COOK COUNTY E-FILING GUIDELINES
The eFileIL e-filing system integration with the Cook County case management system is ongoing, and not yet perfect. In the meantime, please keep in mind the following guidelines and workarounds related to case searches, date selection, and the use of case cross reference numbers.
TIPS
Filing Brand New Court Cases
At this time, the Cook County case management system is not fully integrated with the eFileIL system, but you are able to e-file brand new cases without issue. Until full integration occurs however, the "Return Date" and "Schedule a Hearing" features outlined below will not be enabled.
Filing on Existing Court Cases
Again, since the Cook County case management system is not fully integrated with the eFileIL system. Searching for existing cases will not work. To e-file on an existing court case you must use the "File on Un-Indexed Case" filing option. Click here for detailed instructions.
Note: The search by case number and search by party name will work for County Division cases.
Scheduling of Motions
The scheduling of motions is dependent upon real-time calls into the Cook County CMS (Case Management System). This capability is only available from 8:30am to 11:59pm Central Time on court business days.
Scheduling Hearing Dates
Filers will select a Motion document type and upload their document. Then in the Additional Info section, select the Type of Motion type from the drop down. There will be a number of motion types to select, so please choose the one that best fits the case type and/or motion you are filing.
Once you submit your filing, you schedule a hearing date from the dates the court provides. If the court doesn't provide any, you may come back to the filing later (as long as your filing status is still Pending), and use the Schedule a Hearing Date link to request the date.
CROSS REFERENCE NUMBERS
Local / County Attorney Code
The Cook County’s CMS (Case Management System) requires the filer identify their locally defined, or county defined, attorney code. The Court asks that you use the Case Cross Reference Number feature and select a Type of Attorney Code, then enter the attorney number / code into the Number field.
Ad-Damnum (Amount Claimed) Requirement
At this time, the e-filing system doesn’t provide a specific field to identify the Ad-Damnum or Amount Claimed. This will be added in the near future. In the meantime, the Court asks that filers use the following work-around.
1) Use the Case Cross Reference Number feature and select a Type of Amount Claimed and enter the amount in the associated number field.
2) Then, in the Security and Optional Services section, you must select the Optional Service option matching the range of your claim amount so that the proper filing fee is calculated.
Motion Types in the Domestic and Probate Divisions
When filing or scheduling motions, a type is required. The Court asks that you use the Case Cross Reference Number feature and select a Type of Motion, then enter a description of your motion type in the Number field.
Property Identification Numbers (PINs)
These PINs are necessary for tax cases within the County Division. The Court asks that you use the Case Cross Reference Number feature and select a Type of Property ID, then enter the property ID Number field. The Court requests that the filer enter the first ten (10) PINS.
Expungement Case Type & Arrest Numbers
If you are filing an expungement, the court requires you provide the arrest number. You can provide this using the Case Cross Reference Number feature by selecting a Type of Arrest Number, and entering the arrest number in the number field.