What the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County charges to file an eviction or a small claims case, what the sheriff charges to serve it, and how to ask the court to waive the fees. Cases are heard in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Filing fee plus sheriff service plus enforcing the order, using only figures we have verified for this county. Attorney fees, if you use one, are on top of this and are not included.
Everything the clerk charges on an eviction or small claims case in Cook County. A dash means the county does not publish that figure — we would rather show you a gap than a guess.
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eviction filing — possession + rent claim | $368 | Cook is the only Illinois county in the 3,000,000+ population class, which carries its own higher statutory caps. |
| Eviction filing — possession only | $368 | Cook's schedule does not split possession-only from possession-plus-rent the way downstate schedules do. |
| Appearance fee — eviction defendant | $250 | Schedule 1 appearance. Schedule 2 appearance is $150. |
| Appearance fee — small claims defendant | No fee | No fee may be charged for a defendant's appearance in a small claims proceeding (705 ILCS 105/27.1b(z)(4)). This is statewide and does not vary by county. |
| Jury demand — 12 jurors | — | Not listed on form CCG0603. The statutory cap is $212.50 — confirm with the clerk. |
| Jury demand — 6 jurors | — | Not listed on form CCG0603. |
| Jury demand — small claims | $25 | $25 for twelve jurors, $12.50 for six, in small claims. |
| E-filing surcharge | — | Not published. The eFileIL service provider sets its own convenience fee. |
| If your claim is | You pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $2,500 | $287 | |
| $2,500 – $10,000 | $379 | Cook's tier boundaries do not follow the downstate pattern. Confirm the exact ceiling with the clerk before relying on this figure. |
Claims above $10,000 are not small claims in Illinois — they are filed as Law cases and cost more.
The filing fee is not the whole bill. Somebody has to serve the defendant, and in Illinois the sheriff sets that price county by county — it is the most variable number on this page. Across the counties we have checked, basic service runs from $35 to $109 per defendant.
$60 when the request is e-filed, $95 for a paper filing.
Same $60 e-file / $95 paper rate to re-file an eviction order, plus a $0.50 notice postcard.
Source: Cook County Sheriff civil process fees. Checked July 30, 2026.
Illinois courts will waive court fees, costs, and charges for people below certain income levels, under 735 ILCS 5/5-105 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 298. There is one statewide form — you do not need a Cook County version of it.
| The court waives | If your available income is |
|---|---|
| 100% | You receive SSI, AABD, TANF, SNAP, or General Assistance; or your available personal income is 125% or less of the current poverty level; or you cannot proceed without substantial hardship. |
| 75% | Available income is more than 125% but not more than 150% of the poverty level. |
| 50% | Available income is more than 150% but not more than 175% of the poverty level. |
| 25% | Available income is more than 175% but not more than 200% of the poverty level. |
The statute sets these four bands. The application form itself does not print the percentages — the court applies them. The court may also adjust based on non-exempt assets.
Fee waiver information verified July 30, 2026 against the Illinois General Assembly statute text and the Illinois Courts approved-forms library. We report what the statute and the form say. We cannot tell you whether you qualify — that is the court's decision.
Circuit Court of Cook County
Cook County Judicial Circuit
Odyssey eFileIL
E-filing is required for civil cases in Illinois, with limited exemptions for self-represented filers. The e-filing service providers charge their own convenience fee on top of the court's filing fee; that provider fee is set by the vendor, not the county, and is not published in county fee schedules. eFileIL →
We publish the court's and clerk's own contact information and link to their pages. We do not take your information, route you to anyone, or file anything on your behalf. For questions about court procedure — as opposed to what it costs — use the Illinois Courts self-help center.
Illinois does not have one statewide filing fee. 705 ILCS 105/27.1b sets four fee schedules with maximum amounts, the Illinois Supreme Court assigns each case category to one of those schedules, and each county board then sets the actual dollar amount by ordinance or resolution — up to the statutory cap. That is why the fee for the same case type differs from county to county.
"Cook" is the statute's language for a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more; "other" is every other Illinois county. These are ceilings on the portion of the fee set under 27.1b — several counties charge more than the cap in total because county-authorized add-ons (automation, document storage, law library, court security) are layered on top. The gap between the statutory cap and what a filer actually pays at the window is where most of the county-to-county variation lives.
Statutory backbone: 705 ILCS 105/27.1b — Clerks of Courts Act, Sec. 27.1b — Circuit court clerk fees. P.A. 100-987, effective July 1, 2019. Most recently amended by P.A. 104-120 (eff. 1-1-26) and P.A. 104-468 (eff. 7-1-26). Sections 27.2 and 27.2a, which older sources cite for civil fees, were repealed effective July 1, 2019. Statute text checked July 30, 2026.
Compiled and verified by David Scott. We re-check every source document monthly and re-read any county whose schedule has changed. If the clerk quotes you something different from what is on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Read the full methodology.