Rule 103. PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTION, FILING AND PUBLISHING RULES

(a) Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (a)(3), the initial recommendation of a 

proposed [Rule] rule[,] or proposed [Rule] amendment, [(]including the 

explanatory note that is to accompany the [Rule] rule,[)] shall be distributed by 

the proposing Rules Committee to the [Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania 

Bulletin for publication therein. The publication notification shall contain a 

statement to the effect that comments regarding the proposed [Rule] rule or 

amendment are invited and should be sent directly to the proposing Rules 

Committee within a specified period of time. 

(2) Written comments, suggestions or objections relating to the proposed 

[Rule] rule or amendment shall be sent directly to the proposing Rules 

Committee within a specified number of days after the [Rules’] publication of the 

rule or amendment in the [Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania Bulletin, and 

any such commentary shall be reviewed by the said Committee prior to action on 

the proposal by the Supreme Court. Any further proposals which are based upon 

the commentary so received need not be, but may be, published in the manner 

prescribed [herein] in subdivision (a)(1). 

(3) A proposed rule or amendment may be promulgated even though it has 

not been previously distributed and published in the manner required by 

subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(2), where exigent circumstances require the 

immediate adoption of the proposal; or where the proposed amendment is of a 

typographical or perfunctory nature; or where in the discretion of the Supreme 

Court such action is otherwise required in the interests of justice or efficient 

administration. 

(b) Rules adopted by the Supreme Court. 

(1) Rules adopted by the Supreme Court shall be filed in the office of the 

Prothonotary of the Supreme Court [and in the Administrative Office]. 

(2) After an order adopting a rule or amendment has been filed with the 

Prothonotary of the Supreme Court, the Prothonotary shall forward a certified 

copy of the order and rule or amendment to: 

(i) The publisher of the official version of Supreme Court decisions 

and opinions who shall cause it to be printed in the first available volume 

of the State Reports. 
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(ii) The prothonotaries or clerks of all courts, which may be affected 

thereby, and thereupon the order and rule or amendment shall be 

published by such prothonotaries or clerks in the same manner as local 

rules adopted by such courts. 

(iii) The Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the 

[Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania Bulletin. 

 (iv) The Administrative Office. 

(c) Rules of judicial administration adopted by other courts and by agencies of the 

System. 

(1) As used in this subdivision, “local rule” shall include every rule, 

administrative order, regulation, directive, policy, custom, usage, form, or order of 

general application, however labeled or promulgated, which is adopted or 

enforced by a court, council, committee, board, commission or other agency of 

the unified judicial system to govern judicial administration [practice or 

procedure but shall not include a rule of civil, domestic relations, criminal, 

or juvenile procedure]. This subdivision shall also apply to any 

amendment of a local rule.

(2) Local [R]rules shall not be inconsistent with any general rule of the 

Supreme Court or any Act of Assembly. 

(3) When a local rule under this subdivision corresponds to a [statewide] 

general rule, the local rule shall be given a number that is keyed to the number 

of the [statewide] general rule. 

(4) Reserved.

[(4)](5) All local rules shall be published in the [Pennsylvania Bulletin]

Pennsylvania Bulletin to be effective and enforceable. 

(i) Reserved.

[(i)](ii) The adopting court or agency shall distribute two [certified] paper 

copies of the local rule to the Legislative Reference Bureau for 

publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The adopting court or 

agency also shall distribute to the Legislative Reference Bureau

[and] a copy of the local rule on a computer diskette, [or on a] CD-ROM,

or other agreed upon alternate format that complies with the 

requirements of 1 Pa. Code § 13.11(b) [to the Legislative Reference 
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Bureau, or agreed upon alternate format, for publication in the 

Pennsylvania Bulletin]. 

[(ii)](iii) The effective date of the local rule shall not be less than 30 days 

after the date of publication of the local rule in the [Pennsylvania 

Bulletin] Pennsylvania Bulletin. 

[(5)](6) Contemporaneously with publishing the local rule in the 

[Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania Bulletin, the adopting court or agency 

shall [file one certified copy of the rule with the Administrative Office of 

Pennsylvania Courts. The Administrative Office shall assign a serial 

number to the rule, and shall note on the rule the serial number and the 

date of filing. A copy of the rule shall be available for public inspection and 

copying immediately upon filing.]:

(i) file one copy of the local rule with the Administrative Office;

(ii) publish a copy of the local rule on the website of the court or 

county in which the adopting court has jurisdiction; and

(iii) thereafter compile the local rule within the complete set of 

local rules no later than 30 days following publication in the 

Pennsylvania Bulletin.

[(6)](7) [The rules shall be kept continuously available for public 

inspection and copying in the office of the prothonotary or clerk of courts 

of the adopting court.] A compilation of local rules shall be kept 

continuously available for public inspection and copying in the respective 

filing office and on the website of the adopting court or county in which the 

adopting court has jurisdiction. Upon request and payment of reasonable 

costs of reproduction and mailing, the [prothonotary or clerk] respective court 

office shall furnish [to] a[ny] person with a copy of any local rule.

[(7)](8) No pleading or other legal paper shall be refused for filing by the 

prothonotary or clerk of courts based on a requirement of a local rule unrelated 

to the payment of filing fees. No case shall be dismissed nor request for relief 

granted or denied because of failure to initially comply with a local rule. In any

case of noncompliance with a local rule, the court shall alert the party to the 

specific provision at issue and provide a reasonable time for the party to comply 

with the local rule.
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[This is an entirely new subdivision.]

(d) Rules of procedure adopted by other courts of the System.

(1) For the purpose of this subdivision, the term ‘‘local rule’’ shall include 

every rule, administrative order, regulation, directive, policy, custom, usage, form 

or order of general application, however labeled or promulgated, which is 

adopted by a court of common pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court-Criminal 

Division, and the Philadelphia Municipal Court-Traffic Division, to govern practice 

and procedure. This subdivision shall also apply to any amendment of a local 

rule.

(2) Local rules shall not be inconsistent with any general rule of the Supreme 

Court or any Act of Assembly. A Rules Committee, at any time, may recommend 

that the Supreme Court suspend, vacate, or require amendment of a local rule. 

(3) Local rules shall be given numbers that are either keyed to the number of 

the general rules to which the local rules correspond or assigned by the general 

rules. 

(4) All proposed local rules shall be submitted in writing to the appropriate 

Rules Committee for review. The adopting court shall not proceed with the 

proposed local rule until it receives written notification from the appropriate Rules 

Committee that the proposed local rule is not inconsistent with any general rule 

of the Supreme Court. 

(5) All local rules shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin to be 

effective and enforceable. 

(i) The adopting court shall not publish the local rule in the 

Pennsylvania Bulletin until it has received the written notification pursuant 

to subdivision (d)(4). 

(ii) The adopting court shall distribute two paper copies of the local rule 

to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania 

Bulletin. The adopting court also shall distribute to the Legislative 

Reference Bureau a copy of the local rule on a computer diskette, CDROM, or other agreed upon alternate format that complies with the 

requirements of 1 Pa. Code § 13.11(b). 

(iii) The effective date of the local rule shall not be less than 30 days 

after the date of publication of the local rule in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. 
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(6) Contemporaneously with publishing the local rule in the Pennsylvania 

Bulletin, the adopting court shall: 

(i) file one copy of the local rule with the Administrative Office;

(ii) publish a copy of the local rule on the website of the court or county 

in which the adopting court has jurisdiction; and

(iii) incorporate the local rule in the complete set of local rules no later 

than 30 days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

(7) A compilation of local rules shall be kept continuously available for public 

inspection and copying in the respective filing office and on the website of the 

adopting court or county in which the adopting court has jurisdiction. Upon 

request and payment of reasonable costs of reproduction and mailing, the 

respective court office shall furnish a person with a copy of any local rule. 

(8) No pleading or other legal paper shall be refused for filing based upon a 

requirement of a local rule. No case shall be dismissed nor request for relief 

granted or denied because of failure to initially comply with a local rule. In any

case of noncompliance with a local rule, the court shall alert the party to the 

specific provision at issue and provide a reasonable time for the party to comply 

with the local rule.

Official Note: The purpose of subdivisions (c) and (d) is to further the policy of the 

Supreme Court to implement the Unified Judicial System under the Constitution 

of 1968 and to facilitate the statewide practice of law under the Court’s general 

rules. Local rules of judicial administration and local rules of procedure should 

not repeat general rules or statutory provisions verbatim or substantially 

verbatim nor should local rules make it difficult for attorneys to practice law in 

several counties. The provisions of subdivision (d) apply to local rules of 

procedure, but not to case-specific orders. 

The caption or other words used as a label or designation shall not determine whether 

something is or establishes a rule; if the definition in [paragraph] subdivisions (c)(1) 

or (d)(1) [of this rule] is satisfied, the matter is a rule regardless of what it may be 

called. Local rules “adopted by a court of common pleas” in subdivision (d)(1) is 

intended to include those local rules of procedure for proceedings before a 

magisterial district judge.
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[The provisions of this rule also are intended to apply to any amendments to a 

rule. Nothing in this rule is intended to apply to case-specific orders.

Pursuant to paragraph (c)(1), local rules of civil, domestic relations, criminal, and 

juvenile procedure are not included within the scope of this rule. The procedures 

for adopting, filing, and publishing local rules of criminal, juvenile, domestic 

relations and civil procedure are governed by Rule of Criminal Procedure 105, 

Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure 121 and 1121, and Rules of Civil Procedure 

239, 239.8 and 239.9.]

To simplify the use of rules, [paragraph (c)(3) requires] local rules are to be given 

numbers that are keyed to the number of the general rules to which the rules 

correspond unless numbers are specifically assigned. See, e.g., Pa.R.C.P. No. 

239.1-239.7. This requirement is not intended to apply to local rules that govern 

general business of the court or agency and which do not correspond to a statewide 

rule. 

[To further facilitate the statewide practice of law and accessibility by the public, 

the adopting court or agency should post and update its rules on its website.]

Subdivision (d)(4) requires that, before publishing a local rule of procedure or 

proceeding with any of the other requirements, the adopting court must submit 

all proposed local rules of procedure to the appropriate Rules Committee. For 

administrative convenience, proposed local rules of procedure may be sent to 

one email address (rulescommittees@pacourts.us) where the proposal will be 

distributed to the appropriate Rules Committee. Subdivision (d)(4) emphasizes 

that the adopting court must comply with all the provisions of this subdivision 

before any local rule will be effective and enforceable. 

[Paragraph (c)(4) requires the rule to be] To be effective, all local rules shall be

published in the [Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania Bulletin [to be effective]. 

Pursuant to 1 Pa. Code § 13.11(b)—(f), any documents that are submitted for 

publication must be accompanied by a diskette or CD-ROM formatted in MS-DOS, 

ASCII, Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect. The diskette or CD-ROM must be labeled with 

the court’s or agency’s name and address and the rule’s computer file name. Section 

13.11(e) provides that documents may be accepted in an alternate format if it is 

requested by the court or agency and agreed upon by the Legislative Reference 

Bureau. 

Although [under paragraph (c)(4)(ii)] a local rule shall not be effective until at least 30 

days after the date of publication in the [Pennsylvania Bulletin] Pennsylvania 

Bulletin, when a situation arises that requires immediate action, the court or agency 
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may act by specific orders governing particular matters in the interim before an 

applicable local rule becomes effective. 

[Paragraph (c)(5) requires o]One copy of the local rule must also [to] be filed with 

the Administrative Office. When rules are forwarded to the Administrative Office, the 

adopting court or agency should indicate whether the rules have been distributed to the 

Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the [Pennsylvania Bulletin and, if 

appropriate, submitted to the Criminal, Juvenile, Domestic Relations or Civil 

Procedural Rules Committees pursuant to their respective rules] Pennsylvania 

Bulletin. For administrative convenience, local rules of procedure and judicial 

administration may be sent to adminrules@pacourts.us for filing.

New or amended local rules shall be timely compiled into the set of local rules to

further facilitate the statewide practice of law, increase accessibility by the public, 

and maintain the currency of the requirement set forth in subdivisions (c)(7) and

(d)(7).

Subdivisions (c)(7) and (d)(7) require that a separate consolidated set of local 

rules be maintained in the filing office, which may be the prothonotary, clerk of 

courts, clerk of orphans’ court, or domestic relations section depending on the 

type of proceeding, and on the website of the adopting court or the county in 

which the adopting court has jurisdiction. It is intended that a complete and upto-date set of local rules will be maintained on the website of the adopting court

or the county in which the adopting court has jurisdiction.

[The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts maintains a website 

containing local court rules at: http://www.pacourts.us/courts/supremecourt/committees/rules-committees/local-rules-for-common-pleas-andmagisterial-district-courts/ 

The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts also maintains a website 

containing all local criminal rules adopted or amended after February 1, 2009, 

local juvenile rules, and local civil rules adopted pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 239.8 and 

239.9 at: http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/localrules/ruleselection.aspx]

The Administrative Office maintains a web page linking to the websites of the 

courts of common pleas. That web page is located at 

http://www.pacourts.us/courts/courts-of-common-pleas/individual-county-courts. 

Under subdivision (c)(8) a filing may be rejected if it is not accompanied by the 

necessary filing fee unless a fee waiver request is pending or granted. See, e.g., 

Pa.R.C.P. No. 240.
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Rule 1952. EMERGENCY ACTIONS, DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES

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(B) Role of the President Judge

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(5) During an emergency, the provisions of any statewide procedural rules that 

require submission of local rules, including administrative orders, to the Supreme 

Court, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, a statewide procedural 

rules committee, or the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the 

Pennsylvania Bulletin, shall not apply to any local rules or administrative orders 

issued in response to the emergency. The president judge of the affected judicial 

district shall inform the Supreme Court of any local rule or administrative order 

issued under this paragraph as soon as practicable.

Note: See [Pa.R.C.P. No. 239, Pa.R.Crim.P. 105, and Pa.R.J.C.P. 121] 

Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(c) and (d) for local rule adoption procedures.

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