Court & Hearings

To file the Motion, you will need to fill out the following forms: 

• Motion: This form explains what you want the court to do and why the court should do it.
• Order: This is the form the appellate court will fill out when a decision is made.

You can print out a copy of the Motion and Order and fill them out by hand. Or, because you eventually need to e-file these forms, you may choose to download the forms and complete them via fillable PDF A type of document that can be viewed and printed from many devices on your computer.

To fill out the forms, you will need to provide information about:

• The case name and number.
• The action you want the appellate court to take.
• The reasons why the appellate court should take that action.
• The parties or people you sent the motion to and how you sent it. See the next step for more information.

Your court may require your motion should state whether or not the other side agrees with your motion. 

The forms have instructions about how exactly to fill them out. Learn more about properly completing and filing a Motion in the Illinois Appellate Court.

You must send one copy of the Motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something and Order to each party A person or business involved in a court case in a role like plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, respondent, or intervenor. in the case. If the other party has an attorney, you must send one copy of each form to the attorney's office instead. In legal terms, when you send your Motion and Order to the other parties, this is called "service."

You can choose how to send the document to the other parties. Your options are:

• Personal hand delivery;
• Regular, first-class mail;
• Third-party commercial carrier (like FedEx or UPS);
• Email, at the email address identified in the other party’s 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. ; or
• E-filing Short for "electronic filing." You file court papers using a computer instead of handing them to the clerk in person. This is required in Illinois as of 1/1/18. service provider (either through the court or a third-party).

Make sure you fill out the Proof of Service section of the Motion to match how you actually sent the documents.

The Motion form allows you to provide proof of service for 3 parties. If there are more than 3 other parties besides yourself in the case, then you will need to fill out an Additional Proof of Service form for each additional party.

Once your forms are completed, you must file them with the court. Generally, you  must e-file your forms.

Learn more about e-filing your forms. Be sure to remember that you are filing appellate court forms, not circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois forms.

If you do not have easy access to a computer or the internet, you can get help e-filing your form by bringing your Motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something to a local appellate court clerk's office or to the circuit court clerk's office in your county. You may bring the Motion in a paper copy or on a flash drive. The court clerks' offices have public terminals where you can scan and e-file your motion.

You may not need to e-file your forms if one of the following statements is true:

• You have a sensitive case, like a petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court for an order of protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties or a civil no contact/stalking When a person follows someone, watches them outside their home or office, or tells them things they observed them doing order;
• You have trouble reading, writing, or speaking in English;
• You have a disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. that prevents efiling;
• You are incarcerated; or
• You do not have Internet or a computer at home and getting to a library or other place with access to the public internet is difficult.

If one of these circumstances applies to you, you may ask the court to let you file paper forms instead of e-filing. You can do that by filing the appellate version of the Certification for Exemption from E-filing form. Use our Easy Form program to make the e-filing exemption or download a blank form.

After you file your Motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something , the other side will have 5 days to file a response A formal written answer to the plaintiff or petitioner's written statement . The court will review your Motion and decide whether to grant or deny To refuse or say no it. 

If the motion challenges the appellate court’s jurisdiction The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. or raises an issue that could result in dismissal of the appeal A request to change a court's decision , the appellate court may order additional briefing, record submissions, or oral argument. 

Once a decision is made, the appellate clerk will mail you a copy of the completed Order.