(a) If the sheriff determines that the claimant is prima facie the owner of the property in whole or in part, the sheriff shall file in the prothonotary’s office the claim, the determination of ownership including the valuation of the property, and shall send by ordinary mail copies of the determination and valuation to the claimant, the plaintiff, the defendant, and all other execution creditors and claim- aints of the property.
Rule 3206.Sheriff’s determination in favor of claimant; objections; amount of bond; delivery of property; interpleader.
Adopted August 30, 1965 · Last amended April 12, 1999 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceWhen the sheriff determines the claimant is prima facie the owner, the execution creditor or defendant has ten days to object; if none objects the levy is abandoned and the property returned, and if an objection is filed the property stays under levy unless the claimant posts a bond.
Full Text of Rule 3206
(b) Any execution creditor or defendant may, within ten days after the date of mailing of the copy of the determination and valuation, file with the protho- notary, and with the sheriff an objection to the determination substantially in the form provided by Rule 3260. The sheriff shall send by ordinary mail a copy of the objection to all other parties. Upon the filing of the objection an interpleader shall be at issue in which the claimant shall be the plaintiff and all other parties in interest shall be defendants. The only pleading shall be the claim, all averments of which shall be deemed to be denied.
(c) If no objection is filed the levy on the claimed property shall be deemed abandoned.
(d) Upon abandonment of the levy, the sheriff shall return the claimed prop- erty to the person from whom it was taken. If the claimed property was found in the possession of a person other than the claimant, the sheriff shall, before return- ing it, give forty-eight hours notice to the claimant of the abandonment of the levy and the intention to return the property to a person other than the claimant.
(e) If an execution creditor or a defendant files an objection, the claimed property shall remain subject to the levy unless the claimant within ten days from the filing of the objection files a bond as provided in Rules 3207(d) and 3208, in which event the sheriff shall withdraw all levies on the claimed property and deliver the same as provided in Rule 3207(d).
Plain-English Summary
This rule plays out the interpleader when the sheriff sides with the claimant. The sheriff files the claim, determination, and valuation with the prothonotary. Any execution creditor or defendant then has ten days to object. If no objection is filed, the levy on the claimed property is deemed abandoned and the sheriff returns the property to the person it was taken from.
If an objection is filed, the property remains subject to the levy unless the claimant, within ten days, files a bond to take it back pending the court’s decision. The bond-and-objection mechanism lets the party who disagrees with the sheriff’s preliminary call shift the dispute to the court while protecting the other side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the sheriff sides with the claimant?
If no one objects within ten days, the levy is abandoned and the property is returned to the claimant; an objection keeps the property under levy unless the claimant posts a bond.
Can the creditor still contest it?
Yes. The execution creditor or defendant may file an objection within ten days of the determination.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 3206 adopted August 30, 1965, effective March 1, 1966; amended April 8, 1997, effective July 1, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 2045; amended April 12, 1999, effective July 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 2281. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (243939) to (243940).
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: determination for claimantobjection to determination