Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Local Rules: Filing and Deadlines

The local rules of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas add filing, motion, case management, service, and electronic filing requirements on top of Pennsylvania’s statewide Rules of Civil Procedure, and those requirements vary by division and by case track. Getting a detail wrong can mean a rejected filing, a missed deadline, or dismissal, so knowing which rules apply and where to read them matters as much as knowing the substantive law of your claim.

Where the Current Rules Live

The authoritative source for the current text of every local rule is the First Judicial District’s website at courts.phila.gov, which hosts compiled PDFs for the Trial Division’s civil rules, criminal rules, Family Court rules, and Orphans’ Court rules. Each set is updated as amendments are adopted.

The rulebook is only half the picture. Administrative orders issued by the President Judge or the Administrative Judge of a division carry the same practical weight as permanent local rules, and they routinely modify procedures, impose temporary protocols, or change fees. Those orders are posted on the court’s website as they are issued. Checking recent administrative orders before you file is one of the easiest ways to avoid a preventable mistake.

Which Division’s Rules Apply

The Court of Common Pleas is split into three divisions, each with its own rulebook. A rule that governs civil litigation in the Trial Division has no bearing on a custody matter in Family Court, and vice versa. Identify the division first, then open the correct set of rules.

The Trial Division handles major civil litigation and criminal prosecutions where the potential sentence exceeds five years.
The Family Court Division covers divorce, custody, and juvenile matters, and maintains its own local rules tailored to those case types.
The Orphans’ Court Division oversees estates, trusts, guardianships, and matters involving incapacitated persons, with rules built around fiduciary litigation.

Case Management Tracks That Set Your Deadlines

Once a civil case is filed, Philadelphia channels it into a management program, and the program you’re placed in dictates the pace of the litigation.

Day Forward Major Jury Program

Most major civil jury cases fall under Day Forward, which assigns each case at an early case management conference to one of three tracks: Expedited, Standard, or Complex. Expedited cases are expected to reach trial within thirteen months of filing, Standard cases within nineteen months, and Complex cases within twenty-five months.¹ If you disagree with your track assignment, you can file a Motion for Extraordinary Relief asking the court to reconsider.

Commerce Program

Business disputes get specialized treatment under the Commerce Program, which covers corporate governance disputes, disputes between business entities, trade secrets, non-competes, intellectual property, securities claims, and business-related insurance coverage disputes, among other commercial matters.² Commerce cases are heard by judges with experience in complex business litigation.

Compulsory Arbitration

All civil actions with an amount in controversy of $50,000 or less must go through compulsory arbitration before a panel of three court-certified attorney arbitrators. Claims to real estate and requests for equitable relief are excluded.³ If a case filed as a major jury matter turns out to involve $50,000 or less, the case manager can recommend transfer to arbitration.¹

Either party can appeal an arbitration award and get a full trial de novo by filing within thirty days of the award being docketed. If nobody appeals within that window, the award becomes final and can be reduced to a judgment.³ Miss the thirty-day deadline and the appeal is gone.

Starting a Case: Cover Sheet and Fees

Every new civil action requires a Civil Cover Sheet capturing the amount in controversy (above or below $50,000), the court program the case belongs to (Arbitration, Jury, Non-Jury, Commerce, Mass Tort, and others), and a case type code identifying the nature of the claim.⁴ The program designation is not clerical trivia; it routes the case into a management track.

Filing fees depend on the action. A non-jury civil case costs $349.23 to file. Adding a jury demand raises the total to $597.17.⁵ The fee schedule is set by statute and updated through administrative orders, so check the current version before filing.

Motion Practice

Philadelphia’s motion rules are more structured than many litigants expect. Under Rule *208.3(b)(2), every non-discovery motion must include the following, filed in this specific order: a completed Petition/Motion Cover Sheet, a proposed order that does not identify the drafting attorney, and a brief or memorandum of law.⁶ The briefing requirement under Rule *208.2(c) applies to all motions except those seeking extraordinary relief.

Discovery motions follow a separate path. Before filing one, the moving party must certify that they made a good-faith attempt to resolve the dispute with the other side. On the day the discovery motion is argued, the filing party presents that certification to the Discovery Judge.⁶ Arriving without it invites immediate problems.

The filing fee for a motion is $67.68.⁵

Electronic Filing

All civil filings go through the First Judicial District’s Electronic Filing System at fjdefile.phila.gov.⁷ You create an account, select the case type, upload documents in PDF, and pay by credit card or electronic check. The system timestamps the filing and generates a receipt. That timestamp is your proof of when the court received the documents.

Pennsylvania’s statewide electronic filing rule, Pa. R.C.P. 205.4, requires filers to maintain signed hard copies of every electronically filed document for at least two years after the case concludes or the issue raised by the document is resolved on appeal, whichever is later. Any opposing party can demand to inspect the signed hard copy, and failure to produce it can result in sanctions.⁸ This is the sort of requirement people forget about until it matters.

By using the electronic filing system, you also certify that you’ve read and agree to comply with the applicable filing rules, including both the statewide and local electronic filing rules listed on the login page.⁷

Service of Process and Proof of Service

After filing, you have to serve the opposing party. Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 400.1 governs how original process is served in the First Judicial District. Within Philadelphia County, service can be made by the sheriff or by any competent adult. For service outside the county, you can use deputized service or have a competent adult forward the process to the sheriff of the county where service will be made.⁹ Rule 400.1 is a statewide Pennsylvania rule that addresses the First Judicial District specifically; it is not a Philadelphia local rule. The method of service is then governed by Pa. R.C.P. 402(a), which allows hand-delivery to the defendant personally, to an adult family member at the defendant’s residence, or to someone in charge at the defendant’s workplace, among other options.

After service, the serving party must file proof of service with the court. A judge cannot act on a matter without evidence that all parties were properly notified, and failing to file proof of service within the required timeframe can stall your case or lead to dismissal of a motion.

Emergency Motions

When a situation requires immediate court intervention, Philadelphia has a specific procedure. The motion’s title must state both what you’re asking for and that the matter is an emergency, and the body must explain why the situation qualifies, addressing factors like seriousness, urgency, irreversibility, and potential danger.¹⁰

Emergency motions can be filed through the electronic filing system or in person at the Civil Filing Center in Room 296 of City Hall during business hours (9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). After hours, the court posts emergency contact information on its news page. If you’re seeking an emergency preliminary injunction and no civil complaint has been filed yet, you must file one along with the motion. The standard $67.68 motion filing fee applies.¹⁰

Service on the opposing party is required, and proof of service must be filed with the case or presented at the hearing. Service must be made by a competent adult at least eighteen years old who is not a party, an employee of a party, or a relative of a party. Failing to provide proof of service can get the motion dismissed before a judge considers the merits.¹⁰

Fee Waivers for Filers Who Can’t Pay

If you cannot afford the filing fees, Pennsylvania allows you to petition to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). The petition is a sworn affidavit requiring detailed financial information: your employment status and income, your spouse’s income and employment, property you own (bank accounts, vehicles, real estate), your debts and monthly obligations, and information about your dependents.¹¹

There is no fixed income cutoff. You must demonstrate that your financial condition makes you unable to pay the fees and that you cannot obtain funds from family or associates to cover litigation costs. False statements on the petition carry criminal penalties under Pennsylvania’s unsworn falsification statute, and you have a continuing obligation to notify the court if your finances improve during the case.¹¹

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

The local rules aren’t suggestions, and the court enforces them in ways that can end a case. In the compulsory arbitration program, if all parties fail to appear at a scheduled hearing without previously obtaining a continuance or notifying the Arbitration Center director in writing that the case has settled, the case is non-prossed for failure to prosecute.⁶

Attorneys carry their own compliance obligations. A lawyer who wants to withdraw from a case must certify that no outstanding motions to compel discovery or discovery sanctions are pending and that every deadline in the applicable case management order has been met.⁶ The court will not let an attorney walk away from a case that’s in procedural disarray.

Beyond these specific provisions, the court retains broad discretion to impose sanctions for rule violations, including monetary penalties, preclusion of evidence, or adverse rulings on motions. The statewide electronic filing rule separately authorizes sanctions for failing to produce a signed hard copy of an e-filed document when demanded.⁸ Read the local rules before you file, check for recent administrative orders, and follow the requirements exactly.

1
The Philadelphia Courts. Day Forward Major Jury Program
2
The Philadelphia Courts. Criteria for Assignment of Cases to Commerce Program
3
The Philadelphia Courts. Compulsory Arbitration Program
4
The Philadelphia Courts. Civil Cover Sheet
5
The Philadelphia Courts. Office of Judicial Records Fee Schedule
6
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Trial Division – Civil Local Rules
7
First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Courts E-Filing User Log On
8
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 205.4 Electronic Filing and Service of Legal Papers
9
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Chapter 400 Service of Original Process – Rule 400.1
10
The Philadelphia Courts. Informational Guide for Emergency Motions
11
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis