Rule 3111.Service of the Writ on Garnishee. Effect.

Adopted March 30, 1960 · Last amended March 7, 2014 · Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceServing the writ on a garnishee attaches the debtor’s property then in the garnishee’s hands and bars the garnishee from paying the debtor or releasing the property, and a garnishment left unacted-on for a year may be terminated on petition.

Full Text of Rule 3111

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) 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.

(b) 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.

(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.

(d) Service of the writ upon the garnishee shall also subject the garnishee to the mandate and injunctive orders of the writ restraining the garnishee from paying any debt to or for the account of the defendant and from delivering any property of the defendant which may be attached under these rules to anyone except the sheriff or otherwise disposing thereof until further order of the court or discontinuance or termination of the attachment.

(e) Violation of the mandate and injunctive orders of the writ may be punished as a contempt.

End

Plain-English Summary

This rule fixes what service on a garnishee does. Served in the prescribed manner, the writ attaches all of the debtor’s attachable property in the garnishee’s possession, then or coming in afterward. It also operates as an injunction: the garnishee may not pay any debt to the debtor or deliver the debtor’s property, and a violation may be punished as contempt.

To keep garnishments from lingering, the rule lets the garnishee or the debtor petition to terminate a garnishment not acted on within a year; if no response is filed within twenty days, the writ is terminated on praecipe. The combination freezes assets at once while giving an exit when a creditor sits on its rights.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does serving a garnishee do?

It places the garnishee under the writ's injunction not to release the debtor's property except to the sheriff.

What property is reached?

Tangible or intangible property of the defendant in the garnishee's custody, possession, or control.

Official Note

Official Note: For limitations on the power to attach tangible personal property see Rule 3108(a). See Rule 3111.1 providing that service of the writ does not attach the first $10,000 of each account of the defendant in which any funds are deposited electronically on a recurring basis and are identified as funds that upon deposit are exempt from attachment, or each account of the defendant in which funds on deposit exceed $10,000 at any time, if all funds are deposited electronically on a recurring basis and are identified as being funds that upon deposit are exempt from attachment.

Official Note: If a response is filed to the petition to terminate the garnishment, it shall be resolved pursuant to motion and answer practice. See Rule 208.1 et seq.

Amendment History

The provisions of this Rule 3111 adopted March 30, 1960, effective November 1, 1960; amended through June 20, 1985, effective January 1, 1986, 15 Pa.B. 2452; amended April 12, 1999, effective July 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 2281; amended June 14, 1999, effective September 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 3191; amended February 23, 2007, effective April 1, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 939; amended April 16, 2010, effective May 17, 2010, 40 Pa.B. 2243; amended March 7, 2014, effective April 7, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 1750. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349477) to (349478). (Editor’s Note: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has suspended its order of June 14, 1999, published at 29 Pa.B. 3191 (June 26, 1999). See 29 Pa.B. 4859 (September 18, 1999).)

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: service writ on garnishee effect