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How do I file a Civil case?

Type: 
CM ECF FAQ
Answer: 

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois now allows attorneys to open civil cases online via our Case Management Electronic Case Filing (CMECF) System.  If you are a registered attorney in our district with a valid user name and password for CMECF, you are able to open a civil case, file the case initiating document(s), and pay the filing fee with a credit card via Pay.gov.

Step-by-step instructions are available on this web site from the link below.  If you have any questions, please call the Clerk’s Office in your division during normal business hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

OR

The Clerks Office will accept case initiating documents (i.e. complaints with civil cover sheets and summons, and notices of removal) sent by e-mail.

A party submitting a case initiating document by e-mail for electronic filing must submit those documents in .pdf format to the proper divisional mailbox, as follows:
          newcases.peoria@ilcd.uscourts.gov
          newcases.urbana@ilcd.uscourts.gov
          newcases.springfield@ilcd.uscourts.gov
          newcases.rockisland@ilcd.uscourts.gov

It is the responsibility of the party filing a case initiating document by e-mail to call the Clerks Office and provide a credit card number for payment of the filing fee or to pay the filing fee by other means.

Case initiating documents submitted by e-mail will be deemed filed on the date that the complaint is received by e-mail or the date that the credit card number or other form of payment is provided to the Clerks Office, whichever is later. Case initiating documents and/or payments submitted at or after 5:00 p.m. on a normal business day will be deemed filed on the next normal business day.

OR

The Clerks Office will also accept for filing case initiating documents sent by United States mail or delivered in person to the Clerks Office when accompanied by the filing fee. A case initiating document received in paper form will be scanned and uploaded by the Clerks Office. Unless otherwise provided in these procedures, the paper documents will then be discarded.

Only case initiating documents may be sent to the e-mail addresses listed above. If any other documents are sent to those e-mail addresses, the Clerks Office will reply to the e-mail, notifying the party that the pleading has not been filed.

A party may not electronically serve a case initiating document, but instead must effect service according to Fed.R.Civ.P.4.

Regarding Summonses:
A party filing a complaint by e-mail may request that a summons issue by making such request in person or by sending the completed summons form by United States mail to the Clerks Office with a self addressed, postage-prepaid envelope. Once a summons has been issued, the Clerks Office will scan it, upload it to the System, and then return the summons to the party.  Click here for a "fillable" summons in PDF format.

In the alternative, a party filing a complaint by e-mail may simultaneously file by e-mail the summons that are to issue. The summons must be filled out by the submitting party. Once the Clerks Office has issued the summons, it will be e-mailed to the filing party. Issuance of summons by e-mail will be recorded in the docket.