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Illinois Pleading Paper Template

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 132 requires every complaint initiating a civil action to carry a caption division designation such as 'at law,' 'in chancery,' or 'small claim.' Rule 131 governs legibility, plaintiff-first titling, and filer contact information.

Introduction

The detail that marks an Illinois initiating document is its division designation. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 132, every complaint or other document initiating a civil action or proceeding must contain in the caption the words 'at law,' 'in chancery,' 'in probate,' 'small claim,' or another designation conforming to the way the circuit court is organized into divisions. Illinois does not use consecutively numbered margin lines, so this is a court filing format rather than pleading paper. The companion rule, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 131, governs the physical form: all documents must be legibly written, typewritten, printed, or otherwise prepared, and the clerk may reject any document that does not conform. Rule 131(b) requires every document to be entitled in the court and cause with the plaintiff's name placed first, and Rule 131(d) requires the filer's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. A document filed in the wrong division, or one that omits the Rule 132 designation, can be rejected by the clerk and cost you a filing date. This page covers the Rule 132 division designation, the Rule 131 legibility, titling, and contact-information requirements, with body margins, font, and spacing set by your local circuit court's rules where the Supreme Court rules are silent. DocDraft drafts your document on properly formatted Illinois court format from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Every complaint or document initiating a civil action must carry a division designation in the caption: 'at law,' 'in chancery,' 'in probate,' 'small claim,' or another designation conforming to the circuit court's divisions (Ill. S. Ct. R. 132).

  2. 2

    All documents must be legibly written, typewritten, printed, or otherwise prepared, and the clerk may reject any document that does not conform (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(a)).

  3. 3

    Every document must be entitled in the court and cause, with the plaintiff's name placed first (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(b)).

  4. 4

    The filing must include the filer's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(d)).

  5. 5

    Illinois does not require consecutively numbered margin lines, so its filings are not numbered-line pleading paper.

  6. 6

    Body margins, font size, and line spacing are not fixed by Rules 131 or 132 and are set by your local circuit court's rules.

Key decisions before you file

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

Open the Pleading Paper guide

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [___] JUDICIAL CIRCUIT [COUNTY] COUNTY, ILLINOIS [DIVISION DESIGNATION per Ill. S. Ct. R. 132: AT LAW / IN CHANCERY / IN PROBATE / SMALL CLAIM]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], (plaintiff's name placed first per Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(b)) Plaintiff, v. No. [CASE NUMBER] [DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

[TITLE OF DOCUMENT, e.g. COMPLAINT]

[Body formatted per Ill. S. Ct. R. 131: legibly written, typewritten, printed, or otherwise prepared. Body margins, font, and line spacing are set by your local circuit court's rules.]

[FILER NAME] (per Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(d)) [Address] [Telephone Number] [E-mail Address] Attorney for [PARTY] / Self-Represented

Illinois Requirements for Pleading Paper

Division designation

Every complaint or document initiating a civil action must carry a division designation in the caption such as 'at law,' 'in chancery,' 'in probate,' or 'small claim' (Ill. S. Ct. R. 132).

Legibility

All documents must be legibly written, typewritten, printed, or otherwise prepared, and the clerk may reject any document that does not conform (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(a)).

Titling and plaintiff-first order

Every document must be entitled in the court and cause, with the plaintiff's name placed first (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(b)).

Filer contact information

The filing must include the filer's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (Ill. S. Ct. R. 131(d)).

No numbered lines

Illinois does not require consecutively numbered margin lines; its filings are a court format, not numbered-line pleading paper.

Body margins, font, and spacing

Rules 131 and 132 do not fix body margins, font size, or line spacing; these are set by your local circuit court's rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 132, the caption of every complaint or document initiating a civil action must contain the words 'at law,' 'in chancery,' 'in probate,' 'small claim,' or another designation conforming to how the circuit court is organized into divisions.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 131(b) requires every document to be entitled in the court and cause, with the plaintiff's name placed first. Rule 131(a) also requires the document to be legibly written, typewritten, printed, or otherwise prepared.

Yes. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 131(a) states that the clerk may reject any document that does not conform to the rule. That makes legibility, proper titling, and the required contact information important to get a filing accepted.

Illinois Supreme Court Rules 131 and 132 do not fix body margins, font size, or line spacing. Those specifications are set by your local circuit court's rules, so check the rules of the circuit and division where you are filing.