A Certification for Exemption From E-filing, which includes a certification under section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and any accompanying documents shall be filed with the court-in person, by e-mail or by mail, or by third-party commercial carrier. The court shall provide, and parties shall be required to use, a standardized form expressly titled "Certification for Exemption From E-filing" adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice. Judges retain discretion to determine whether good cause is shown. If the court determines that good cause is not shown, the court shall enter an order to that effect stating the specific reasons for the determination and ordering the litigant to e-file thereafter.
Judges retain discretion to determine whether, under particular circumstances, good cause exists without the filing of a certificate, and the court shall enter an order to that effect.
Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 9
Committee Comments
(December 13, 2017)
(Revised February 4, 2022)
a. The implementation of electronic filing in Illinois courts should not impede a person's access to justice. If courts are unable to meet their obligation due to an emergency situation under M.R. 18368 to provide "designated space, necessary equipment, and technical support for self represented litigants seeking to e-file documents during regular court hours," that party is exempted from e-filing under Rule 9(c)(5) and permitted to file in person or by mail. An exempted party may also file through other means, such as e-mail, as permitted by the local court.
b. Where a party has filed a Certification for Exemption From E-filing or the court has granted a good-cause exemption sua sponte, that party may file documents in person or by mail. That party may also file through other means, such as e-mail, as permitted by the local court. Each court should consider establishing a process allowing exempt self-represented litigants to file documents remotely by e-mail to reduce the number of self-represented litigants traveling to the courthouse for the sole purpose of filing documents.
c. Although a document meets the criteria for an exemption (for example, for good cause shown), any document may be electronically filed if that is the filer's preferred method of filing the court documents.