Legal Self-Help Centers

Legal self-help centers do not provide legal advice or help in filling out court forms. A legal self-help center is a place where you can learn about the law, your legal rights, and how to go to court. If you have a legal issue, you can go to a legal self-help center in your community to use a computer for free, search online for answers to your legal questions, find and prepare court forms, and get other help depending on your location.

At many legal self-help centers, staff can help you find free legal information on IllinoisLegalAid.org, including the following:

• Court forms,
• Articles about your legal issue,
• Step-by-step instructions for filing cases and going to court, and
• Referrals to free and low-cost legal services.

Do you work at a public library or courthouse?

Check out ILAO's Legal Self-Help Center toolkit, which has lots of information and resources (flyers, referrals, on-demand trainings, and more) to help you assist your patrons.