When a plaintiff seeks a Protection From Abuse order in Pennsylvania, the plaintiff would go to the court whether it's the District Court or the Court of Common Pleas to request a temporary Protection From Abuse order. Upon receiving either the temporary Protection From Abuse order or notice of a hearing date, the plaintiff would be required to serve the defendant with the Protection From Abuse order and the notice of the hearing. A PFA final hearing needs to take place within 10 days of the granting of the temporary order, although the term 'final hearing' is a term that's used loosely.
Fundamentally, the plaintiff is required to serve the defendant with the notice of the court date and the temporary order, if there is a temporary order that's granted, which is the case in most instances. That's how the defendant would know that there's a case against him or her where the defendant would be required to come to court on that final hearing date. Having an experienced Pennsylvania PFA attorney can help you best understand and navigate the PFA process and they should be involved in the case as early as possible.
