What is a motion for contempt called in Illinois?

Illinois calls it a Petition for Rule to Show Cause for indirect civil contempt; a child support violation is brought under 750 ILCS 5/505. There is no mandatory statewide form; some circuits publish their own local petition form, so check with your circuit clerk before filing.

Does Illinois require personal service for a contempt motion?

Usually, yes. A body attachment or incarceration order generally cannot issue until the other parent is personally or abode served under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 105. The exception is a child support violation, where notice of the contempt proceeding may instead be served by regular mail to the obligor's last known address.

Can the other parent go to jail for contempt in Illinois?

Jail is not automatic. The court first decides whether contempt occurred. Periodic imprisonment for up to 6 months is one possible sanction for child support contempt, or for contempt combined with a finding of parenting time abuse under 750 ILCS 5/607.5. It is the court's decision, not something the filer can simply request and receive.

What if I could not afford to pay child support in Illinois?

Inability to comply because of poverty, insolvency, or other real misfortune, rather than your own choices, is a recognized defense to an Illinois contempt petition. The court decides at the show cause hearing whether it applies.

Will an Illinois court order the other parent to pay my attorney's fees for a contempt petition?

Once the court finds the noncompliance was unjustified, it must order the losing party to pay the prevailing party's costs and reasonable attorney's fees under 750 ILCS 5/508(b). This is mandatory once that finding is made, not left to the court's discretion.

Illinois Motion for Contempt

Q: How many days of notice does an Illinois contempt hearing require?

No statewide Illinois statute or Supreme Court Rule sets a fixed number of days of notice before a show cause hearing. That period is set by local circuit rule and varies by county, so confirm the deadline with your circuit clerk before you schedule anything.

Q: Is there a faster way to enforce parenting time in Illinois than filing for contempt?

Yes. Illinois provides a separate expedited enforcement procedure for denied parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/607.5, which uses a lower preponderance of the evidence standard than contempt and can also award make up parenting time, something an ordinary contempt petition does not provide on its own.

Q: Can Illinois help me collect child support without filing for contempt?

Yes. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Division of Child Support Services, can pursue income withholding and other collection tools against a delinquent parent without a contempt filing, which may be faster than going to court yourself.

Illinois lets a child support contempt notice go out by regular mail while every other family contempt claim still needs personal or abode service before a judge can jail anyone.

Find out where you stand in Illinois

What court order is not being followed?

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Introduction

Illinois enforces a family court order through a Petition for Rule to Show Cause, the state's term for indirect civil contempt, filed in the same case number as the underlying divorce or parentage case; a child support violation is brought under 750 ILCS 5/505. Illinois has no mandatory statewide petition or contempt form. The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice's standardized family-law form suite does not include one, so several circuits, including Will, Lake, Sangamon, and DuPage Counties, publish their own local petition forms. Check your circuit clerk's website before filing to see whether your county has one. Once a petition is filed, the court issues a rule or order directing the other parent to appear and show cause why they should not be held in contempt. Illinois splits service into two tracks. For most family contempt, a body attachment or incarceration order cannot issue until the other parent has been personally or abode served under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 105. For a child support violation only, notice of the contempt proceeding may instead go out by regular mail to the obligor's last known address. No statewide statute or Supreme Court Rule sets a fixed number of days of notice before a show cause hearing; that period is set by local circuit rule, so confirm it with the clerk. If the court finds contempt for a child support violation, or finds contempt and parenting time abuse under 750 ILCS 5/607.5, it may order periodic imprisonment of up to 6 months, and once noncompliance is found unjustified the court must order the losing party to pay the other side's costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Outside child support enforcement, a first body attachment order may be a recognizance bond of no more than $1,000, and the order expires 1 year after it issues. A parent who could not comply because of poverty, insolvency, or another real inability, and not their own choices, may raise that inability as a defense to contempt. Filing this motion does not mean the other parent will go to jail: the court decides whether contempt occurred and what sanction, if any, applies. Do not withhold child support because parenting time was denied, and do not deny parenting time because support is unpaid; either one can itself be treated as contempt. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Division of Child Support Services, can pursue income withholding and other collection tools without a contempt filing, and for a denied-parenting-time problem alone, the separate expedited enforcement procedure under 750 ILCS 5/607.5 uses a lower preponderance of the evidence standard and may resolve the dispute faster than a contempt petition. This page does not cover modifying support or parenting time; use DocDraft's child support modification and parenting plan pages for that. If there is domestic violence or a safety risk, use DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead of this motion. Attorney review is available before you file.

Key Things to Know

1
Illinois calls this a Petition for Rule to Show Cause for indirect civil contempt; a child support violation is brought under 750 ILCS 5/505. There is no mandatory statewide petition or contempt form; some circuits, such as Will, Lake, Sangamon, and DuPage Counties, publish their own local form, so check with your circuit clerk.
2
Service splits into two tracks. Except for child support, a body attachment or incarceration order cannot issue until the other parent is personally or abode served under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 105 (735 ILCS 5/12-107.5(a)). For a child support violation only, notice of the contempt proceeding may instead be served by regular mail to the obligor's last known address (750 ILCS 5/505(a-5)).
3
No statewide statute or Supreme Court Rule sets a fixed number of days of notice before a show cause hearing; that period is set by local circuit rule, so confirm the deadline with your circuit clerk before you file.
4
If the court finds contempt for a child support violation, or finds contempt and parenting time abuse, it may order periodic imprisonment of up to 6 months (750 ILCS 5/505(b), 750 ILCS 5/607.5(f)), and for parenting time abuse it may also fine the violator up to $500 for each finding. Outside child support enforcement, a first body attachment order may be a recognizance bond of no more than $1,000 and expires 1 year after it issues (735 ILCS 5/12-107.5(c)-(d)).
5
Once the court finds noncompliance was unjustified, it must order the losing party to pay the other side's costs and reasonable attorney's fees (750 ILCS 5/508(b)). But a parent who could not comply because of poverty, insolvency, or another real inability, and not their own choices, may raise that inability as a defense to contempt.
6
Do not withhold child support because parenting time was denied, and do not deny parenting time because support is unpaid; either one can itself be treated as contempt.
7
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Division of Child Support Services, can pursue income withholding and other collection tools without a contempt filing, and a denied-parenting-time problem alone may be resolved faster through the separate expedited enforcement procedure under 750 ILCS 5/607.5, which uses a lower preponderance of the evidence standard than contempt. This page does not cover modifying support or parenting time (see DocDraft's child support modification and parenting plan pages), and if there is domestic violence or a safety risk, use DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Contempt in Illinois, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Contempt guide walks through them.

Open the Motion for Contempt guide

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CASE NO. [CASE NUMBER]

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF [PETITIONER NAME] AND [RESPONDENT NAME]

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [JUDICIAL CIRCUIT NUMBER] JUDICIAL CIRCUIT [COUNTY] COUNTY, ILLINOIS

VERIFIED PETITION FOR RULE TO SHOW CAUSE

NOW COMES [PETITIONER NAME], Petitioner, and petitions this Court for a rule directing [RESPONDENT NAME], Respondent, to appear and show cause why Respondent should not be held in indirect civil contempt of court, and states as follows:

On [DATE OF ORDER], this Court entered an order in this case requiring Respondent to [DESCRIPTION OF THE ORDER PROVISION AT ISSUE, SUCH AS PAYING A STATED MONTHLY AMOUNT OF CHILD SUPPORT OR ALLOWING PARENTING TIME ON STATED DATES].
Respondent had knowledge of this order and had the ability to comply with it.
Respondent has failed to comply with the order as follows: a. [DATE OF VIOLATION]: [DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC FAILURE TO COMPLY, INCLUDING THE AMOUNT OF ANY UNPAID SUPPORT] b. [DATE OF VIOLATION]: [DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC FAILURE TO COMPLY] c. [LIST OF ANY ADDITIONAL VIOLATION DATES AND AMOUNTS]
As of the date of this petition, Respondent owes unpaid support of [DOLLAR AMOUNT] for the period from [START DATE] through [END DATE].
Respondent's noncompliance was willful, and was not the result of poverty, insolvency, or other inability to comply.
Petitioner has incurred costs and reasonable attorney's fees in bringing this petition.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner asks this Court to: a. Issue a rule directing Respondent to appear on a date this Court sets and show cause why Respondent should not be held in indirect civil contempt; b. Find Respondent in contempt of court if Respondent cannot show a valid excuse for the noncompliance described above; c. Order Respondent to pay the unpaid support stated above; d. Order Respondent to pay Petitioner's costs and reasonable attorney's fees under 750 ILCS 5/508(b); e. Grant any other relief this Court deems just.

VERIFICATION

Under penalty of perjury as provided in 735 ILCS 5/1-109, the undersigned certifies that the statements in this petition are true and correct, except as to matters stated on information and belief, which the undersigned believes to be true.

Respectfully submitted,

[SIGNATURE] [PETITIONER NAME] [ADDRESS] [CITY, ILLINOIS ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [DATE OF SERVICE], a copy of this Verified Petition for Rule to Show Cause was served on [RESPONDENT NAME] by [PERSONAL SERVICE OR ABODE SERVICE UNDER ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT RULE 105].

[SIGNATURE] [NAME]

Illinois Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Petition for Rule to Show Cause, No Mandatory Form
Illinois enforces family orders through a Petition for Rule to Show Cause for indirect civil contempt, brought under 750 ILCS 5/505 for a support violation. No mandatory statewide petition or contempt form exists in the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice's standardized form suite; check whether your circuit publishes a local form.
Two-Track Service Requirement
A body attachment or incarceration order generally requires personal or abode service under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 105 (735 ILCS 5/12-107.5(a)). For a child support violation only, notice may instead be served by regular mail to the obligor's last known address (750 ILCS 5/505(a-5)).
No Statewide Notice Period Before Hearing
No statewide statute or Supreme Court Rule sets the number of days of notice required before a show cause hearing; the period is set by local circuit rule, so confirm it with the circuit clerk before filing.
Six-Month Periodic Imprisonment Cap
A court finding contempt for a child support violation, or finding contempt and parenting time abuse under 750 ILCS 5/607.5(f), may order periodic imprisonment for a period not to exceed 6 months (750 ILCS 5/505(b); 750 ILCS 5/607.5(f)).
One-Year Expiration and $1,000 Bond Cap on Body Attachment
Except in child support enforcement, a first body attachment order for indirect civil contempt may be a recognizance bond of no more than $1,000, and any such order expires 1 year after it issues (735 ILCS 5/12-107.5(c)-(d)).
Mandatory Fee-Shifting for Unjustified Noncompliance
Once the court finds noncompliance was without compelling cause or justification, it must order the losing party to pay the prevailing party's costs and reasonable attorney's fees (750 ILCS 5/508(b)).
Ability to Pay Defense
A respondent whose inability to comply is due to poverty, insolvency, or other misfortune, and not the respondent's own wrongful conduct, may raise that inability as a defense to contempt.
Identify the Order, Violations, and Requested Relief
The petition must identify the prior order allegedly violated, the specific acts of noncompliance with dates and amounts, that the respondent had notice of the order, and a request for a rule or order to show cause directing the respondent to appear.
Verification Where Local Rule Requires It
General Illinois civil pleadings are not required to be sworn unless a rule requires it, but once one pleading is verified every later pleading in the case must also be verified (735 ILCS 5/2-605); some circuits require a contempt petition to be verified by local rule, and 735 ILCS 5/1-109 allows certification under penalty of perjury in place of a notarized oath.

Find out where you stand in Illinois

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Contempt Template with DocDraft

Illinois Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Petition for Rule to Show Cause, No Mandatory Form

Two-Track Service Requirement

No Statewide Notice Period Before Hearing

Six-Month Periodic Imprisonment Cap

One-Year Expiration and $1,000 Bond Cap on Body Attachment

Mandatory Fee-Shifting for Unjustified Noncompliance

Ability to Pay Defense

Identify the Order, Violations, and Requested Relief

Verification Where Local Rule Requires It

Frequently Asked Questions