Section 402. Request for Order of Execution. Entry of Judgment in Court of Common Pleas

A. Execution of a judgment for the payment of money rendered by a magisterial district judge may be ordered by a magisterial district judge in whose office the judgment was rendered or entered, provided the plaintiff files in that office

(1) not before the expiration of 30 days from the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge, and

(2) within five years of that date,a request for an order of execution.

B. The request form shall be attached to the order, return and other matters required by these rules.

C. The plaintiff may enter the judgment, for the purpose of requesting an order of execution thereon, in an office of a magisterial district judge other than that in which it was rendered only if levy is to be made outside the county in which the judgment was rendered and the office in which the judgment is entered for execution is that of the magisterial district judge whose magisterial district is situated in the county in which levy is to be made.

The plaintiff may enter the judgment in such other office by filing therein a copy of the record of the proceedings containing the judgment, certified to be a true copy by the magisterial district judge in whose existing office the judgment was rendered or by any other official custodian of the record.

D. (1) The plaintiff may enter the judgment in the court of common pleas in any county. When so entered, the indexing, revival and execution of the judgment shall be in accordance with procedures applicable in the court of common pleas.

(2) The judgment may be entered in the court of common pleas by filing with the prothonotary a copy of the record of the proceedings containing the judgment, certified to be a true copy by the magisterial district judge in whose office the judgment was rendered or by any other official custodian of the record.

(3) The judgment may be entered in the court of common pleas after 30 days from the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. The judgment may not be entered in the court of common pleas after five years from the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge.

(4)(a) Within 14 days of entering the judgment in the court of common pleas, the plaintiff shall file satisfactory proof of the entry of judgment with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court shall vacate the judgment from its docket.

(b) If after 14 days of entering the judgment in the court of common pleas, the plaintiff fails to comply with subparagraph 4(a) of this rule, the defendant may file such proof with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court shall vacate the judgment from its docket.

(5) Except as provided in paragraphs D(4) and D(6) of this rule, once the judgment is entered in the court of common pleas all further process must come from the court of common pleas and no further process may be issued by the magisterial district judge.

(6) The magisterial district judge shall enter satisfaction on the docket of the magisterial district court proceedings upon the filing by any party in interest of a certified copy of the docket entries of the court of common pleas showing the judgment and satisfaction have been entered in the court of common pleas.

E. (1) As used in this rule, a judgment marked ‘‘expired’’ is a judgment that cannot be satisfied, revived, or vacated because the five-year period designated in Rule 402 has elapsed.

(2) If the plaintiff does not request an order of execution in a magisterial district court or enter the judgment in a court of common pleas within five years of the date the judgment was entered by the magisterial district judge, then the judgment shall be marked expired.

Official Note

Under subdivision A of this rule, the execution proceedings are commenced by requesting an ‘‘order of execution.’’ The request may not be filed before the expiration of 30 days after the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. This will give the defendant an opportunity to obtain a supersedeas within the appeal period. The request must be filed within five years of the date the judgment is entered by the magisterial district judge. No provision has been made for revival of a judgment in magisterial district court proceedings.

Subdivision C provides for entering the judgment, for the purpose of requesting an order of execution, in an office of a magisterial district judge other than that in which the judgment was rendered when levy is to be made outside the county in which the judgment was rendered. Compare Pa. R.C.P. No. 3002.

As to subdivision D, see Section 1516 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 1516. The 30 day limitation in the rule appears to be required by this Section. Certification by the magisterial dis-trict judge should not be done before the expiration of 30 days after the date of entry of the judgment. The only method available to renew a judgment would be to record the judgment in the Prothonotary’s office prior to the expiration of the five-year period and then follow the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure for the revival of judgments. See Pa. R.C.P. No. 3025 et seq. Also, subdivision D makes clear that when the judgment is entered in the court of common pleas, all further process shall come from the court of common pleas and that no further process shall be issued by the magisterial district judge except that the magisterial district judge shall enter on the magisterial district court docket vacating of the judgment due its entry at the court of common pleas, or proof of satisfaction of a judgment that had been entered in the court of common pleas and subsequently satisfied in that court. This exception is necessary so that procedures exist for entering satisfaction of all judgments with the magisterial district court, regardless of whether the judgment has been certified to and satisfied in the court of common pleas. A plaintiff filing a judgment in the court of common pleas is required to file satisfactory proof of the entry of judgment with the magisterial district court that entered the judgment, and the magisterial district court will then vacate its judgement. This step ensures that only the enforceable common pleas judgment will be reportable as an outstanding liability of the defendant.

Subdivision E provides that a judgment shall be marked expired if the plaintiff does not request an order of execution in a magisterial district court or enter the judgment in a court of common pleas within five years of the date the judgment was entered by the magisterial district judge. Limiting the time period for entry of the judgment to five years will give a plaintiff sufficient time to act without indefinitely penalizing a defendant.

The provisions of this Rule 402 amended through April 25, 1979, effective May 25, 1979, 9 Pa.B. 1499; amended March 27, 1992, effective 90 days from the date on which the Order is signed, 22 Pa.B. 1893 and 1900; amended December 15, 2000, effective January 1, 2001, 30 Pa.B. 6882; amended April 5, 2002, effective January 1, 2003, 32 Pa.B. 2199; amended September 26, 2013, effective December 25, 2013, 43 Pa.B. 5989. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (335206) and (311781) to (311782).