IN GENERAL
Rule 301. Requisites for an Appealable Order.
(a) Entry upon docket below.
(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, no order of a court shall be appealable until it has been entered upon the appropriate docket in the trial court. Where under the applicable practice below an order is entered in two or more dockets, the order has been entered for the purposes of appeal when it has been entered in the first appropriate docket.
(2) In a criminal case in which no post-sentence motion has been filed, a judgment of sentence is appealable upon the imposition of sentence in open court.
(b) Separate document required.—Every order shall be set forth on a separate document.
(c) Nonappealable orders.—Except as provided in subparagraph (a)(2), a direction by the trial court or other government unit that a specified judgment, sentence or other order shall be entered, unaccompanied by actual entry of the specified order in the docket, does not constitute an appealable order. Any such order shall be docketed before an appeal is taken.
(d) Entry of appealable orders.—Subject to any inconsistent general rule applicable to particular classes of matters, the clerk of the trial court shall, on praecipe of any party (except a party who by law may not praecipe for entry of an adverse order), forthwith prepare, sign, and enter an appropriate order, judgment, or final decree in the docket, evidencing any action from which an appeal lies either as of right or upon permission to appeal or allowance of appeal or by petition for specialized review.
(e) Emergency appeals.—Where the exigency of the case is such as to impel an immediate appeal and the party intending to appeal an adverse action is unable to secure the formal entry of an appealable order pursuant to the usual procedures, the party may file in the trial court and serve a praecipe for entry of an adverse order, which action shall constitute entry of an appealable order for the purposes of these rules. The interlocutory or final nature of the action shall not be affected by this paragraph.
Official Note
See Pa.R.A.P. 311 authorizing interlocutory appeals as of right, 312 authorizing interlocutory appeals by permission, 313 authorizing appeals from collateral orders, and 341 to 343 authorizing appeals from final orders.
See also Pa.R.A.P. 903 governing time for filing notice of appeal, 1113 governing time for filing petition for allowance of appeal, 1311(b) governing time for filing petition for permission for appeal, 1512 governing time for filing petition for review, and 1602(a) governing time for filing specialized petition for review.
The 1986 amendment to Pa.R.A.P. 301 stated that no order shall be appealable until entered in the docket and deleted reference to reduction of an order to judgment as a prerequisite for appeal in every case. This deletion does not eliminate the requirement of reduction of an order to judgment in an appropriate case. Due to the variety of orders issued by courts in different kinds of cases, no single rule can delineate the requirements applicable in all cases. If the applicable practice or case law requires that an order be reduced to judgment or final decree before it becomes final, that requirement must still be met before the order can be appealed, and parties are cautioned that an appellate court may remand or take other steps under Pa.R.A.P. 902 if the prerequisites are not satisfied. Pa.R.C.P. 3021 sets forth the orders that the prothonotary is to enter in the judgment index and Pa.R.C.P. 227.4 provides a mechanism for parties to praecipe for judgment in certain circumstances. See also Pa.R.C.P. 236 and 237.
The filing in the trial court required by paragraph (e) may be accompanied by an application to the trial court for relief such as a stay or supersedeas under Chapter 17.
See Pa.R.A.P. 108(d), Pa.R.A.P. 903(c)(3), and Pa.R.Crim.P. 462(G), 720, and 721 governing criminal appeals.
Explanatory Comment—1976 Language clarified to conform to Stotsenburg v. Frost, 465 Pa. 187, 348 A.2d 418 (1975).
Source The provisions of this Rule 301 amended through December 10, 1986, effective January 31, 1987, and shall govern all matters thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and practicable, matters then pending, 16 Pa.B. 4591; amended January 18, 2007, effective August 1, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 521; amended January 7, 2020, effective August 1, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 505. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (381031) to (381033).
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