How to Complete the CCP 211 Report of Physician: Cook County Guardianship

Cook County’s CCP 0211 Report of Physician is the medical form a licensed doctor completes to tell the Probate Division whether an adult needs a legal guardian, and it must accompany the Petition for Appointment of Guardian for an Alleged Person with a Disability. The underlying clinical evaluation has to have been performed within three months of the petition’s filing date, or the court will not accept the report.¹ Get the form into the physician’s hands before the appointment so the doctor can see exactly what the court expects them to address.

Where to Download the Form

The CCP 0211 is a free PDF on the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s form search page at services.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/forms/. Look under Probate forms and search for “CCP 0211” or “Report of Physician.”¹ Print it before the evaluation. The form has no checkboxes; every answer is a narrative the physician writes based on a direct examination of the respondent, so handing the doctor a blank copy at the start of the visit matters more than it does with ordinary paperwork.

The Three-Month Evaluation Window

A bold notice on the form itself warns that the evaluations behind the report must have been performed within three months of the date the guardianship petition is filed.¹ Count backward from the planned filing date, not from the hearing date. An evaluation performed in January is stale by May, and the court will reject the report even if the hearing itself is still weeks away.

If the respondent’s disability is an intellectual disability, Illinois law stretches that window to one year, and a licensed clinical psychologist may prepare the report instead of a physician.² Cook County has a separate form for that situation, the CCP 0243 Report of Licensed Clinical Psychologist, so use that one in place of the CCP 0211 when the exception applies.

What the Physician Writes in Each Section

The five numbered prompts on the form mirror the five categories the Illinois Probate Act requires in every guardianship physician’s report.²

Section 1 — Disability and its impact. The doctor describes the nature and type of the respondent’s disability, gives the underlying diagnosis, and explains how the disability affects the person’s ability to make decisions or function independently.

Section 2 — Evaluation results. An analysis of the respondent’s mental and physical condition. Where relevant, the physician also addresses educational condition, adaptive behavior, and social skills.

Section 3 — Guardianship opinion. Whether the physician believes guardianship is needed, what type and scope is appropriate, and why. The doctor states whether the respondent is totally or only partially unable to make personal and financial decisions, and if partially, which decisions the respondent can still handle alone.

Section 4 — Living arrangement and treatment plan. A recommendation for the most suitable living situation and, if appropriate, a treatment or rehabilitation plan, with the reasons supporting each.

Section 5 — Other evaluators. If the report draws on evaluations by other professionals, such as a neuropsychologist or social worker, each of them also signs the form and provides their name, address, credentials, and signature.

Why Section 3 Carries the Most Weight

Judges read Section 3 most closely because what the physician writes there determines whether the court considers plenary (full) or limited guardianship. Illinois law requires guardianship to be “ordered only to the extent necessitated by the individual’s actual mental, physical and adaptive limitations,” so a judge looks hard at remaining capacity before stripping any of it away.³

A vague statement like “patient needs help” will not support a guardianship finding. The physician needs to connect specific clinical observations to specific decision-making deficits: that the respondent cannot manage medications because of documented memory loss, for example, or cannot handle finances because of a diagnosed cognitive impairment.¹ If the report identifies areas where the respondent still functions, the judge is more likely to appoint a limited guardian whose powers reach only the areas where help is genuinely needed.³

Illinois also requires clear and convincing evidence (not just a preponderance) to find someone disabled and appoint a guardian, and a diagnosis alone is not enough.⁴ The physician’s narrative in Section 3 is where that evidentiary standard either gets met or does not.

Who Must Sign

A licensed physician signs the CCP 0211.¹ The signature block collects the physician’s medical license state and number, address, city, state, zip, and phone number. Any other professional whose evaluation contributed to the report signs in Section 5 and lists their own credentials.

Getting the Report to the Court

This is the step that trips people up. The petition itself (CCP 0200) is filed electronically through eFileIL, mandatory for civil filings in Cook County since 2018.⁵ When e-filing, select “Cook County – Probate – District 1 – Chicago” as the location and “Guardianship for Disabled – Person” as the case type.

The CCP 0211 itself is not e-filed. The original signed report is delivered directly to the assigned judge as a courtesy copy, typically two to five business days before the court date. The original Oath and Bond form (CCP 0313 for no surety) travels to the judge at the same time. The e-filed package should include the petition with the Probate Division cover sheet, any required exhibit listing interested parties, and supporting documents, but the physician’s report goes to chambers separately.

Other forms commonly used alongside the CCP 0211 in a guardianship case include the Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem (CCP 0209), the Guardianship Summons (CCP 0201), and the proposed Order Appointing Plenary Guardian (CCP 0204) or Order Appointing Limited Guardian (CCP 0207).⁶

If You File Without a Report

If no report accompanies the petition, the court can order its own evaluations, but the resulting report must still be filed at least ten days before the hearing.² That fallback costs time and control over who performs the evaluation. Having a completed CCP 0211 in hand before you file is the cleaner path.

1
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Cook County CCP 0211 – Report of Physician
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-9 – Report
3
Guardianship & Advocacy Commission. Frequently Asked Questions About Guardianship
4
FindLaw. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-3 – Adjudication of Disability, Appointment of Guardian
5
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. eFile
6
Guardianship & Advocacy Commission. A Practitioner’s Guide to Adult Guardianship in Illinois