Pennsylvania garnishment: a stalled garnishment can be terminated after a year
Pennsylvania procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Pennsylvania's garnishment chapter contains a provision that few states offer: after one year without action, the garnishee or the defendant may petition to end the garnishment. The creditor then has twenty days to explain why it should continue, and silence terminates it on praecipe.
That matters because service of the writ creates a continuing attachment — it catches not only what the garnishee holds on the day, but everything that arrives afterwards until judgment.
Who counts as a garnishee
Pa. R. Civ. P. 3101(b):
Any person may be a garnishee and shall be deemed to have possession of property of the defendant if the person (1) owes a debt to the defendant; (2) has property of the defendant in his or her custody, possession or control; (3) holds as fiduciary property in which the defendant has an interest; (4) holds the legal title to property of the defendant whether or not in fraud of creditors; or (5) owns or possesses real property subject to a mortgage, judgment or other lien in which defendant has an interest.
Five routes, and (4) is the broad one: holding legal title to the defendant's property "whether or not in fraud of creditors." A nominee arrangement does not put property out of reach.
Rule 3102 fixes the instrument: "Except as provided in Rule 3250, a judgment shall be enforced by a writ of execution substantially in the form provided by Rule 3252."
One carve-out to check first
Rule 3101(c):
The rules of this chapter shall not apply to the attachment of wages, salary or commissions to satisfy a money judgment arising from a residential lease pursuant to Section 8127(a)(3.1) of the Judicial Code.
Where the judgment arises from a residential lease and wages are being attached under § 8127(a)(3.1), this chapter does not govern. That is a different machinery, and the provisions below will not answer your questions.
Service, and what it catches
Rule 3111(a) and (b):
The writ shall be served by the sheriff upon the garnishee in the manner prescribed by Rule 402(a) except as otherwise provided by Rules 3112 and 3113. The sheriff shall furnish the garnishee with an additional copy of the writ for each defendant. If the garnishee served was not named in the writ he shall be added as a garnishee and return made accordingly.
Service of the writ upon the garnishee shall attach all property of the defendant which may be attached under these rules which is in the possession of the garnishee. It shall also attach all property of the defendant which may be attached under these rules and which comes into the garnishee's possession thereafter until judgment against the garnishee even though no such property of the defendant was in the garnishee's possession at the time of service.
| Served by | the sheriff, in the manner of Rule 402(a) |
| Copies | one additional copy for each defendant |
| Attaches | property held at service, and property arriving afterwards |
| Until | judgment against the garnishee |
| Even if | nothing was held at the time of service |
That last clause is the sting. A Pennsylvania writ served on a bank holding nothing still attaches whatever arrives later. An empty account today does not end the matter.
A garnishee served but not named in the writ is simply added as a garnishee.
Terminating a stalled garnishment
Rule 3111(c):
(1) If a garnishment has not been acted upon within one year of the filing of the garnishment, the garnishee or the defendant may file a petition to terminate the garnishment. The petition shall include a notice that the plaintiff has twenty days to respond to the filing of the petition and that upon failure to do so, the garnishment may be terminated.
(2) Any response to the petition shall be filed within twenty days of the filing of the petition and set forth the reasons not to terminate the garnishment.
(3) If no response to the petition is filed, upon praecipe, the writ of garnishment shall be terminated.
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trigger | the garnishment not acted upon for one year from filing |
| Who may petition | the garnishee or the defendant |
| The petition must carry | notice that the plaintiff has 20 days to respond |
| Plaintiff's response | within 20 days, setting out reasons not to terminate |
| No response | terminated upon praecipe |
This is the answer to a garnishment that has been left hanging over an account. You can start it — the rule names the defendant expressly, not only the garnishee — and the burden then falls on the creditor to justify keeping it alive.
Two mechanical points: the petition must itself contain the 20-day notice, and termination on a non-response is by praecipe, so you must ask for it.
Where this connects
Pennsylvania's discovery sanctions rule runs the opposite way from most states — no fees on the first motion to compel, and a mandatory award against a movant whose sanctions motion fails. See the Pennsylvania motion to compel.
If the underlying judgment came by default, Pennsylvania requires a ten-day notice of intent before it can be entered — see the Pennsylvania ten-day default notice and opening a Pennsylvania default judgment.
For the case itself, see Pennsylvania preliminary objections.
How Pennsylvania compares
| Pennsylvania | New Jersey | Maryland | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment continues after service | yes, until judgment against the garnishee | — | — | — |
| Attaches even if nothing held at service | yes, expressly | — | — | — |
| Debtor may petition to terminate | yes, after 1 year | no | garnishee, after 120 days | no |
| Creditor's response window | 20 days | — | — | — |
| Termination on silence | by praecipe | — | — | — |
| Nominee title reachable | yes, "whether or not in fraud of creditors" | — | — | — |
| Residential-lease wage attachment | outside this chapter | — | — | — |
A short checklist
- Check whether the judgment arises from a residential lease. If so, this chapter does not apply.
- Do not assume an empty account ends it. The attachment continues as funds arrive.
- Diary one year from the filing of the garnishment. After that you can petition to terminate.
- Put the 20-day notice inside the petition — the rule requires it there.
- File a praecipe if the creditor does not respond; termination is not automatic.
- Check the sheriff's return for the extra copies required for each defendant.
- Consider who else may be a garnishee — a fiduciary or a nominee titleholder counts.
Where these rules live
- Pa. R. Civ. P. 3101 — Definitions. Garnishee. Scope
- Pa. R. Civ. P. 3102 — Enforcement of Money Judgments
- Pa. R. Civ. P. 3111 — Service of the Writ Upon the Garnishee
- Pa. R. Civ. P. 4019 — Sanctions
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and which property is exempt from attachment is governed by statute this site doesn't cover.