Pennsylvania Foreclosure Documents Explained (What Each Notice Means)
By Stop Foreclosures PA • Updated July 17, 2026
Every document in a Pennsylvania foreclosure tells you exactly where you are in the process — and what your remaining options are. Here's what each one means, in the order you'll receive them, and the single most important action to take when it arrives.
Act 6 Notice (Notice of Intention to Foreclose)
The first formal document. Required at least 30 days before the lender can sue on most owner-occupied residential mortgages. It states the exact amount needed to cure your default. What to do: verify the figures, and use the 30 days — call your servicer about loss mitigation, a HUD counselor (1-800-569-4287), or us for sale options. Everything is still on the table at this stage.
Act 91 Notice (HEMAP Notice)
Usually combined with the Act 6 notice. It informs you of the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program and starts a 33-day window to meet with a consumer credit counseling agency — a meeting that pauses the foreclosure while a HEMAP application is reviewed. What to do: if your hardship is temporary, schedule that meeting immediately.
Summons and Complaint
The actual lawsuit, served by the sheriff or by mail. The complaint states the debt, the default, and asks the court for an in rem judgment against the property. What to do: calendar 20 days and file an answer (legal aid can help free of charge: palegalaid.net). In Philadelphia and many counties, an owner-occupied case is also routed to a conciliation conference at this point.
Lis Pendens
Not a separate mailing — the filed foreclosure action itself indexes against the property's title, alerting the world (and credit bureaus, via public records) that litigation is pending. It doesn't change your ownership; it just marks the title. A sale of the home is still fully possible — the title company simply pays the lender at closing.
Ten-Day Default Notice (Rule 237.1 Notice)
If you never answered the complaint, the lender must send this final warning at least 10 days before entering a default judgment. What to do: treat it as your last free chance to engage — file something, call a counselor, or begin a fast sale. After default judgment the timeline accelerates.
Judgment and Writ of Execution
The judgment establishes the debt and the lender's right to execute; the writ of execution directs the sheriff to schedule the sale. What to do: you can still reinstate (up to one hour before the sale), sell before the sale date, seek postponement, or file Chapter 13. See our sheriff sale guide for the full late-stage playbook.
Notice of Sheriff Sale
You must receive notice of the sale date at least 30 days in advance, and the sale is advertised publicly for three consecutive weeks. What to do: this is the deadline that matters. A cash sale can still close in 7-14 days — call (215) 392-8767 the day this notice arrives, not the week of the auction.
Sheriff's Deed
After the sale and confirmation, the sheriff's deed transfers ownership to the winning bidder. There is no right of redemption for PA mortgage foreclosures. If there were surplus proceeds, claim them through the sheriff's schedule of distribution. Occupants must still be removed through a separate ejectment action — but the ownership chapter is closed.
Facing foreclosure right now?
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