all protection orders issued or registered in the Commonwealth, including temporary, final, modified and consent orders as well as any orders withdrawing, extending or denying the plaintiff’s request for a protection order.
Explanatory Comment—2006
New subdivision (d) reflects the prohibition against charging fees to the plaintiff, even those related to foreign protection orders, as set forth in the 2005 amendments to the Protection From Abuse Act. 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6106(b) and (g.1).
