Section 126. Citations of Authorities

A party citing authority that is not readily available shall attach the authority as an appendix to its filing. When citing authority, a party should direct the court’s attention to the specific part of the authority on which the party relies.

Official Note

Pa.R.A.P. 126 is intended to ensure that cited authority is readily available to the court and parties. This rule is not intended to supersede any internal operating procedure of an appellate court regarding the citation to memorandum decisions or unreported opinions. See, e.g., Superior Court Internal Operating Procedure § 37, 210 Pa. Code § 65.37; Pa.R.A.P. 3716 and Commonwealth Court Internal Operating Procedure § 414, 210 Pa. Code § 69.414.

The second sentence of the rule encourages parties to provide pinpoint citations for cases and section or subsection citations for statutes or rules.

Although the rule does not establish rules for citation, the following guidelines regarding the citation of Pennsylvania cases and statutes are offered for parties’ benefit:

Regarding cases, the rule does not require parallel citation to the National Reporter System and the official reports of the Pennsylvania appellate courts. Parties may cite to the National Reporter System alone.

Regarding statutes, Pennsylvania has officially consolidated only some of its statutes. Parties citing a statute enacted in the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes may use the format ‘‘1 Pa.C.S. § 1928.’’ Parties citing an unconsolidated statute may refer to the Pamphlet Laws or other official collection of the Legislative Reference Bureau, with a parallel citation to Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated, if available, using the format, ‘‘Act of February 14, 2008, P. L. 6, 65 P. S. § § 67.101—67.3104’’ or ‘‘Section 3(a) of the Act of May 16, 1923, P. L. 207, as amended, 53 P. S. § 7106(a).’’ Parties are advised that Purdon’s does not represent an official version of Pennsylvania statutes. In re Appeal of Tenet HealthSystems Bucks Cnty., LLC, 880 A.2d 721, 725-26 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005), appeal denied, 897 A.2d 1185 (Pa. 2006).

Prior to Pa.R.A.P. 126, the format for citation was discussed only in Pa.R.A.P. 2119(b), a rule applicable to briefs. The format guidelines above are not mandatory, and a party does not waive an argument merely by failing to follow the format. The guidelines above do, however, provide assistance to parties looking for generally acceptable citation format in Pennsylvania.

The provisions of this Rule 126 adopted November 24, 2015, effective January 1, 2016, 45 Pa.B. 6971.