Rule 3113.Service upon garnishee; execution against mortgages, judgments or other liens on real property.
Adopted March 30, 1960 · Last amended March 30, 1960 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceWhen executing against a mortgage, judgment, or other lien on real property and the garnishee cannot be served the ordinary way, service is made by the alternative methods used for a third-party real-property garnishee.
Full Text of Rule 3113
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In execution against a lien upon real property created under a mortgage, judg- ment or otherwise, if the garnishee cannot be served as provided in Rule 3111(a), service shall be made in the manner provided by Rule 3112.
Plain-English Summary
This rule fills a service gap for executions that reach a lien on real property — a mortgage, judgment, or other encumbrance in which the debtor has an interest. If the garnishee cannot be served by the standard method, service is made the way the rules provide for serving a garnishee who holds the debtor’s real property in a third party’s name: deputized service in another county, service by a competent adult outside the state, or posting and handing.
The Official Note points out that the real owner of the encumbered property is among those served. The rule keeps lien-based executions from stalling when the garnishee is hard to reach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this rule reach?
Mortgages, judgments, or other liens on real property that the defendant owns.
Why a separate method?
Such interests have both a debt and a security component, and the rule provides for attaching each.
Official Note
Official Note: Adopted March 30, 1960, effective November 1, 1960. The real owner of the property which is subject to the mortgage, judgment or other lien is considered a garnishee. See rule 3101(b)(5).
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 garnishee mortgages judgments liens