Adopted September 8, 1938 · Last amended March 11, 1991 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceRule 227 relieves a party of the need to take exceptions to a trial judge’s rulings — an exception is deemed taken automatically — while requiring that exceptions to the jury charge be taken before the jury retires and, on request, out of the jury’s hearing.
(a)It shall not be necessary on the trial of any action or proceeding to take exception to any ruling of the trial judge. An exception in favor of the party against whom the adverse ruling was made shall be deemed to have been taken with the same force and effect as if it had been requested, noted by the official stenographer and thereafter written out, signed and sealed by the trial judge.
(b)Unless specially allowed by the court, all exceptions to the charge to the jury shall be taken before the jury retires. On request of any party all such exceptions and arguments thereon shall be made out of hearing of the jury.
End
Plain-English Summary
This rule removes an old formality. A party no longer has to formally “except” to a trial judge’s ruling to preserve it; an exception in favor of the party against whom the adverse ruling was made is deemed to have been taken automatically.
The jury charge is treated differently. Unless the court specially allows otherwise, all exceptions to the charge must be taken before the jury retires, and on any party’s request those exceptions and the arguments on them are made out of the jury’s hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to take a formal exception to preserve a ruling?
No. An exception in favor of the party against whom an adverse ruling was made is deemed automatically taken. Exceptions to the jury charge, however, must be taken before the jury retires.
Amendment History
The provisions of this Rule 227 adopted September 8, 1938, effective March 20, 1939; amended March 30, 1960, effective April 1, 1960; amended March 22, 1962, effective April 2, 1962; amended March 11, 1991, effective July 1, 1991, 21 Pa.B. 1274. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (146609).
Source & verification. Rule text, the Official Note, and the amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Pennsylvania Code, Title 231, the official compilation
of rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Last verified June 30, 2026. ·
Official text
Also known as:exceptionsobjection to chargepreserving error