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Rule 403 – Contents of Citation

May 14, 2021 | Criminal Procedure, Pennsylvania

(A) Every citation shall contain:

(1) the name and address of the organization, and badge number, if any, of the law enforcement officer;
(2) the name and address of the defendant;
(3) a notation if the defendant is under 18 years of age and whether the parents or guardians have been notified of the charge(s) ;
(4) the date and time when the offense is alleged to have been committed, provided however, if the day of the week is an essential element of the offense charged, such day must be specifically set forth;
(5) the place where the offense is alleged to have been committed;
(6) a citation of the specific section and subsection of the statute or ordinance allegedly violated, together with a summary of the facts sufficient to advise the defendant of the nature of the offense charged;
(7) the date of issuance;
(8) a notation if criminal laboratory services are requested in the case;
(9) a verification by the law enforcement officer that the facts set forth in the citation are true and correct to the officer’s personal knowledge, or information and belief, and that any false statements therein are made subject to the penalties of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities; and
(10)a certification that the citation complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania regarding confidential information and documents.
(B) The copy delivered to the defendant shall also contain a notice to the defendant:

(1) that the original copy of the citation will be filed before the issuing authority of the magisterial district designated in the citation, the address and number of which shall be contained in the citation; and
(2) that the defendant shall, within 10 days after issuance of the citation:

(a) plead not guilty by:

(i) notifying the proper issuing authority in writing of the plea and forwarding as collateral for appearance at trial an amount equal to the fine and costs specified in the citation, plus any additional fee required by law. If the amount is not specified, the defendant shall forward the sum of $50 as collateral for appearance at trial; or
(ii) appearing before the proper issuing authority, entering the plea, and depositing such collateral for appearance at trial as the issuing authority shall require. If the defendant cannot afford to pay the collateral specified in the citation or the $50, the defendant must appear before the issuing authority to enter a plea; or
(b) plead guilty by:

(i) notifying the proper issuing authority in writing of the plea and forwarding an amount equal to the fine and costs when specified in the statute or ordinance, the amount of which shall be set forth in the citation; or
(ii) appearing before the proper issuing authority for the entry of the plea and imposition of sentence, when the fine and costs are not specified in the citation or when required to appear pursuant to Rule 409(B) (3), 414(B) (3), or 424(B) (3); or
(c) appear before the proper issuing authority to request consideration for inclusion in an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program;
(3) that all checks forwarded for the fine and costs or for collateral shall be made payable to the magisterial district number set forth on the citation;
(4) that failure to respond to the citation as provided above within the time specified:

(a) shall result in the issuance of a summons when a violation of an ordinance or any parking offense is charged, or when the defendant is under 18 years of age, and in all other cases shall result in the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the defendant; and
(b) shall result in the suspension of the defendant’s driver’s license when a violation of the Vehicle Code is charged;
(5) that failure to indicate a plea when forwarding an amount equal to the fine and costs specified on the citation shall result in a guilty plea being recorded; and
(6) that, if the defendant is convicted or has pleaded guilty, the defendant may appeal within 30 days for a trial de novo.

234 Pa. Code § 403

Amended by Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol 48, No. 24. June 16, 2018, effective 6/16/2018

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Report explaining the January 31, 1991 amendments published at 20 Pa.B. 4788 (September 15, 1990) ; Supplemental Report published at 21 Pa.B. 621 (February 16, 1991) .

Report explaining the June 3, 1993 amendments published with the Court’s Order at 23 Pa.B. 2809 (June 19, 1993) .

Report explaining the July 25, 1994 amendments published with Court’s Order at 24 Pa.B. 4068 (August 13, 1994) .

Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000) .

Final Report explaining the March 3, 2000 amendments concerning appeals from guilty pleas published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1509 (March 18, 2000) .

Final Report explaining the February 6, 2003 Comment revisions cross-referencing Rule 401 concerning electronic transmission of parking citations published with the Court’s Order at 33 Pa.B. 973 (February 22, 2003) .

Final Report explaining the August 7, 2003 amendments to paragraph (B) (4) (a) concerning juveniles published with the Court’s Order at 33 Pa.B. 4293 (August 30, 2003) .

Final Report explaining the January 26, 2007 amendments to paragraph (B) (2) (b) (ii) and revisions to the Comment published with the Court’s Order at 37 Pa.B. 760 (February 17, 2007) .