Pennsylvania AO-440 Summons in a Civil Action is a legal document used in Pennsylvania civil court proceedings to inform a defendant of the lawsuit filed against them and to formally initiate a civil action. It is also known as a “summons and complaint” or “summons and declaration” and is issued by the court. The AO-440 summons informs the defendant of the specific claims made against them and the court proceedings they must appear in. It requires the defendant to answer the complaint within a certain amount of time and also includes a warning that failure to comply with the summons can result in a default judgment against the defendant. There are two types of Pennsylvania AO-440 Summons in a Civil Action: 1) Original Summons in a Civil Action and 2) Notice of Service of Summons. The Original Summons in a Civil Action is used to initiate a lawsuit against the defendant while the Notice of Service of Summons informs the defendant that the Original Summons was served.