Collect a small claims judgment in Pennsylvania

The steps

1. Wait 30 days. Rule 402

   You can ask for execution once 30 days have passed since the magisterial district judge entered the judgment. Source

2. File a Request for Order of Execution. MDJS 305ABL

   File it in the magisterial district judge's office where the judgment was entered, within five years. Source

3. The officer levies.

   The order directs the sheriff or a certified constable to levy on (take) their property and sell it to pay the judgment, interest and costs. Source

4. Or move it to Common Pleas.

   After 30 days and within five years, you can enter the judgment in the Court of Common Pleas of any county (or the Philadelphia Municipal Court) by filing a certified copy of the record with the prothonotary. From then on it is enforced under that court's rules. Source

5. Don't let five years pass.

   If you neither ask for execution nor enter the judgment in Common Pleas within five years, it is marked expired. Source

These steps are for judgments from a magisterial district judge, where most small claims are heard outside Philadelphia. Free help and your court's own forms: start here. General information, not legal advice. Ask a lawyer before you act on it.

Sources

Every step above was checked on October 23, 2026 against these pages. Fees and forms change; your court's clerk has the current ones.

• Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. 402 (Cornell LII)
• Request for Order of Execution form (pacourts.us)

Guides for Pennsylvania

Writ of Execution After a Small Claims Judgment, by State Renew a Small Claims Judgment Before It Expires, by State

Other states

California Texas Florida New York