The Illinois standardized motion form is a free, court-approved template that lets anyone — represented or not — formally ask a judge to take a specific action in a civil case. Every circuit court in the state must accept it under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 10-101. Filing it is a three-document job: the motion itself, a Notice of Court Date for Motion, and a Proof of Delivery. You submit all three electronically through Odyssey eFileIL and separately serve copies on every other party.
When This Form Is the Right One
The general motion form is a catch-all for requests that don’t have their own dedicated template. Use it to ask a judge to allow a remote appearance, permit a late filing, or order the other side to turn over evidence. If your request is procedural and no specialized form covers it, this is the form.
Illinois publishes separate standardized forms for common specific requests. Asking to reschedule a court date or extend a filing deadline, for example, has its own Motion to Continue (Reschedule) or Extend Time, with built-in fields for scheduling conflicts and a Statement of Missing Evidence or Witness. Before you start on the general form, check the full list of approved forms on the Illinois Courts website to confirm a more targeted template doesn’t already exist for what you need.
Filling Out the Motion
Download the PDF from the Illinois Courts motions page before typing anything. The form won’t save your work inside a web browser. Open it in Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader (version XI or later), save it locally, then work through it.
Case Caption
The top of the form repeats the heading that appears on every document in your case. Fill in the county, the names of all plaintiffs or petitioners, the names of all defendants or respondents, and the case number. Copy everything exactly as it appears on your existing court papers. A missing middle name or a transposed digit can stop the clerk from connecting your motion to the right file.
What You’re Asking For
Give the motion a short title (“Motion to Appear by Video,” “Motion for Extension of Time”) and then state precisely what you want the judge to do. Be concrete. “I ask the court to grant me 14 additional days to file my answer” is more useful than a vague request for more time.
Why the Judge Should Grant It
Below the request, the form gives you space to explain your reasons. Stick to facts: what happened, when it happened, and why it justifies the relief you’re asking for. Judges look for a clear factual basis, not an emotional appeal. If a doctor’s note, an email, or a prior court order helps, attach it and reference it in this section.
Signature
Your signature has legal weight. Under 735 ILCS 5/1-109, signing means a false statement in the form is treated as perjury. Read the certification language before you sign.
The Notice of Court Date
Every motion needs a Notice of Court Date for Motion, which tells the other parties when and where the hearing will happen. Without it, the judge has no assurance the other side knows about your request.
Before you fill out the notice, contact the circuit clerk in the county where your case is pending to get a hearing date, time, and courtroom. Clerk contact information is at ilcourts.info/clerks. In Cook County, you may receive the court date automatically when you e-file.
On the form, write a short title matching the motion’s title, then enter the date, time, and courtroom. The notice also asks whether the hearing will be in person, by video, or by phone. Check the correct box and include any log-in or call-in details for a remote appearance.
The Proof of Delivery
The Proof of Delivery is built into the bottom of the Notice of Court Date for Motion. It documents how and when you sent copies of the motion and notice to every other party. If a party has a lawyer, send the documents to the lawyer, not the party.
Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 11, electronic delivery is the default. If both you and the recipient have email addresses, you must serve electronically, either by email or through an approved electronic filing service provider. You can use U.S. mail or a commercial carrier only if you or the recipient lacks an email address or a judge grants permission.
The form has space for three recipients. If your case has more parties, download and attach an Additional Proof of Delivery form from the Illinois Courts website.
E-Filing Through Odyssey eFileIL
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 9 requires all civil documents to be filed electronically. The approved system is Odyssey eFileIL at efile.illinoiscourts.gov. Create an account, upload your PDFs, and pay any court fees during submission.
Flatten the PDFs First
Before uploading, flatten each form so your typed entries become permanent and can’t be edited after filing. In Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to File, select Print, and choose “Adobe PDF” or “Print to PDF” as the printer. Save the new file. Open it again to confirm your entries still appear.
Fees and Waivers
Court filing fees for motions vary by county and case type. The electronic filing system’s payment processor adds a convenience charge on top: currently 2.89% of the total fees on credit or debit card payments, or a flat $0.25 on eChecks. If you can’t afford the fees, use the standardized Application for Waiver of Court Fees on the Illinois Courts website. A judge reviews it and enters an order granting or denying the waiver.
When You Can File on Paper
Rule 9 recognizes two paths to paper filing. Automatic exemption, with no paperwork required, applies to anyone held in a jail or correctional facility at the time of filing and to anyone with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act that prevents e-filing.
Other situations require a Certification for Exemption from E-Filing, available on the Illinois Courts website. You qualify for this good-cause exemption if you lack home internet access or computer skills, don’t have an email account, don’t have a credit card or bank account, face a language barrier or difficulty reading English, or tried to e-file but couldn’t complete the process and no technical assistance was available.
Serving the Other Parties
Filing with the clerk and serving the other side are separate obligations. Once the clerk accepts your motion, deliver copies of the motion, the Notice of Court Date, and any attachments to every other party or their attorney. The Proof of Delivery documents that you did this.
Rule 11 makes electronic service the default. You may serve by email to the address on the other party’s court appearance, or through an electronic filing service provider. If electronic service isn’t possible, you can mail the documents through the U.S. Postal Service or send them by a commercial carrier, with postage or delivery charges fully prepaid.
Skipping service, or doing it incorrectly, gives the judge grounds to refuse to hear the motion. The other party has a right to know about the request and prepare a response.
At the Hearing
On the scheduled date, the judge reviews your written motion and any response filed by the other side. You’ll have a chance to explain your request verbally, and the other side can argue against it. Judges often probe the facts rather than just reading the paper, so come prepared to answer questions.
Bring a printed copy of the standardized Order on Motion form, which Illinois Courts publishes alongside the motion forms. If the judge grants your request, a proposed order ready for signature gets the ruling documented on the spot. The signed order becomes part of the official court record.
Notice timing before the hearing varies by county. Some local rules set a minimum number of days between serving the motion and the hearing date. Check your county’s local rules or ask the circuit clerk before you lock in a hearing date.
If the Motion Is Denied or You Want to Withdraw It
A denial isn’t necessarily the end. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1203, you can file a motion to reconsider within 30 days of the judge’s order. This isn’t a chance to repeat the same argument. You need a legitimate basis: newly discovered evidence you couldn’t have found before the hearing, a recent change in the law, or a clear legal error in the judge’s reasoning. If you’re relying on new evidence, be ready to explain why it wasn’t available earlier. A judge will deny reconsideration if reasonable effort would have surfaced the evidence the first time.
If you decide not to pursue a motion you already filed, you can file a written request to withdraw it before the judge rules. When you filed the motion yourself, withdrawing is typically straightforward and doesn’t require a hearing.