A security listed on any recognized stock exchange or negotiable document of title regularly traded on any recognized commodity exchange may be sold by the sheriff at regular sheriff’s sale or on said stock or commodity exchange through any broker authorized to deal therein. Securities and negotiable documents of title not listed on any recognized stock or commodity exchange but regularly traded over-the-counter by brokers authorized to deal therein, may be sold by the sheriff at regular sheriff’s sale or, after notice to the defendant as the court by local rule or special order may prescribe, through any broker authorized to deal therein, upon such terms and conditions as the court may direct.
Rule 3130.Sale of securities.
Last amended November 14, 1978 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceSecurities and negotiable documents of title may be sold at a regular sheriff’s sale or, if they trade on a recognized exchange or over the counter, through an authorized broker on whatever terms the court directs.
Full Text of Rule 3130
Plain-English Summary
Stocks and similar instruments do not sell well on a courthouse step, so this rule lets them be sold where there is a market.
A security listed on a recognized stock exchange, or a negotiable document of title traded on a commodity exchange, may be sold either at a regular sheriff’s sale or on the exchange through an authorized broker. Instruments that are not listed but trade over the counter may likewise be sold at a sheriff’s sale or, after any notice to the defendant the court requires, through a broker on terms the court sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are stocks sold under execution?
Listed securities may be sold at a regular sheriff’s sale or on the exchange through an authorized broker.
What about securities that are not exchange-listed?
If they trade over the counter, they may be sold at a sheriff’s sale or, after any notice the court requires, through an authorized broker on terms the court directs.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 3130 amended November 14, 1978, effective December 2, 1978, 8 Pa.B. 3410. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (25034).
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: sale of securitiesselling stock at execution