Court & Hearings

To fill out an Application for Waiver of Court Fees, you will need to provide information about:

• Your income in the past month and past year,
• Your property,
• Your monthly expenses, and
• The number of people living with you who depend on you for financial support.

If you get public benefits, you do not have to fill out information about your money or property. Public benefits include:

• SSI,
• General Assistance,
• SNAP or
• TANF.

Fill out the following forms:

• Application for Waiver A document that gives up a legal right or excuses a requirement of Court Fees: This form has information about you and your money, property, and debts.
• Order for Waiver of Court Fees: This is the form the judge will fill out when a decision is made.

You can use our program to:

• Help you fill out the forms, or
• Print out a copy of the application and order and fill them out by hand.

Make a copy of both the Application for Waiver of Court Fees and the Order for Waiver of Court Fees.

Your fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. does not need to be filed in-person. It can be e-filed, mailed, or filed through other means allowed by your local court. Learn more about e-filing here.

Sometimes the court requires a hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer for a fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. if there's a factual issue. The court will let you know about this hearing by e-mail if you agreed to receive e-mails from the court. Or, they will send it by mail to your address.

If the court schedules a hearing for your case, they will schedule the date and time of the hearing by phone or video conference. You will need to make sure you have the correct date, time, and way to appear for your hearing. The court will likely also ask you to submit specific documents so the judge can make their decision. If you're unsure about how to submit those documents, you can contact your circuit clerk The office that takes care of files and documents for circuit court cases . 
 
If you have filed an application for a criminal case fee waiver, the court has to hold your hearing within 5-10 business days.

What is the judge looking for at the hearing?

If you qualify for a public benefit, then you should automatically qualify for a full fee waiver. Public benefits include:

• Supplemental Security Income A federal program that gives money to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people on a monthly basis (SSI),
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

However, the court may have questions about your public benefit status, so they may schedule a hearing. For example, the court may have questions if you had public benefits, but you did not recertify those benefits. 

 
If you don't have public benefits or your income is higher than the Federal Poverty Level, the court can still grant you a full fee waiver. However, the court uses other information to make that decision. Other information may include a breakdown of your monthly expenses or supporting documents that show paying the filing fee Fee charged for filing court documents would cause you substantial hardship. With that said, the court may set up a hearing to ask factual questions about your situation. 
 
It's important to note that the following things do not automatically disqualify you from getting a fee waiver:

• Having a job. The federal poverty levels change when you factor in how many people you are providing for. 
• Having a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice . You may have a pro bono Legal work done for little or no cost lawyer or a lawyer paid by someone other than you.
• Owning a home. You may be behind on your home payments, which is something the judge will consider. 

 
At the hearing, you will need to answer A written statement used to respond to the complaint or petition in a lawsuit questions truthfully about your application.
 

A judge will review your Application for Waiver A document that gives up a legal right or excuses a requirement of Court Fees and make a decision. This could take up to 2 weeks. Ask the circuit clerk The office that takes care of files and documents for circuit court cases how long it usually takes.

If you added an email address to your court forms, the court may contact you at that address. Be sure to check your email every day.

Once the judge makes a decision, they will sign the Order for Waiver of Court Fees. If it is approved, this is the document that allows you to file court papers for free.

Approved for full waiver

You will get a full (100%) waiver if:

• You receive an income-based public benefit,
• Your income is 125% of the federal poverty levels or less, or
• The judge decides having to pay would be a substantial hardship for you.

To see how much of a fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. you are eligible for, you can look at the Illinois courts' monthly and annual income thresholds. You can read the Illinois Judicial Branch Guidelines for a more detailed analysis of how the court decides to apply fee waivers.

If the judge approves your application, you will not have to pay for:

• Filing court papers, such as a complaint A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did , appearance A form that lets the plaintiff and the court know the defendant is participating in the case. It can also be when a person shows up to their court hearing. , motions, and other papers,
• Serving your court papers on the other parties,
• Attending mandatory programs like mediation When a neutral person, called a mediator, works to help the parties in a case reach an agreement , arbitration When parties present their case to a third person instead of going to court. The arbitrator’s decision is binding. This means it becomes part of the final judgment even if the parties don’t agree with it. , counseling, evaluation, Focus on the Family, or similar programs,
• A translator or guardian ad litem A person appointed by a judge to help the judge make a decision in a guardianship or family law case , and
• Clerk certified court documents or transcriptions of court proceedings.

Keep with you a copy of the judge's order approving your application. You will need to show the order to the circuit clerk.

Approved for partial waiver for a civil case

You will get a partial fee waiver for a civil case if your income is 200% of the federal poverty levels or less:

Approved for partial waiver for a Criminal Case

You will get a partial fee waiver for your criminal case if your income is 400% of the federal poverty levels or less:

Denied

If your application has been denied, the court can order one of four things:

1. It may allow you to pay at a later time,
2. It may allow you to make installment payments,
3. It may allow you to make payments on other terms and conditions that are specific to your situation, or
4. It may order you to pay all court costs The fees for going to court, including filing, serving, and getting transcripts .

In any case, you should be ready to pay all court costs. You can either pay by cash or money order. The clerk in most counties will not take personal checks. Some counties will also allow you to pay your fees by a credit or debit card or online. To find out how you can pay your fees, ask the circuit clerk.