Rule Text
(a) Execution shall be commenced by filing a praecipe for a writ of execution with the prothonotary of any county in which judgment has been entered. Except as otherwise prescribed by Rule 2963 governing a judgment entered by confession, the praecipe shall be in the form prescribed by Rule 3251.
(b) A writ issued by the prothonotary of the county in which judgment was entered originally or by transfer or certification from another court in the same county may be directed to the sheriff of any county within the Commonwealth.
(c) When a judgment is transferred to another county, a writ issued by the prothonotary of the transferee county may be directed only to the sheriff of his county.
(d) Writs may be issued at the same or different times or to the sheriffs of different counties without a prior return of any outstanding writ.
(e) Upon issuance of the writ the prothonotary shall transmit it directly to the sheriff to whom it is directed or upon plaintiff’s request deliver it to the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s representative for transmittal.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 3103 adopted March 30, 1960, effective November 1, 1960; amended April 1, 1996, effective July 1, 1996, 26 Pa.B. 1806; amended April 20, 1998, effective July 1, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 2026. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (213399) to (213400).
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 someone wins a court case and is owed money, they need to take extra steps to actually collect that money. This rule explains how to start that collection process. The person owed money files a form called a praecipe with the court clerk (called the prothonotary) in the county where the judgment was entered.
Once that form is filed, the court clerk issues a legal document called a writ of execution. This writ is sent to a sheriff, who can then take action to collect what is owed. Depending on which county issued the writ, it can be sent to sheriffs in different counties across Pennsylvania.
The person collecting the debt does not have to wait for one writ to be finished before starting another. Multiple writs can be sent to sheriffs in different counties at the same time. The court clerk will either send the writ directly to the sheriff or hand it to the person collecting the debt to deliver themselves.
Committee Notes
The following Acts of Assembly contain special procedures in connection with the issuance of the writ:
Section 428 of the Act approved June 2, 1915, P. L. 736, as amended, 77 P. S. § 951, providing for filing with the prothonotary an affidavit of default in payments before execution may issue on workmen’s compensation judgments.
Section 712 of the Act approved May 15, 1933, P. L. 565, as amended, 71 P. S. § 733-712 requiring leave of court for execution against a financial institution of which the Secretary of Banking is in possession as receiver.
Section 3377 of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3377, providing that execution may not issue on judgments against decedents other than on mortgages, ground rents or conditional sales of real or personal property without agreement in writing of the personal representative or approval of the Orphans’ Court.
The Soldier’s and Sailor’s Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix 520.
Rule 2959(a)(1) authorizes the defendant in a confessed judgment to move to open judgment either in the county of entry or of execution.
