Illinois Stalking No Contact Orders: The Name Is Narrower Than the Grounds
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Illinois · Last updated October 22, 2026
Illinois keeps its general harassment order inside a statute called the Stalking No Contact Order Act, and the state's own petition form describes a narrower remedy than the statute delivers. A stalking no contact order is a court order telling someone you are not in a domestic relationship with to stop contacting you and to stay away. The Act defines stalking to include harassment, meaning conduct with no reasonable purpose that would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause you distress (740 ILCS 21/10), and a court may not require physical injury (740 ILCS 21/80(a)). The current form, 19-14.1 (12/24), never uses the word harassment, so work from the statute rather than the form. If the person harassing you is a spouse, partner, ex, or family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want an order of protection under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 instead, because a stalking no contact petition may be filed only when relief is not available under that Act (740 ILCS 21/15). An emergency order can issue without prior notice and lasts 14 to 21 days (740 ILCS 21/105(a)). A plenary order lasts up to 2 years and can be extended one or more times (740 ILCS 21/105(b), (c)). The clerk and the sheriff may not charge a fee (740 ILCS 21/20(c)). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Illinois
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does an Illinois stalking no contact order cover harassment that involves no violence?
The statute reaches it. Illinois defines stalking to include harassment, which is conduct not necessary to accomplish a reasonable purpose that would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause the petitioner distress (740 ILCS 21/10). A court may not require physical injury on the petitioner (740 ILCS 21/80(a)). The judge decides whether your facts qualify.
How long does an Illinois stalking no contact order last?
A plenary order is effective for a fixed period not to exceed 2 years (740 ILCS 21/105(b)). It can be extended one or more times, as required, if the statutory requirements are met (740 ILCS 21/105(c)). An order entered alongside a criminal prosecution or delinquency petition instead runs under 725 ILCS 5/112A-20.
How fast can an Illinois court issue an emergency stalking no contact order?
An emergency order can issue without prior notice to the respondent when the court finds good cause that harm would be likely if notice were given. It is effective for not less than 14 nor more than 21 days (740 ILCS 21/95, 21/105(a)). A judge must be reasonably available in every county at all times.
Does Illinois charge a fee to file a stalking no contact petition?
No. The clerk may not charge a fee for filing petitions or for modifying or certifying orders, and the sheriff may not charge a fee for serving a petition, rule, motion or order in an action brought under the Act (740 ILCS 21/20(c)). The fee rule applies whatever grounds the petition relies on.
Illinois stalking no contact order rules at a glance
In Illinois the label undersells the law. A stalking no contact order under 740 ILCS 21 is a civil court order directing a person who is not a family or household member to stop contacting you and to stay away, and the statute's definition of stalking expressly takes in harassment. The test is a course of conduct, two or more acts directed at you, that the respondent knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer emotional distress, and the statute lists behaviours presumed to cause that distress unless rebutted. Illinois is also unusual in letting an authorized agent of a workplace, school or place of worship petition in its own right. The order is strictly residual: it is available only where Illinois Domestic Violence Act relief is not (740 ILCS 21/15).
A Peoria County bookshop owner and a former customer who keeps coming back
A Peoria County bookshop owner banned a former customer after a refund dispute. Over the next eleven months he posts about her shop under fake reviews, sends emails to her private address, and waits near her car after closing. He has never threatened her and has never touched her. She is not related to him and has never lived with him, so the Domestic Violence Act does not apply. She reads the statute, sees that harassment is within its definition of stalking, and pleads dated acts on form 19-14.1 (12/24) even though the form never uses that word. She asks for an emergency order, pays no filing fee, and prepares for a plenary hearing. The judge decides whether the evidence is enough.
Relevant Laws
740 ILCS 21/10 (Stalking No Contact Order Act, definitions)
Defines stalking as engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that the respondent knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety, the safety of a workplace, school or place of worship, or the safety of a third person, or to suffer emotional distress. States that stalking also includes harassment, which is conduct not necessary to accomplish a reasonable purpose that would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause the petitioner emotional distress. Amended by P.A. 104-251, effective August 15, 2025.
740 ILCS 21/15 (who may file, and the Domestic Violence Act limit)
Permits a petition for a stalking no contact order only when relief is not available under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Lists who may file: any victim of stalking, a person acting for a minor or for an adult who cannot file, an authorized agent of a workplace, place of worship or school, and a qualifying service member or the Staff Judge Advocate. No relationship between petitioner and respondent is required.
740 ILCS 21/20 (commencement of action and fees)
Allows the action to be commenced independently or in conjunction with a criminal prosecution or delinquency petition. Subsection (c) provides that no fee shall be charged by the clerk for filing petitions or modifying or certifying orders, and none by the sheriff for service of a petition, rule, motion or order in an action under the Section.
740 ILCS 21/80 (issuance of a stalking no contact order)
Provides that the court, when determining whether to issue a stalking no contact order, may not require physical injury on the person of the petitioner. Last amended by P.A. 104-480, effective July 1, 2026.
740 ILCS 21/95 (emergency stalking no contact order)
Governs the emergency order, which issues without prior notice where the petition and the examination of the petitioner show averments sufficient to indicate stalking and good cause that the harm would be likely to occur if the respondent were given prior notice. Provides for an order outside court hours before an available judge designated by the chief judge in each county.
740 ILCS 21/105 (duration and extension)
Sets an emergency order at not less than 14 nor more than 21 days and a plenary order at a fixed period not to exceed 2 years. Subsection (c) allows any emergency or plenary order to be extended one or more times provided the requirements of Section 95 or 100 are met, and an uncontested extension may proceed on the petitioner's motion or affidavit stating no material change in relevant circumstances.
750 ILCS 60 (Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, the order of protection track)
The family and household member track. Because 740 ILCS 21/15 allows a stalking no contact petition only when relief is not available under this Act, a petitioner whose situation fits the Domestic Violence Act uses an order of protection and not the order described on this page.
740 ILCS 22 (Civil No Contact Order Act, for contrast)
A separate order keyed to non-consensual sexual conduct or non-consensual sexual penetration rather than to harassment generally. It is a different statute from the Stalking No Contact Order Act and uses its own petition.
Illinois courts form 19-14.1 (12/24), Verified Petition for Stalking No Contact Order
The statewide petition, approved by the Conference of Chief Circuit Judges. The forms page labels the file 2025 SNCO Petition and gives no number, but the number 19-14.1 and the revision stamp 12/24 are printed in the footer of the form. The suite also includes the order, a motion to extend or modify, an order extending or modifying, and a summons.
Regional Variances
Illinois civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Stalking no contact order, issued as an emergency order or a plenary order under the Stalking No Contact Order Act, 740 ILCS 21. Illinois has no instrument named a harassment order, but the Act's definition of stalking expressly includes harassment (740 ILCS 21/10).
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship is required, but the order is residual. A petition may be filed only when relief is not available under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 (740 ILCS 21/15). Eligible filers include any victim of stalking, a person acting for a minor or an adult who cannot file, and an authorized agent of a workplace, place of worship or school.
The standard
A course of conduct directed at a specific person that the respondent knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer emotional distress, or harassment that is not necessary to accomplish a reasonable purpose, would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause the petitioner distress (740 ILCS 21/10). A court may not require physical injury (740 ILCS 21/80(a)).
Temporary order
Emergency stalking no contact order, issued without prior notice on good cause that the harm would be likely to occur if the respondent were given notice. Effective not less than 14 nor more than 21 days (740 ILCS 21/95, 21/105(a)). When the court is unavailable, a designated judge in each county may issue one by telephone or facsimile.
Duration
A plenary order is effective for a fixed period not to exceed 2 years (740 ILCS 21/105(b)). An order entered in conjunction with a criminal prosecution or delinquency petition runs under 725 ILCS 5/112A-20 instead.
Renewal
Extendable one or more times as required. An uncontested extension with no modification sought may proceed on the petitioner's motion or affidavit stating there is no material change in relevant circumstances. Extensions are granted only in open court (740 ILCS 21/105(c)).
Court and form
Any civil court, unless specific courts are designated by local rule or order (740 ILCS 21/20(a)(1)). The statewide petition is form 19-14.1 (12/24), Verified Petition for Stalking No Contact Order, approved by the Conference of Chief Circuit Judges and published on the Illinois courts civil no contact and stalking no contact orders page.
Filing fee
None. The clerk may not charge a fee for filing petitions or for modifying or certifying orders (740 ILCS 21/20(c)).
Service
The sheriff may not charge a fee for service of a petition, rule, motion or order in an action under the Act (740 ILCS 21/20(c)).
Firearms and violation
This page does not state the firearm provisions or the penalty for violating a stalking no contact order. Ask the circuit clerk or a lawyer about both before relying on an order, and read the order itself for what it directs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Illinois guides
Adult Guardianship in Illinois
Adverse Possession in Illinois: Which of the Clocks Is Yours, Twenty Years or Seven
Asset Protection Planning in Illinois (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Illinois (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Illinois: The County Auctions Your Tax Bill, and the Penalty Doubles Every Six Months
Expunging a Criminal Record in Illinois (2026)
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