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Pennsylvania: post-conviction forms and deadlines.

These are the four forms a woman convicted in Pennsylvania can use to ask a court to look at her conviction or sentence again, with the deadline we found for each. Download them, or ask us to mail them to her in prison, free. Not sure which applies? Find her step first.

Paper 01 · State court

Petition under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA)

42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546; Pa.R.Crim.P. 901-902
Deadline1 year after the judgment becomes final; a petition relying on one of the three exceptions must be filed within 1 year of when the claim could have been presented (42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b))

Most states allow only one post-conviction petition, so a claim left out may be lost. The federal one-year clock keeps running until this petition is filed. Ask the court in writing to appoint a lawyer, and write to an innocence organization before she files.

Download the official form →Read the rule →
Paper 02 · Federal court

Petition for writ of habeas corpus

28 U.S.C. § 2254 · filed in the Eastern, Middle or Western District of Pennsylvania
DeadlineGenerally 1 year from when her conviction became final. If she appealed, that is when the appeal ended plus the 90 days she had to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review it, or when that Court decided, if she asked. If she did not appeal, as after many guilty pleas, it is when her time to appeal ran out. The clock pauses only while a state post-conviction petition filed on time is pending; a late state petition does not pause it, and neither does a federal petition. Every day before she files in state court counts, and a longer state deadline does not protect her federal rights. See the count worked out with dates. If the year is nearly gone, ask a lawyer about a protective petition: filing in federal court early and asking the judge to put the case on hold while the state courts finish.

Some federal courts use their own version of this form. Check the court’s website before filing.

Download federal Form AO 241 →Find the federal court →
Paper 03 · Sentence review

Sentence review by a panel of judges

DeadlineNot applicable

We did not find a separate sentence review panel in Pennsylvania. Confirm with the court clerk.

Paper 04 · Sentence modification

Post-sentence motion to modify sentence

Pa.R.Crim.P. 720
Deadline10 days after sentencing
Read the rule →

The DC-198 copy linked here is posted by one county and may be an older version; ask the clerk for the current one. File the original and 3 copies. She signs a verification; no notary is required. On a first petition the court must appoint a lawyer if she cannot afford one.

All Pennsylvania court forms: state court forms page →

We will mail them to her.

Write to us and we will print the Pennsylvania forms and mail them to her at no cost.

Ask us to mail them →

Or email help@womensinnocenceclinic.com. Print our guide for her. Each facility sets its own mail rules. If her facility returns our mail, we will let you know.

Send us:

  1. Her full legal name
  2. Her ID or DOC number
  3. Her facility’s name and full mailing address
  4. The state, county and case number
  5. Her sentencing date, and her appeal and filing dates
  6. Which forms she needs
  7. Your name, your relationship to her, and how to reach you

Last checked Sept. 24, 2026 against the rule or statute cited above. Forms, rules and deadlines change, and exceptions apply. Deadlines are copied from each state’s rule, in the rule’s own words. Confirm every deadline with the court clerk or a lawyer before filing. This is information, not legal advice.

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