Rule Text
(a) Filing Office. Each court of common pleas shall have a domestic relations section that shall be the filing office for pleadings and documents for child support, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite actions.
(b) Commencement of Support Action. A party shall commence actions for child support and spousal support by filing a complaint in the domestic relations section. A party shall commence an action for alimony pendente lite by filing a complaint in the domestic relations section if a divorce complaint has been filed with the prothonotary.
(c) Filing Fee. The domestic relations section shall not require payment of a filing fee to commence or modify an action.
(d) Additional Fees. Unless authorized by statute, a judicial district shall not impose additional fees in actions for child support, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite. The domestic relations section shall collect fees through the Pennsylvania Child Support Enforcement System (PACSES).
(e) Petition for Judicial Relief—Arbitration. If a complaint was not previously filed, a complaint shall be filed in the domestic relations section contemporaneously with a petition seeking the collection or enforcement of a confirmed arbitration award for support by the domestic relations section. A complaint need not be filed with the domestic relations section for petitions seeking other judicial relief concerning arbitration.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1910.4 amended May 31, 2000, effective July 1, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 3155; amended January 5, 2018, effective January 6, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 477; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3520; amended July 30, 2018, effective January 1, 2019, 48 Pa.B. 4960; amended December 31, 2025, effective April 1, 2026, 56 Pa.B. 351. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (394372).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you need to file for child support, spousal support, or temporary financial support during a divorce (called alimony pendente lite), you go to the domestic relations section of your local court. For alimony pendente lite, a divorce complaint must already be filed before you can start that process.
You do not have to pay a filing fee to start or change a support case in the domestic relations section. Any other fees that are charged must be allowed by state law, and they are collected through Pennsylvania's child support system called PACSES.
If you have a support award from arbitration and want the domestic relations section to help collect or enforce it, you must file a complaint at the same time you file your petition. However, if you are seeking other types of court help related to arbitration, you do not need to file a separate complaint with the domestic relations section.
Committee Notes
See Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.27(a) (form of complaint).
See Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.1(b). To the extent this rule applies to actions not governed by other legal authority regarding confidentiality of information and documents in support actions or that attorneys or unrepresented parties file support-related confidential information and documents in non-support actions, e.g., divorce, custody, the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania shall apply.
For the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Child Support Program’s e-services, including filing for support or requesting a modification of an existing support order, see https://www.humanservices.dhs.pa.gov/csws/.
See Pa.R.Civ.P. 1920.31(a)(2) regarding the filing of alimony pendente lite actions in the domestic relations section.
The statutorily authorized fees in actions for child support, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite include the genetic testing fee, the federally mandated annual fee, and fees associated with statewide court operations referenced in 204 Pa. Code § 29.351.
Concerning subdivision (e), see Pa.R.Civ.P. 1960—1965 governing the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § § 7371—7398.
