If you have been served with a Protection from Abuse petition in Allegheny County, one of the first things you should do is file an Intent to Defend. It is a short step, it can be done online, and skipping it carries a real consequence: a final PFA can be entered against you by default.
What an Intent to Defend actually does
An Intent to Defend tells the court one thing plainly — you intend to appear and contest the petition. A temporary PFA is entered on the plaintiff's word alone, before you have said anything. The Intent to Defend is how you put the court on notice that there is another side, and that you mean to be heard at the final hearing.
It is not a defense itself. It does not argue your case or respond to the allegations. It is the procedural signal that you are in this, that you dispute the petition, and that the matter should not move forward as if uncontested.
Why you should not skip it
This is the part people miss, and it is the reason this post exists. If you do not file an Intent to Defend and do not appear, a final PFA can be entered against you by default. A final order can last up to three years. It can remove you from your home, restrict contact with your children, and follow you in any divorce or custody case that comes after. A default order carries all of that weight, entered without your side ever being heard.
File it. As soon as possible after you are served. There is no advantage to waiting and a serious cost to letting the deadline pass.
How to file in Allegheny County
Allegheny County allows you to submit your Intent to Defend electronically. You can begin the process here:
Allegheny County PFA Electronic Intent to Defend →
The portal asks for your cell phone number and email to verify your identity, then walks you through the submission. At the end you electronically sign, and the form is transmitted to the court. The signature is made under penalty of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904, the statute on unsworn falsification, so the information you enter has to be true and accurate. Once you accept, the submission is final and cannot be changed, so review it carefully before you sign.
What happens after you retain a lawyer
Filing the Intent to Defend yourself does not lock you out of getting counsel, and it does not complicate things if you do. If you retain an attorney after filing, the attorney files their own entry on your behalf, which notifies the court that you are now represented. Filing pro se first simply protects you in the gap between being served and getting a lawyer in the door — the window when a default is the real risk.
That said, the Intent to Defend is the beginning, not the defense. The final hearing is typically scheduled within ten days, the plaintiff will appear with counsel, and the burden of actually contesting the petition is real. The sooner you have a lawyer preparing that defense, the better positioned you are.
Served With a PFA in Allegheny County?
File your Intent to Defend, then call. Scott Levine handles every PFA matter personally, and the first call is free.
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