Summons | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts
Approved Statewide Forms — Summons
The Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice has approved the following forms. All Illinois Courts must accept these forms. Scroll down below the chart for important information on how to fill out these forms, including the need for Adobe and downloading forms to save them properly so that you can electronically file them.
The Summons form is currently being revised. If you are suing more than one Defendant/Respondent, fill out a Summons for each Defendant/Respondent. Ignore the directions on the Summons to fill out an Additional Plaintiff/Petitioner Contact Information form or Additional Defendant/Respondent Contact Information form.
In most cases you will file a general summons to let someone know they are being sued and for the sheriff to provide them that notice.
In Divorce, Eviction, Order of Protection and Small Claims, you must use a specific Summons Form for that particular type of case.
Specific Case Type Appearance Forms
Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union (Divorce With Children)
Illinois Legal Aid Online provides a guided interview that will ask you a series of questions related to this topic and then the program will complete the forms for you. It is free to use.
To see the overall process of getting a divorce in Illinois when you have children, please
click here.
Eviction Complaint Documents
Illinois Legal Aid Online provides a
guided interview that will ask you a series of questions related to this topic and then the program will complete the forms for you. It is free to use.
Special Rules Regarding Eviction Cases During the Pandemic:
- All residential eviction summons must include a notice about Court-Based Rental Assistance in English and in Spanish. Copies of the notice are also available in Polish, Mandarin, Arabic, Korean and Tagalog. Check with your local court because they may have additional or different required information (for example, Cook and Winnebago counties).
- Courts may give parties more time to access rental assistance, legal aid, and mediation and continue any eviction matter for good cause shown.
Order of Protection
Illinois Legal Aid Online provides a guided interview that will ask you a series of questions related to this topic and then the program will complete the forms for you. It is free to use.
Watch this video for help on how to use the Illinois Legal Aid Online guided interview to complete the Order of Protection forms.
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Form Title
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Notes
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Summons (Protective Orders)
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Approved 8/2021
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Suggestions?
All forms are ADA accessible, and you can handwrite or type into the PDF form to fill it out.
IMPORTANT: You will need Adobe Acrobat, or free Adobe Reader XI (or a higher version) in order to save completed forms. You MUST first SAVE/DOWNLOAD each form as a PDF to your computer before you begin. If you fill out a form on a webpage, you will lose your progress.
E-filing: If you are e-filing any of these forms, you will need to "flatten" the form so it cannot be changed after you complete it. You flatten the form in one of two ways:
- If you used Adobe Acrobat or Reader to complete your downloaded form (recommended), go to the "File" menu at the top, select "print", and choose "Adobe PDF" or “Print to PDF” from the dropdown menu. You will be told to save the form. This saved form will be "flattened" and you can e-file it.
- If you did not use Adobe Acrobat or Reader, your computer will select a software that will allow you to fill out the forms. You will need to look for a “Save as PDF” option. Depending on the software you use, this option may be found in the print dialog box under your “Print” menu option.
- Before e-filing any "flattened" form, be sure to open the file to make sure that it looks is filled out.