How to Commit Someone in Pennsylvania: 302 Petition Process

To commit someone in Pennsylvania, you file a Section 302 emergency petition under the Mental Health Procedures Act, either by contacting your county’s mental health delegate or by involving a physician or police officer who has directly seen the dangerous behavior. The person you’re trying to commit must be “severely mentally disabled” and must have shown clear and present danger to themselves or others within the past 30 days. If a physician at the receiving facility agrees, the person can be held for up to 120 hours of evaluation and treatment.¹

First, Check Whether the Legal Criteria Are Met

Having a mental illness is not enough. Pennsylvania only permits involuntary commitment when a person’s mental illness has impaired their self-control, judgment, or ability to care for themselves so severely that they pose a clear and present danger to themselves or to others, and the dangerous behavior must have occurred within the past 30 days.²

Danger to others means the person has actually inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on someone in the past 30 days, and is reasonably likely to do it again.²

Danger to self covers three specific situations, again within the past 30 days:

Inability to meet basic needs: the person cannot provide their own food, shelter, medical care, or safety, and without treatment there’s a reasonable probability of death or serious physical harm within 30 days.
A suicide attempt, with a reasonable likelihood of another attempt without treatment.
Severe self-mutilation or an attempt at it, with a reasonable likelihood it will happen again without treatment.

If the behavior doesn’t fit one of these categories, or the last incident falls outside the 30-day window, a petition will not succeed.² Before you file, write down what you saw, when, and any witnesses. Specifics matter.

Ask About Voluntary Admission First

Any adult in Pennsylvania can voluntarily admit themselves to a mental health facility. Someone who agrees to treatment keeps more control over their care, including the right to leave (with some limitations if staff believe discharge would be unsafe) and the right to refuse specific medications. If refusing medication creates a dangerous situation, the facility can still initiate involuntary proceedings.³

If the person will agree, voluntary admission is usually easier on everyone and avoids the collateral consequences of an involuntary commitment. Involuntary commitment is the tool when the person refuses and meets the criteria above.

Who Can File a 302 Petition

Any responsible person who has directly witnessed the dangerous behavior can file. You do not need to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a police officer. Family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors all qualify as long as they have firsthand knowledge of what the person did within the past 30 days.

The Two Ways to Start the 302 Process

There are two routes to get someone taken to a facility for evaluation.

Through Your County Mental Health Delegate

Call your county’s mental health crisis line or mental health office and ask to speak with a delegate. Describe what you witnessed, when it happened, and why you believe the person is a danger. If the delegate agrees that the legal criteria are met, they authorize a warrant, and law enforcement or another authorized party transports the person to an approved facility for evaluation.

Through a Physician or Police Officer

A physician who examines the person, or a police officer who directly observes the dangerous conduct, can authorize transport to a facility without going through the county delegate first. The paperwork is completed after the person is in custody at the facility.

Either route ends at the same place: an approved facility, where a physician evaluates the person. If that physician finds the person is severely mentally disabled and in clear and present danger, the facility can hold them involuntarily for up to 120 hours (about five days) for emergency examination and treatment.¹

If Someone Is About to Get Hurt Right Now, Call 911

The delegate process is meant for situations serious enough to warrant commitment but not seconds away from harm. If someone is about to hurt themselves or another person, call 911. Ask for a Crisis Intervention Team officer if your county has one, and tell the dispatcher about any diagnoses, medications, and what specifically is happening so responding officers arrive prepared.

What Happens After the 120-Hour Hold

The initial hold is not the end of the process, and it helps to know the arc so you can prepare the person and the family.

If the facility believes the person still needs inpatient treatment after 120 hours, it files for extended involuntary emergency treatment under Section 303. The court appoints an attorney for the person (unless they hire one), and an informal hearing takes place within 24 hours, usually at the facility. A judge or a mental health review officer can certify up to 20 additional days.⁴

Beyond that, Section 304 allows the court of common pleas to order up to 90 more days of treatment after a formal hearing, and Section 305 allows further extensions of up to 180 days, or in some cases up to a year, with fresh findings each time.⁵⁶ At any point, if the facility concludes the person no longer needs inpatient care, it must either offer voluntary admission or discharge with an outpatient referral.⁷

Firearms Consequences You Should Know About

Anyone thinking about filing a 302 needs to understand this before signing. An involuntary commitment triggers firearms prohibitions, and families are often caught off guard.

Under Pennsylvania law, a person who has been involuntarily committed under Section 302, 303, or 304 is prohibited from possessing, using, selling, transferring, or manufacturing firearms in the Commonwealth. Even a single 120-hour Section 302 hold is enough to trigger the state ban.⁸ Pennsylvania does allow a person to petition the court under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105(f) for relief from the prohibition, with the court weighing factors like time elapsed, severity of the original crisis, current mental health, and community support.

Federal law separately bars anyone “committed to a mental institution” from possessing firearms or ammunition, with penalties up to 10 years in prison.⁹ Federal courts have found that a Section 302 emergency hold alone may not meet the federal definition, which excludes people held “for observation,” but longer commitments under Sections 303, 304, and 305 clearly do.¹⁰

Practically: if there are firearms in the household, address them before or immediately after the commitment. The state ban is triggered at the moment of commitment.

What the Facility Can Tell You After Admission

Families often expect a wall of silence once the person is admitted. HIPAA does apply, but it has exceptions built for exactly this situation.

When a provider believes a patient is a serious and imminent threat to themselves or others, HIPAA permits disclosure to law enforcement, family, or others who can help prevent harm, without the patient’s consent, under 45 CFR § 164.512(j). Separately, if the patient is incapacitated and cannot agree or object, a provider can share information relevant to a family member’s involvement in care if the provider judges it in the patient’s best interest.¹¹

Once the person stabilizes and can make their own decisions, normal HIPAA rules return. If they tell the facility not to share information with you, the facility has to honor that, even when it’s painful for the family.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. 1976 Act 143 – Section 302
2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Act No. 143 of 1976 – Mental Health Procedures Act
3
PA.gov. Mental Health Bulletin – Psychotropic Medication Procedures
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 50 P.S. 7303 – Extended Involuntary Emergency Treatment
5
Cornell Law School. 55 Pa. Code 5100.88 – Court-Ordered Involuntary Treatment Not to Exceed 90 Days
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. 1976 Act 143 – Section 305
7
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 55 Pa. Code 5100.87 – Extended Involuntary Emergency Treatment Not to Exceed 20 Days
8
PA.gov. 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6105 Prohibitors
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
10
ATF. Federal Firearms Prohibition Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4)
11
HHS.gov. HIPAA Privacy Rule and Sharing Information Related to Mental Health