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This program will help you prepare your documents. It will ask you questions and you will enter your answers. At the end of the program, you will get a completed set of court forms with instructions that you can save and print.
Form completion time: 5 minutes to 10 minutes
You will not be able to save your work in the middle of the program.
The interview and forms are in English.
You can use this form if you are filing court forms in a sensitive case, such as a petition for an order of protection or a civil no contact/stalking order.
You can also use this form if you do not have a lawyer and at least one of the following statements is true.
- You do not have the Internet or computer access in the home and travel presents a hardship (financial or otherwise),
- You have trouble reading, writing, or speaking in English, or
- You tried to e-file your papers, but you were not able to complete the process because the equipment or help you need was not available.
You are exempt from e-filing, and you do not need to use this form if:
- You are in jail or prison,
- You are filing a will,
- You are filing into a juvenile case, or
- Your disability (as defined by the ADA) prevents you from e-filing.
To paper file in Cook County, simply include a copy of the Exemption Certificate with the forms to be filed and take them to the courthouse. Paper filings will be accepted in the Clerk’s office for each division (not in the LL-12 e-filing center). Unlike a Fee waiver (sometimes called a 298 Petition), there is no hearing or judicial determination made; the exemption should be automatic. A new Exemption Certificate must be included with each separate filing.
To complete this form, you will need to know:
- Information about your trial court case, such as party names and filing county, and
- Reasons why you are not able to e-file.
This program prepares the following form.
Certification for Exemption from E-filing
Legal Comment
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
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