Westmoreland Cnty. C.P. Civil Rules 3

exhibits, submitted for filing. (For example: Page 1 of 10).

Adopted May 10, 2004, effective July 26, 2004.

RULE W205.2(b) COVER SHEET

All parties required to file a cover sheet pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 205.5 shall also file a

Westmoreland County Civil Cover Sheet. The Westmoreland County Civil Cover Sheet shall be

in the form set forth in the Forms Section of the Westmoreland County Rules of Court.

Rescinded April 22, 2010; New Rule W205.2(b) adopted April 22, 2010, effective May 26, 2010.

Rule W205.4 Electronic Filing of Legal Papers in Westmoreland County

(a)(1) Except as noted below, use of the Westmoreland County electronic filing system is

permissive for the filing of all legal papers in the Civil Division and Family Division, in all actions

and proceedings brought in or appealed to the Court.

A. Use of the Westmoreland County electronic filing system is not permitted for the

following Civil Division filings:

1. Notice of Appeal to the Superior, Commonwealth or Supreme Courts, or Petition for

Review to the Commonwealth Court

2. Notice of Appeal from arbitration award

3. Notice of Appeal from magisterial district justice award

4. Emergency motion

5. Exemplification of Records

6. Praecipe to Reissue Writ

7. Petitions for Name Change

8. Oversized documents or documents that cannot be reduced into an 8 ½ x 11 inch

format.

9. License Suspension Appeals

10. Original Orders of Court or any filing that has attached to it an original Order of

Court

11. Confession of judgment

12. Petition for the Appointment of a Board of View

B. Use of the Westmoreland County electronic filing system is not permitted for the

following Family Division filings:

1. Legal papers related to actions under the Protection from Abuse Act

2. Legal papers relating to custody: legal custody; physical custody; supervised physical

custody; petition for modification of a custody order; petition for contempt; petition to

intervene as well as a complaint in divorce that contains a count for custody

3. Emergency motion

4. Original Orders of Court or any filing that has attached to it an original Order of

Court.

(b)(1) All legal papers shall be presented for electronic filing in PDF format.

(c)(1) Reserved.

(c)(2) All legal papers that are filed electronically shall be filed through the Prothonotary’s

electronic filing system. Attorneys and unrepresented parties may access the electronic filing

system through the Westmoreland County Prothonotary’s website,

https://www.westmorelandcountypa.gov/323/Prothonotary. To obtain access to the electronic

filing system, counsel and any unrepresented party must apply to the Prothonotary’s Office for a

user name and password. By logging into the electronic filing system and creating a user name

and password, the user consents to receive all notices generated by the Prothonotary and the

Courts electronically, via the email address provided in the user’s profile. By providing an email

address in a profile, the user is deemed to have provided an email address on a legal paper filed

consistent with Pa.R.Civ.P. 236(d).

(d)(1) The Prothonotary will accept for payment of all filing fees paid by the following credit and

debit cards: Discover, Visa and Master Card.

(e)(1) A filing party shall be responsible for any filing fee, delay, disruption, interruption of the

electronic signals and legibility of the document electronically filed, except when caused by the

failure of the electronic filing system’s website.

(e)(2)(A) The court upon motion shall resolve any dispute arising under paragraph (e)(1).

(e)(2)(B) If a party makes a good faith effort to electronically file a legal paper but it is not

received, accepted or filed by the electronic filing system, the Court may order that the paper be

accepted and filed nunc pro tunc upon a showing that the filing party or counsel made

reasonable efforts to present and file the paper in a timely manner.

(f)(1) Upon receipt of the legal paper, the Prothonotary shall provide the filing party with an

acknowledgment, which includes the date and time the legal paper was received by the

electronic filing system. The Prothonotary also shall provide the filing party with notice that the

legal paper was accepted for filing. If a legal paper is not accepted upon presentation for filing or

is refused for filing by the electronic filing system, the Prothonotary shall immediately notify the

party presenting the legal paper for filing of the date of presentation, the fact that the document

was not accepted or was refused for filing by the system, and the reason.

(f)(2) The Prothonotary shall continue to maintain a hard copy of any legal paper, notice or order

filed or maintained electronically under this rule.

(f)(3) For any legal paper over two hundred (200) pages that is electronically filed, the filing

party shall present or deliver to the Office of the Prothonotary an approved time-stamped hard

copy of this legal paper within fourteen (14) days of the time of the approval by the Office of the

Prothonotary.

(f)(4) The electronic filing of a legal paper does not satisfy the filing party’s obligation under the

Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure or the Westmoreland County Rules of Civil Procedure to

serve the legal paper on all parties to the litigation or on the Court.

(f)(5) The procedures for payment of the fees and costs related to electronic filing shall be set

forth on the Westmoreland County Prothonotary's website,

https://www.westmorelandcountypa.gov/323/Prothonotary.

Note: Attorneys and litigants who file documents are required to comply with the Public Access

Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial

Courts.

Rescinded June 16, 2025; New Rule W205.4 adopted June 16, 2025, effective August 18, 2025.

Note: Rule W206 was rescinded effective July 26, 2004.

RULE W206.1(a) PETITIONS – RULE TO SHOW CAUSE

No applications to the court other than those listed in Pa.R.C.P. 206.1(a) have been

designated by local rule as “Petitions.”

Adopted May 10, 2004, effective July 26, 2004.

RULE W206.4(c) PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE OF A RULE TO SHOW CAUSE

(1) The petition for the rule to show cause and a proposed Order substantially in the form

prescribed by Pa.R.C.P. 206.5(d) shall be presented in Motions Court. The petitioner

shall serve a copy of the petition and proposed Order on the respondent or respondents,

together with written notice of the time, date and location for presentation, at least four