How Custody Court Works in Pennsylvania

Which court hears your case

Custody cases in Pennsylvania are heard by the court of common pleas of a county. The caption on every paper starts “In the Court of Common Pleas of ____ County, Pennsylvania” (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.1(a)). The procedure is set by Rules 1915.1 to 1915.25 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, which govern all actions for legal and physical custody, including a custody claim made inside a divorce case (Rule 1915.1(a)). The custody statute itself is Chapter 53 of Title 23, 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 5321 to 5340.

The Unified Judicial System warns that self-represented parties are held to the same standards as attorneys and must follow both the statewide rules and their county’s local rules. It also says that if its self-help page and the rules differ, the rules prevail.

The offices you will deal with

• The prothonotary. The custody rules direct filings such as the Criminal Record/Abuse History Verification form to the prothonotary (Rule 1915.3-2(a)(2)), a term that includes the equivalent officer in counties without one (Rule 76). The Unified Judicial System tells parents to take custody forms to the designated office in the county courthouse and calls this records office the Prothonotary or Office of Judicial Records.
• The domestic relations section. Every court of common pleas has one, and it is the filing office for child support, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite (Rule 1910.4(a)). It also establishes paternity and determines and enforces support orders (Rule 1910.1(c)(3)). Custody and support are separate actions with separate filings.
• Court administration. County procedures for getting conference and hearing dates vary. The instructions to the statewide contempt notice (Form 7) tell you to check county rules or contact the court administrator’s office.

The people who may handle your case

• A conference officer, who presides over an office conference. The rules treat a conciliator as the same thing (Rule 1915.1(b)).
• A hearing officer, a lawyer who conducts a record hearing in a partial custody case, in counties that use that procedure (Rules 1915.1(b) and 1915.4-2(b)).
• A mediator, who helps parents try to reach agreement outside the court process (Rules 1915.1(b) and 1940.2).
• The judge, who decides the case if it does not settle.
• Sometimes a guardian ad litem (a licensed attorney or licensed mental health professional who represents the child’s best interest, Rule 1915.11-2) or an attorney for the child (who represents the child’s legal interest, Rule 1915.11(a)).

Your county decides the first steps

A custody action proceeds under Rule 1915.4-3, with an initial non-record office conference followed by a trial before a judge, unless the county adopts by local rule the alternative procedure in Rule 1915.4-2, under which a partial custody case goes to a conference officer and then a record hearing before a hearing officer (Rule 1915.4-1(a)). Each county certifies which procedure it uses, and the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee publishes the county list. The conciliation guide explains both tracks.

The timelines in Rule 1915.4

Pennsylvania has statewide time limits meant to keep custody cases moving:

• The first in-person contact with the court, whether a conference, conciliation, mediation, or a class, must be scheduled no later than 45 days after the complaint or petition is filed (Rule 1915.4(a)).
• Within 180 days of filing, either the court schedules a trial or a party files a praecipe, motion, or request for trial, depending on county practice. If neither happens, the court must dismiss the matter unless an extension was granted for good cause or dismissal is not in the child’s best interests (Rule 1915.4(b)).
• A trial before a judge must start within 90 days of the scheduling order and, if not heard on consecutive days, be concluded within 45 days of starting (Rule 1915.4(c)).
• The decision is due within 15 days after trial ends unless the court extends it for good cause by order of record, and never more than 45 days after trial ends (Rule 1915.4(d)).

None of these timelines stops a party from asking for, or the court from ordering, emergency or interim special relief at any time after the case begins (Rule 1915.4(e)).

Statewide forms

The Supreme Court has adopted statewide custody forms, and forms adopted in the rules must be accepted for filing in every county (Rule 1930.9). The custody proceedings page of the Unified Judicial System posts them with instructions, including the Complaint for Custody, Form 3 (the Criminal Record/Abuse History Verification), Form 4 (Petition for Modification of a Custody Order), the contempt and relocation forms, and service forms. It also tells you to check with your county court for its own procedures.

Representing yourself

A self-represented party must enter a written appearance giving an address where papers can be served, which need not be a home address, and a telephone number, and must keep that contact information current with the court and the other side (Rule 1930.8). The statewide Entry of Appearance of Self-Represented Party follows that rule.

When you file, you must also follow the Case Records Public Access Policy, which can mean certifying compliance and putting confidential information on a separate Confidential Information Form or Confidential Document Form (Rule 1930.1(b)).

Filing costs and e-filing

The Unified Judicial System says filing costs vary by document and by county and can be in the hundreds of dollars. If you cannot afford them, the statewide Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis asks the court to waive them; the court may decide on the papers or require you to appear. A support action is different: the domestic relations section may not charge a filing fee to start or modify it (Rule 1910.4(c)).

Electronic filing in the courts of common pleas is set by each county’s local rules. A court may permit or require it by local rule (Rule 205.4(a)(1)), and the local rule sets how a filer who is not an attorney gets access (Rule 205.4(c)(2)). The statewide custody page tells self-represented parents to print each form and take it to the designated office in the county courthouse.

Counsel fees

Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5339, a court may award reasonable interim or final counsel fees, costs, and expenses to a party if it finds that the conduct of another party was obdurate, vexatious, repetitive, or in bad faith. The section may not apply if that party engaged the judicial process in good faith to protect the child from harm.

Primary sources

Rules and forms change. Check the current version at the source before you file.

• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.1, scope and definitions
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.3, commencement of action
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.3-2, criminal record or abuse history
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.4, prompt disposition of custody cases
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.4-1, alternative hearing procedures
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.11 and 1915.11-2, child’s attorney and guardian ad litem
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.1 and 1910.4, domestic relations section
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 76, definition of prothonotary
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.1, caption and confidential information
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.8, self-represented party
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.9, family court forms
• Pa.R.Civ.P. 205.4, electronic filing
• 23 Pa.C.S. § 5339, counsel fees, costs and expenses
• Unified Judicial System, custody proceedings forms and instructions
• Rule 1915.4-1 county list of hearing procedures