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How much does it cost to file an eviction in Illinois?

Illinois eviction fees are set county by county. In Cook County — the state's largest — the clerk charges $287 to file for possession only and $379 to $388 when the complaint also claims rent, and the sheriff's service and enforcement charges come on top. Downstate counties charge less on the same statutory structure.

Illinois eviction fees at a glance

The Cook County tiers are from the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Municipal Division fee schedule as published for eviction (forcible entry and detainer) cases: possession-only filings at $287, and joint actions for possession and rent at $379 where the rent claim is between $2,500 and $15,000 and $388 above $15,000, each including the statutory mailing fee and postage charged per defendant. Illinois law expressly allows the rent claim to be joined to the possession claim in one case (735 ILCS 5/9-209), including pro-rata rent for any period a judgment is delayed — filing jointly costs more at the window but avoids a second case to collect. The state statute behind every county's schedule, the Clerks of Courts Act (705 ILCS 105/27.2), frames forcible entry and detainer fees as a minimum-to-maximum band — $40 to $75 where possession only or a claim of $15,000 or less is sought, and $150 to $225 above $15,000 — with each county's schedule, plus statewide surcharges, fixing the actual figure; Cook County, in the highest population class, sits at the top of the system. Sheriff-side figures are from the Cook County Sheriff's published eviction procedure guide. The national comparison is on the eviction filing costs hub.

The notice is the case: 5, 10 or 30 days

An Illinois eviction under the Eviction Act (735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq.) begins with a written notice, and the wrong notice voids everything after it. Nonpayment of rent requires a five-day notice under §9-209: the tenant can defeat the case by paying the full rent demanded within the five days. A lease violation other than nonpayment requires a ten-day notice under §9-210. Ending a month-to-month or informal tenancy requires thirty days under §9-207, and Chicago landlords must additionally comply with the notice and just-cause provisions of the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance for covered units. No fee is charged for the notice itself, but a landlord who cannot serve it personally typically pays a process server or the sheriff to deliver it — the first, smallest, and most consequential spend in the case. Only after the notice period expires with the tenant still in possession may the complaint be filed.

How the case runs

1. Serve the correct statutory notice — 5-day, 10-day or 30-day — and let the period expire no court fee
2. E-file the eviction complaint and summons with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property sits (e-filing is mandatory in Illinois civil cases, with exemptions) $287–$388 in Cook County
3. Have the sheriff attempt service of the summons first in Cook County; if the sheriff cannot serve, ask the court for an alias summons for a special process server about $60 per defendant
4. Appear for trial in the Municipal Division's forcible entry and detainer section. If the landlord prevails, the court enters an eviction order, usually stayed for a period the judge sets.
5. When the stay expires and the tenant remains, file the order with the sheriff's eviction unit; only the sheriff may execute it, and lockouts by the landlord are prohibited $60.50 enforcement filing

Costs after judgment, and the winter problem

Two Cook County charges catch landlords out after they have won. The sheriff charges a non-refundable rescheduling fee — $65 if filed through e-file or $95 for in-person paper filing at the Daley Center — when an eviction is called off at the site or the plaintiff or a representative fails to appear on the day; a representative of the plaintiff must be present at every scheduled eviction. And Cook County enforces no eviction during its holiday-season moratorium or in extreme weather, by court order, which stretches the calendar without changing the fees. Tenants, for their part, pay an appearance fee in most Illinois eviction cases and can ask the court to seal the case file under the state's eviction-sealing provisions — relevant context for landlords estimating how a filing will be received. Compare the sheriff-driven cost structure with Texas eviction costs and the court-fee-driven structure in New York eviction costs; the state overview is the Illinois court costs guide.

Can't afford the fee?

Illinois's fee-waiver statute, 735 ILCS 5/5-105, requires the court to waive filing and service fees for a litigant who receives means-tested public benefits or whose income is at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, and allows discretionary partial waivers above that line. The Application for Waiver of Court Fees is a statewide approved form filed with the complaint. See the fee waiver guide for the general pattern.

Sources: Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County — Municipal Division Fee Schedule (eviction: possession only $287; possession plus rent $2,500–$15,000 $379; over $15,000 $388, including mailing fee and postage per defendant) · Cook County Sheriff — Eviction Procedure, Property Owner's Guide (enforcement filing $60.50; rescheduling $65 e-file / $95 in person; plaintiff's representative must attend) · 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq. (Eviction Act), 5/9-207 (30-day notice), 5/9-209 (5-day notice; joint rent claim), 5/9-210 (10-day notice), 5/5-105 (fee waiver) · 705 ILCS 105/27.2 (clerk fee bands for forcible entry and detainer). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your circuit clerk; Cook County's schedule is the state's highest.