Section 3302. Commencement. Notice

(a) The plaintiff shall commence an execution to attach wages by filing a praecipe with the prothonotary of a county in which judgment has been entered and in which the defendant resides, the defendant works or the residential real property which is the subject of the action is located. The praecipe shall be filed within five years of the date of the original judgment. The praecipe shall be in the form prescribed by Rule 3311.

(b) Upon the filing of the praecipe, the prothonotary shall issue a Notice of Intent to Attach Wages in the form prescribed by Rule 3312(a). The prothonotary shall attach to the notice a copy of both (1) the praecipe filed with the prothonotary for issuance of the Notice of Intent to Attach Wages and (2) the most recent poverty income guidelines issued by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services as they appear on the web site of the Civil Procedural Rules Committee.

Official Note

The web site of the Civil Procedural Rules Committee is part of the home page of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts at www.pacourts.org.

The poverty income guidelines set forth on the Committee web site which are to be attached to the Notice of Intent to Attach Wages are stated in monthly amounts.

(c) The Notice of Intent to Attach Wages shall be served upon the defendant in the manner provided by Rule 400 et seq. for service of original process in a civil action.

Official Note

The notice shall be served

(1) by the sheriff in the manner prescribed by Rule 402(a) for the service of original process upon a defendant, or

(2) pursuant to special order of court as prescribed by Rule 430 if service cannot be made as provided in paragraph (1) of this note.

The provisions of this Rule 3302 adopted December 21, 2005, effective one month after the date of the Order, 36 Pa.B. 176; amended July 16, 2012, effective immediately, 42 Pa.B. 4907. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (316418).