For how to access the county court rules, see the Pennsylvania Court Rules - County guide.
Occasionally there is a need to see what a court rule looked like in a prior year. Lexis (beginning with 2013) and Westlaw (beginning with 1993) both provide access to older versions of the Pennsylvania state court rules. The library also has print volumes of the Pennsylvania court rules going back to 1988 and the rules as they are in Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes going back to the 1930s. Select older rules may be available in our Rare Book Room. See below for more details.
Archived Codes
Available on the library's Lexis computers. Historical court rules coverage begins with 2013.
From the Lexis Advance home page, under Explore Content, select Statutes & Legislation or Administrative Codes & Regs. The Archived Code Search is found in the Related Resources box on the right. Lexis requires a search string in order to conduct the search. If you have the court rule, use cite() and include rule number in between the parenthesis. Select "Court Rules", the desired year(s), and the desired jurisdiction(s). Then click "Search".
For example, if you wanted to see how Pa.R.C.P. 201 looked in 2014, use the search string cite(201), select "Court Rules", enter 2014 in the date field, select Pennsylvania, then click "Search".
Lexis also allows you to find archived versions of the court rules when in the current court rule. When looking at a current court rule, the "About" box on the right includes a link to archived versions, when available.
Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated - Historical
Available on the library's Westlaw computers. Historical court rules coverage begins with 1993.
From the All Content tab, select Statutes & Court Rules > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated - Historical (located in the Tools & Resources box on the right). Click on the desired year. Westlaw requires a search string in order to conduct the search. Use the fields listed to help generate the search. Include rule! in the "All of these terms" field. If you have the rule number, enter the rule number in the "Citation" field.
For example, if you wanted to see how Pa.R.C.P. 201 looked in 2006, once on the Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated - Historical page, click "2006", enter rule! in the "All of these terms" field and 201 in the "Citation" field, and click the search icon.
Pennsylvania Rules of Court Bisel & West/Thomson Reuters
Library has 1964-1987.
Pennsylvania Rules of Court: State West/Thomson Reuters
Library has 1988-present.
Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes West/Thomson Reuters
Library has main volumes from 1930-present, select pocket parts from 1930-1969, and all pocket parts from 1970-present.
Jenkins' Rare Book Room
The Jenkins' Rare Book Room contains select additional historical court rules. Contact Research Services at 215.574.1505 or research@jenkinslaw.org for more information.