How to Complete the Pennsylvania Notice to Defend and Divorce Complaint

To file a Pennsylvania divorce complaint, you download the version of the Notice to Defend and Divorce Complaint that matches your legal grounds, fill in your marriage and residency details along with any economic claims you want to preserve, file the signed original plus copies with the Prothonotary in your county with the filing fee, and then serve your spouse within 30 days. The Unified Judicial System publishes free standardized forms for each set of grounds, and using those forms is the most reliable way to get past the filing window on the first try.

Pick the Complaint That Matches Your Grounds

Pennsylvania has separate complaint forms for each ground listed in 23 Pa. C.S. § 3301, and choosing wrong means refiling.¹ Almost everyone filing today uses one of two no-fault paths.

Section 3301(c) is mutual consent: both spouses agree the marriage is irretrievably broken. A 90-day waiting period runs from service, then both sign affidavits of consent. The PA courts website offers two sub-versions, labeled 3301(c)(1) and 3301(c)(2).²

Section 3301(d) is irretrievable breakdown after separation. You and your spouse must have lived separate and apart for at least one year, and you do not need your spouse’s cooperation. If your separation began before December 5, 2016, the older two-year requirement applies.²

Section 3301(a) covers fault grounds such as adultery, desertion for at least one year, or conduct that endangered the filing spouse’s life or health. Fault cases require a hearing and are more involved.¹

Gather the Information Rule 1920.12 Requires

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1920.12 sets out what the complaint must contain. Have all of this in hand before opening the form:³

Full legal names of both spouses, including maiden names if applicable.
Your current address and your spouse’s last known address. If you do not know where your spouse lives, you will need the names and addresses of relatives or others likely to know.
Date and place of the marriage (city, county, and state).
Residency: at least one spouse must have lived in Pennsylvania for six continuous months immediately before filing.
Prior divorce or annulment actions between the two of you, with court, case number, and outcome.
A counseling statement, required in 3301(c) and 3301(d) cases, saying you have been advised of the availability of counseling.

If minor children are involved, you must also provide information under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act: each child’s current address, where the child has lived for the past five years, and the names of anyone the child has lived with during that time.⁴

Decide on Economic Claims Before You File

This is the part that catches people off guard. If the divorce becomes final before you have asked the court in writing for property distribution, alimony, or other economic relief, you can permanently lose the right to those claims. Decide at the complaint stage whether to include counts for equitable distribution, alimony, counsel fees, or related relief. Each additional count added to the complaint increases the filing fee, but skipping a count you actually need can cost far more later.

Fill Out the Notice to Defend and Claim Rights

The filed document is three parts stacked together: the Notice to Defend and Claim Rights on top, the complaint in the middle, and a verification statement at the bottom.⁵

The Notice to Defend and Claim Rights is prescribed by Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1920.71, not the general civil Notice to Defend under Rule 1018.1. The divorce version carries language the general civil version does not, including a specific warning that the defendant may lose the right to claim alimony, property division, or attorney’s fees if those claims are not filed before the divorce is granted.⁶

On the standardized form, this language is already printed. You fill in the county name, the Prothonotary’s office location, and the local lawyer referral service or legal aid contact. Do not reword the notice. Rule 1920.12 requires the complaint to begin with a notice “substantially in the form” prescribed, and a Prothonotary may refuse a filing that deviates from it.³

Fill Out the Complaint

The complaint section is a series of numbered paragraphs with blanks:

Caption: the Court of Common Pleas for your county, both parties’ names, and the case division (typically “Civil Action — Divorce”).
Paragraph 1: your full legal name and current residential address.
Paragraph 2: your spouse’s full legal name and last known residential address.
Paragraph 3: the date of marriage and the city, county, and state where the ceremony took place.
Paragraph 4: a statement that you, your spouse, or both have lived in Pennsylvania for at least six continuous months before filing.
Paragraph 5 (grounds): the specific section of 23 Pa. C.S. § 3301 you are filing under. A 3301(c) complaint states the marriage is irretrievably broken and both parties consent. A 3301(d) complaint states the parties have lived separate and apart for at least one year. A fault complaint briefly describes the facts supporting the claim.¹
Prior actions: any earlier divorce or annulment filings between you and your spouse in any court.
Relief requested: at minimum, that the court grant a divorce. List each additional count you want — equitable distribution, alimony, counsel fees, custody.

If a section does not apply, mark it “N/A” rather than leaving it blank. Handwritten entries should be printed clearly in black ink.

Sign the Verification

The verification statement at the bottom of the form has you swear that the facts in the complaint are true and correct, subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 for unsworn falsification. Sign and date it. A complaint filed without a completed verification can be rejected or challenged.⁷

Keep Sensitive Numbers Off the Complaint

Pennsylvania’s Case Records Public Access Policy keeps Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, driver’s license numbers, and state identification numbers out of publicly filed documents. If any of those identifiers are needed for the case, they go on a separate Confidential Information Form filed at the same time as the complaint, not in the complaint itself.⁸

When you need to reference one of these numbers in the complaint, use a placeholder such as “SSN 1” or “FAN 1” and put the real number on the CIF. Parties, attorneys, and the court can see the CIF; the public docket cannot.

File with the Prothonotary

File the complaint package with the Prothonotary (in some counties called the Office of Judicial Records) in the county where you or your spouse lives. Under Rule 1920.2, venue is proper in the county where either spouse resides, or in a county both parties agree to in writing.⁹

Bring the signed original plus at least two copies. The Prothonotary stamps each document with the filing date and a docket number, keeps the original, and returns stamped copies — one for your records, one to serve on your spouse.⁵ Some counties require a local cover sheet. Call ahead.

Filing Fees

Fees vary by county and depend on how many counts the complaint includes. A basic divorce complaint with no additional claims runs roughly $190 to $335. Allegheny County charges a base fee of $191.75, plus $173.50 for a custody count and $46.25 for each additional count.¹⁰ Lancaster County’s base fee is $236 with additional charges for alimony and equitable distribution counts.¹¹ Philadelphia charges $333.73 and does not accept cash or personal checks, only money orders, credit cards, and debit cards.¹²

If you cannot afford the fee, file a Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis at the same time as the complaint. The petition asks you to disclose income and expenses so the court can decide whether to waive the fee.¹³

Serve Your Spouse Within 30 Days

Filing opens the case. The case cannot move forward until your spouse has a copy. Pennsylvania Rule 1930.4 gives you three service methods:¹⁴

Mail. Send the documents by both first-class regular mail and certified mail to your spouse’s last known address. The certified mail must be restricted to the addressee, with a return receipt requested (electronic receipts qualify). Sending only certified mail is not enough.¹⁵
Personal service. A sheriff or any competent adult who is not a party to the case can hand-deliver the documents.
Acceptance of Service. If your spouse cooperates, they sign an Acceptance of Service form and you skip the mail or process server entirely.¹⁶

You have 30 days after filing to complete service within Pennsylvania. If that window passes without service, the complaint is not dead: you file a praecipe to reinstate it, which opens another 30-day window.¹⁷

After service, file proof with the Prothonotary. The form you use depends on the method — an Affidavit of Service by Certified Mail, an Affidavit of Service for personal delivery, or the signed Acceptance of Service. Standardized versions of each are on the PA courts website. Nothing else happens in the case until this proof is on file.¹⁶

What Happens After Service

For a 3301(c) mutual consent divorce, a 90-day waiting period starts the day your spouse is served — the date they sign for the certified mail or sign the Acceptance of Service form. After 90 days, both spouses sign Affidavits of Consent. Each signed affidavit must be filed within 30 days of signing, or it has to be re-signed and re-filed.¹⁸

For a 3301(d) divorce, there is no 90-day wait, but the one-year separation must have already elapsed before you filed. After service, the plaintiff files a 3301(d) Affidavit stating the parties have lived apart for at least one year. The defendant can file a Counter-Affidavit denying the allegations, which triggers a hearing.¹

If You Were Served with a Complaint

If you are the defendant, you have 20 days from the date of service to file a written response. The Notice to Defend on the first page of the complaint tells you so directly: if you do not act, the case may proceed without you and a decree may be entered in your absence.¹⁹

Read the warning about economic claims carefully. If the divorce becomes final before you file written claims for alimony, property division, or counsel fees, you may permanently lose the right to them. The Notice to Defend and Claim Rights states this in capital letters. If you want any share of marital assets or spousal support, file those claims promptly.⁶

The PA courts website has the forms defendants typically need, including a Counter-Affidavit for contesting the grounds and a Self-Represented Party Entry of Appearance. Local procedures vary, so confirm what your county’s Prothonotary requires before you file anything.²

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23 Pa.C.S. 3301 – Grounds for Divorce
2
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Divorce Proceedings
3
Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 231 Pa. Code r. 1920.12 – Complaint
4
Justia. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – Chapter 54 – Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement
5
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Divorce Procedure
6
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Form 1 – Notice to Defend and Divorce Complaint
7
Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 231 Pa. Code r. 1024 – Verification
8
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Confidential Information Form
9
Pennsylvania Code. 231 Pa. Code Rule 1920.2 – Venue
10
Allegheny County, PA. Family Division Fees
11
Lancaster County, PA – Official Website. Family Matters
12
Philadelphia Courts. Divorce in Philadelphia County
13
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Form 2 – Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
14
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 231 Pa. Code Rule 1930.4 – Service of Original Process in Domestic Relations Matters
15
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Affidavit of Service by Certified Mail
16
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Divorce Procedure in Pennsylvania
17
Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 231 Pa. Code r. 401 – Time for Service, Reissuance, Reinstatement, and Substitution of Original Process
18
Philadelphia Courts. Divorce Procedure
19
Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 231 Pa. Code r. 1026 – Time for Filing, Notice to Plead