16 Pa.C.S. § 13715: Not to exercise office until commission granted and recorded and penalty.

An individual elected or appointed to the office of sheriff may not execute any of the duties of office before a commission is duly granted to the sheriff by the Governor and properly recorded, under a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court of common pleas. The individual elected or appointed to the office of sheriff shall be liable to a person injured by acts done by the sheriff under the purview of the office of sheriff.