Section 108. Date of Entry of Orders

(a) General rule.

(1) Except as otherwise prescribed in this rule, in computing any period of time under these rules involving the date of entry of an order by a court or other government unit, the day of entry shall be the day the clerk of the court or the office of the government unit mails or delivers copies of the order to the parties, or if such delivery is not otherwise required by law, the day the clerk or office of the government unit makes such copies public. The day of entry of an order may be the day of its adoption by the court or other government unit, or any subsequent day, as required by the actual circumstances.

(2) When pursuant to law a determination of a government unit other than a court is deemed to have been made by reason of the expiration of a specified period of time after submission of a matter to the government unit or after another prior event, any person affected may treat the expiration of such period as equivalent to the entry of an order for the purposes of appeal (in which event the notice of appeal or other document seeking review shall set forth briefly facts showing the applicability of this paragraph) and shall so treat the expiration of the period where the person has actual knowledge (other than knowledge of the mere lapse of time) that the implied determination has occurred.

(b) Civil orders.—The date of entry of an order in a matter subject to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure shall be the day on which the clerk makes the notation in the docket that notice of entry of the order has been given as required by Pa. R.Civ.P. 236(b).

(c) Emergency appeals.—Notwithstanding Subdivisions (a) and (b) of this rule, an order subject to Rule 301(e) (emergency appeals) shall be deemed entered for the purposes of these rules when the party intending to appeal has complied with such rule to the extent practicable under the circumstances.

(d) Criminal orders.

(1) In determining the date of entry of criminal orders, subdivision (a)(1) shall apply except as provided in subparagraph (d)(2).

(2) In a criminal case in which no post-sentence motion has been filed, the date of imposition of sentence in open court shall be deemed to be the date of entry of the judgment of sentence.

Official Note

Based in part on 42 Pa.C.S. § 5572 (time of entry of order) (which is not applicable to appeals to or judicial review of quasijudicial orders by the Supreme, Superior or Commonwealth Courts; see 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(a) (appeals generally)) and 1 Pa. Code § 31.13. The purpose of this rule is to fix a date from which the time periods such as those set forth in Rules 903 (time for appeal), 1113 (time for petitioning for allowance of appeal), 1311 (interlocutory appeals by permission), 1512 (time for petitioning for review) and 2542 (time for application for reargument) shall be computed. Rule 5101(g) (statutes suspended) suspends all inconsistent statutes so that all appellate time periods are now computed on the same basis.

Subdivision (a)(2) is patterned after 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(c)(6) (implied determinations). See note to Rule 903 (time for appeal). The purpose of the provision is, on the one hand, to permit an aggrieved party to appeal immediately after the expiration of the period notwithstanding the failure of the government unit to take formal action, and on the other, to eliminate complicated calendar watching by forcing the government unit or another affected person to notify all parties of the expiration of the period as a prerequisite to commencement of the running of the appeal period for the purpose of the finality of the implied determination. See, e.g. Rule 1571(b)(3) (determinations of the Board of Finance and Revenue).

See Pa.R.A.P. 301(a)(1) and (2), Pa.R.A.P. 903(c)(3), and Pa.R.Crim. P. 462, 720, and 721 governing criminal appeals.

Explanatory Comment—1979

Where a determination is implied by the passage of time without action by a government unit, an aggrieved party is given the option either to appeal at once at the expiration of the period or to rely on the government unit or other affected person to give notice that an implied determination has been made.

Explanatory Comment—2007

New subdivision (d) governs criminal appeals. Under new subdivision (d), when no post-sentence motion is filed, the time for appeal begins to run from the date of imposition of sentence. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 462(G)(2), 720(A)(3) and (D), and 721(B)(2)(a)(ii), and the conforming amendments to Pa.R.A.P. 301(a)(2) and 903(c)(3), and 2006 Explanatory Comment thereto. See also Commonwealth v. Green, 862 A.2d 613 (Pa. Super. 2004) (en banc), allocatur denied, 584 Pa. 692, 882 A.2d 477 (2005). When post-sentence motions are denied by operation of law, the appeal period shall run from the date of entry of the order denying the motion by operation of law. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 720(B)(3)(c).

The provisions of this Rule 108 amended December 11, 1978, effective December 30, 1978, 8 Pa.B. 3802; amended May 16, 1979, effective September 30, 1979, 9 Pa.B. 1740; amended February 27, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 1038, effective date as set forth at 10 Pa.B. 1038; amended January 18, 2007, effective August 1, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 521. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (321596) and (303523).