An order for possession in PA is the court document that authorizes a constable or sheriff to physically remove a tenant and return the rental property to the landlord after the landlord has already won an eviction judgment at the magisterial district court. It is not the judgment itself, and it cannot be requested the moment the judgment is entered. Pennsylvania builds mandatory waiting periods, a service countdown, and a narrow tenant cure right into the process, and either side can lose ground by missing a deadline.
Waiting Period Before the Landlord Can File
Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 515 sets the front-end wait. For a residential lease, the landlord must wait at least 10 days after the judgment is entered before filing a request for an order of possession. For a non-residential lease, the wait is 15 days.1Pennsylvania Code. 246 Pa. Code Rule 515 – Request for Order for Possession Those days give the tenant time to appeal, pay the judgment, or move out voluntarily.
There is a back-end deadline too. In residential cases, the landlord must file the request within 120 days of the judgment date. Let that window close and the judgment is effectively unenforceable without starting the eviction over.1Pennsylvania Code. 246 Pa. Code Rule 515 – Request for Order for Possession
During the waiting period the tenant still has the legal right to remain. A landlord who changes the locks, removes belongings, or shuts off utilities during this window is performing an illegal self-help eviction, no matter what the judgment says.
Filing the Request
Once the wait expires, the landlord files form AOPC 311A, “Request for Order for Possession,” with the same magisterial district court that heard the eviction.2Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Request for Order for Possession The form asks for the docket number, the date of the possession judgment, the names of all parties, and the exact address of the rental unit. A misspelled tenant name or wrong unit number can get the filing rejected or cause the executing officer to refuse the lockout.
Filing carries a court processing fee plus a constable service fee. Pennsylvania statute sets the base constable charge for executing an order of possession at $13 per defendant, with additional amounts for extra defendants at the same address, return of service, and mileage.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 44 Section 7161 – Fees Actual totals run higher once mileage and court fees are added, and many courts collect the full estimate up front and refund the balance if no physical eviction is needed.
How the Order Is Served
After the court approves the request, the magisterial district judge issues the order, forwards it to a constable or sheriff for service, and mails a copy to the tenant by first-class mail. Under Rule 517, the officer has 48 hours to serve the order. Service can be made by handing it to the tenant, giving it to an adult at the property, or posting it in a visible location if no one is there.4Legal Information Institute. 246 Pa. Code Rule 517 – Notation of Time of Receipt; Service of Order
The order itself contains a written warning. In residential cases, the tenant has 10 days from the date of service to vacate before the officer is authorized to use force to enter and remove them. In non-residential cases, the warning gives 15 days.4Legal Information Institute. 246 Pa. Code Rule 517 – Notation of Time of Receipt; Service of Order The countdown runs from the date on the notice, not from when the tenant actually reads it.
The Tenant’s Right to Pay and Stay
Rule 518 gives a tenant who was evicted only for unpaid rent a way to stop the eviction even after the order of possession is issued. Paying the full rent in arrears plus court costs to the executing officer satisfies the order at any point before the officer delivers the property back to the landlord.5Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 246 Pa. Code Rule 518 – Satisfaction of Order by Payment of Rent and Costs The officer must give a signed receipt, and the tenant stays.
This right is narrow. It applies only where the judgment was for nonpayment of rent. Evictions based on lease violations, illegal activity, or the end of the lease term are not curable under Rule 518.
The Lockout
If the tenant has not vacated or paid by the deadline, the officer carries out the eviction under Rule 519. For residential leases, that can happen on or after the 11th day following service. For non-residential leases, the 16th day.6Pennsylvania Code. 246 Pa. Code Rule 519 – Forcible Entry and Delivery of Possession The landlord coordinates with the constable or sheriff to meet at the property on the scheduled date.
The officer has authority to break down doors if needed and to remove the tenant and any unauthorized occupants. Once possession is delivered to the landlord, the lockout is complete, the locks change, and re-entry by the former tenant risks criminal trespass charges. Only a constable or sheriff can execute this step; a landlord acting alone is back in self-help eviction territory.
Appealing the Judgment
A tenant who wants to fight the eviction has to move fast. In residential cases, the appeal goes to the Court of Common Pleas within 10 days of the judgment date. Domestic violence victims get 30 days if they file a domestic violence affidavit with the appeal.7Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 246 Pa. Code Rule 1002 – Time and Method of Appeal
Filing the appeal does not by itself halt the eviction. To obtain a supersedeas, the tenant deposits with the prothonotary the lesser of three months’ rent or the total rent actually in arrears at the time of appeal, and then continues paying the equivalent of monthly rent into escrow every 30 days while the appeal is pending. Missing an escrow payment lets the landlord move to terminate the supersedeas and proceed with the eviction.8Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges – Rule 1008 – Appeal as Supersedeas
Tenants who cannot afford the full deposit may qualify for reduced escrow by filing an in forma pauperis affidavit showing household income within federal poverty guidelines. Section 8 participants pay only their tenant share.8Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges – Rule 1008 – Appeal as Supersedeas
Reissuing an Order That Was Not Executed in Time
An order of possession does not stay open indefinitely. If the constable or sheriff cannot execute it within the initial period, the landlord can request one reissuance for another 60 days. For residential cases, the reissuance request still has to fall within 120 days of the original judgment.9Legal Information Institute. 246 Pa. Code Rule 516 – Issuance and Reissuance of Order for Possession
When the order was stayed by an appeal, a bankruptcy filing, or another legal hold, the 120-day clock restarts from the date the stay is lifted or the appeal is dismissed. The landlord has to submit documentation of that event, usually a court order or dismissal notice, when requesting reissuance.9Legal Information Institute. 246 Pa. Code Rule 516 – Issuance and Reissuance of Order for Possession Miss the deadline entirely and the landlord has to restart the eviction from the beginning.
Belongings Left Behind After the Lockout
Personal property left in the unit after the eviction does not automatically become the landlord’s. Under 68 P.S. § 250.505a, the landlord must give the tenant written notice before disposing of anything. From the postmark date of that notice, the tenant has 10 days to retrieve the property or request that it be stored for up to 30 days. The landlord picks the storage location, has to exercise ordinary care, and the tenant pays the storage costs.10New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 68 P.S. Section 250.505a – Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property
When a protection-from-abuse order is in effect for the tenant or a member of the tenant’s immediate family, the landlord has to wait a full 30 days before disposing of belongings and must provide storage for up to 30 days if asked. Violating any part of the statute exposes the landlord to treble damages plus the tenant’s attorney fees and court costs.10New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 68 P.S. Section 250.505a – Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property Documenting the notice and storage steps in writing is the practical safeguard.