An HCl molecular beam incident on MgO(100) is photoexcited to v = 2, J = 1 by using a pulsed parametric oscillator. At a translational energy of 0.11 eV, incident HCl is adsorbed. Thermal desorption yields v = 2 molecules whose rotational and translational degrees of freedom are equilibrated at the surface temperature. Surface residence times for v = 2 might be as long as 1 mu s. At 180 K, it is concluded that a large fraction of surface-bound v = 2 molecules reenter the gas phase, while at 120 K, deactivation exceeds desorption by an order of magnitude. Deactivation probably takes place at steps. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.