How to Collect Your Judgment in Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania judgment is enforceable for 20 years, and can be renewed before it expires. Two clocks: (1) A judgment LIEN on real property lasts 5 years from entry (42 Pa.C.S. 4303; Pa.R.C.P. 3023) and must be REVIVED to keep lien priority. Revival is by filing a praecipe to revive (writ of revival / agreement to revive) under Pa.R.C.P. 3025-3051, which extends the lien another 5 years; revival can be repeated indefinitely (revival after lapse is allowed within ~5+10 years but loses priority). (2) The general statute of limitations to ENFORCE the judgment against personal property / collect is 20 years from the date of judgment (42 Pa.C.S. 5529).

Pennsylvania bars or heavily restricts wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. PENNSYLVANIA BARS WAGE GARNISHMENT for most consumer debts (credit cards, medical, personal loans, etc.). ALTERNATIVE for creditors: levy/garnish BANK ACCOUNTS, levy non-exempt personal property, and place/revive a judgment lien on real estate. Once wages are deposited into a bank account they may become reachable (subject to the small statutory bank exemption).

Through Discovery in aid of execution / oral examination of judgment debtor — the court orders the debtor to appear and disclose their assets under oath. After judgment the creditor may conduct discovery in aid of execution under Pa.R.C.P. 3117, including an oral deposition/examination of the debtor and written interrogatories to identify assets. Initiated by praecipe/notice through the prothonotary of the court that entered the judgment.

A judgment entered/indexed in the Court of Common Pleas is AUTOMATICALLY a lien on all real property the debtor owns in that county (42 Pa.C.S. 4303(a)). To reach property in another county, transfer the judgment to that county (file a certified copy / transfer praecipe), where it is entered in that county's judgment index. The lien lasts 5 years.

You pay the court and sheriff their own filing/levy fees directly (usually modest, and recoverable from the debtor). Our Judgment Collection service is a flat $299 — we prepare your Pennsylvania-specific enforcement forms and a step-by-step filing playbook; you file them. Compared with collection firms that take 33–50% of what they recover, that's hundreds to thousands less on a typical judgment.

Some debtors are "judgment-proof" — no job, no bank account, no equity — and no tool can squeeze money that isn't there. The honest play is the debtor's exam to confirm what exists, then keep the judgment alive (it lasts 20 years and is renewable) and try again when their situation changes. We give you the tools, not a guaranteed payout.