Pennsylvania Post-Judgment Interest Rate: 6% Per Year on Small Claims Judgments

Every day a Pennsylvania judgment debtor does not pay, the balance grows. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8101, post-judgment interest accrues at a flat 6% per year — simple interest, not compound — on the unpaid judgment amount from the date the judgment is entered on the court docket.

How the 6% Rate Works

The rate is statutory and fixed. It does not change with the federal funds rate or any market index. A $5,000 judgment accrues $300 per year in interest, or roughly $0.82 per day. After two years of non-payment, the debtor owes $5,600 before any court costs or execution fees are added.

The calculation is straightforward:

Daily interest = (Judgment amount × 0.06) ÷ 365

For a $3,000 judgment: ($3,000 × 0.06) ÷ 365 = $0.49 per day. After 180 days, that adds $88.77 to the balance.

Interest begins on the date the judgment is entered on the docket — not the date of the hearing, and not the date you receive the Notice of Judgment in the mail. The MDJ docket sheet shows the exact entry date.

Interest Applies to the Full Execution Balance

When you file a Request for Order of Execution (AOPC Form 308A) at the MDJ level or a Praecipe for Writ of Execution in Common Pleas, the execution amount should include the original judgment principal, all court costs, and accrued post-judgment interest calculated to the date of the filing. The constable or sheriff collects the full balance.

If the debtor pays months later, recalculate interest through the actual payment date. Any underpayment of interest gives you grounds to decline recording a satisfaction of judgment until the balance is fully settled.

What Interest Does Not Cover

The 6% rate applies only to the monetary judgment itself. It does not apply to unpaid court filing fees or constable deposits separately — those are recoverable as execution costs but do not independently accrue statutory interest. The interest also does not apply to any portion of the judgment that represents attorney fees unless the court's judgment order specifically includes those fees in the principal amount.

Pre-Judgment vs. Post-Judgment Interest

Pre-judgment interest (interest from the date the debt arose through the date of judgment) is a separate matter. Pennsylvania courts may award pre-judgment interest in contract cases where the amount owed was certain and determinable, but it is not automatic. Post-judgment interest under § 8101 is automatic and requires no separate court order.

Using Interest as Leverage

The 6% rate may sound modest, but it compounds the debtor's incentive to pay over time. On a $10,000 judgment, that is $600 per year. Combined with the fact that a transferred Common Pleas judgment creates a real estate lien on the debtor's property in that county for five years from indexing, the accumulating interest makes delay increasingly costly for the debtor.

When you send a post-judgment demand letter, include a line-item breakdown showing the principal, accrued interest to date, and a per-day figure going forward. Debtors who see a concrete daily number tend to take the balance more seriously than those who receive a static dollar amount.

The Pennsylvania Judgment Collection Guide includes an interest calculator worksheet and shows how to build the full execution balance — principal, interest, court costs, and officer fees — for every enforcement filing.

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