How to reschedule my small claims hearing date in Illinois?
- Fill out the request form First, you’ll have to fill out a Notice of Motion (see left). This is a state-provided form. Make sure you write the case number on your form. The instructions in the left column will give you more guidance on how to fill out the form. Make sure you sign the document at the end.
- Next, you’ll need to notify the defendant You can do this through mail. And some courts handle defendant service on your behalf. So ask your courthouse what they do so you don’t serve the defendant twice. Once you have arranged defendant service, you can fill out the “Proof of Delivery” section of the Notice of Motion. You will need to sign your name again.
- File To the Court Once you’ve notified the defendant and completed the Notice of Motion, you need to file with the court. Different courthouses accept different filing methods, so make sure you file properly. If you’re confused on what to do, call the court clerk. While they can’t offer legal advice, they can tell you procedural steps to complete when filing a document.
- Obtain Court Approval Once the court approves your paperwork, they should return a conformed copy to you. This will likely be the same method that you filed in. For instance, if you mail-filed your Notice of Motion, the court will likely mail their file-marked copy back to you. If you haven’t heard back from the court, it is a good idea to call and check the processing status of your paperwork and confirm that you have a new hearing date.
If the court does not approve your Notice of Motion or they fail to record it, plan to go to your originally scheduled hearing date.