Adopted June 7, 1940 · Last amended December 16, 2003 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2328 requires a would-be intervener to petition in the form of a verified initial pleading, stating the grounds and the relief or defense sought, attaching the proposed pleading or adopting existing ones, and serving every party.
(a)Application for leave to intervene shall be made by a petition in the form of and verified in the manner of a plaintiff’s initial pleading in a civil action, setting forth the ground on which intervention is sought and a statement of the relief or the defense which the petitioner desires to demand or assert. The petitioner shall attach to the petition a copy of any pleading which the petitioner will file in the action if permitted to intervene or shall state in the petition that the petitioner adopts by reference in whole or in part certain named pleadings or parts of pleadings already filed in the action.
(b)A copy of the petition shall be served upon each party to the action.
End
Plain-English Summary
A person seeking to intervene applies by petition. The petition takes the form of a plaintiff’s initial pleading in a civil action and is verified the same way. It sets out the ground for intervention and a statement of the relief the petitioner wants to demand or the defense it wants to assert.
The petitioner must also show what it would file. It either attaches a copy of the pleading it will file if permitted to intervene, or states in the petition that it adopts by reference, in whole or in part, named pleadings or parts of pleadings already filed. A copy of the petition is served on each party to the action.
Those contents feed the court’s decision under Rule 2329, which follows a hearing on due notice to all parties. The court allows intervention if the allegations are established and sufficient, but may refuse it if the petitioner’s claim or defense is not in subordination to and in recognition of the propriety of the action, if its interest is already adequately represented, or if it unduly delayed or its entry would unduly delay, embarrass or prejudice the trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the petition include?
It takes the form of, and is verified like, a plaintiff’s initial pleading, and it sets out the ground for intervention and the relief or defense the petitioner wants to assert. The petitioner either attaches a copy of the pleading it will file if allowed in, or states that it adopts named pleadings already filed.
Must the petitioner attach a proposed pleading?
Not always. The petitioner may instead state in the petition that it adopts, in whole or in part, named pleadings or parts of pleadings already filed. Either way, the court sees what the intervenor would add to the case.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 2328 adopted June 7, 1940, effective February 3, 1941; amended December 16, 1983, effective July 1, 1984, 13 Pa.B. 3999; amended April 12, 1999, effective July 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 2274; amended December 16, 2003, effective July 1, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 9. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (257835) to (257836).
Source & verification. Rule text, the Official Note, and the amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Pennsylvania Code, Title 231, the official compilation
of rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Last verified June 30, 2026. ·
Official text
Also known as:petition to intervenehow to file intervention