United States · Illinois civil appeals

When is an Illinois certified-question appeal application due?

File a Rule 308 application with the Appellate Court clerk within thirty days after interlocutory order entry or the trial court’s prescribed written statement, whichever is later. Establish both actual events before entering the later date. The circuit court’s certification does not itself grant permission to appeal.

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Calculate my deadline

Period: Thirty calendar days after the independently compared later qualifying event
Trigger: Later of actual interlocutory-order entry and making the prescribed written Rule 308 statement
Rule: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308(b)

Illinois Supreme Court Rules

Current official individual rules, including Rule 9 amended May 29, 2026 and Rule 373 amended November 13, 2025

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Later of actual interlocutory-order entry and making the prescribed written Rule 308 statement

Use after establishing the Rule 308(a) conditions and both actual dates. Enter their later date. This calculator does not certify a question or grant leave.

Entry rules and timing exceptions

30 days from Entry of the order in the trial court, or the making of the prescribed statement by the trial court, whichever is later

Ill. S. Ct. R. 308(b)Binding

Rule notes

Two possible trigger dates with a 'whichever is later' rule. The prescribed statement is the trial court's written finding that the order involves a question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion and that immediate appeal may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.

Calculation software, not legal advice. Check the current rule, orders and facts.

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What starts this Illinois appellate period?

Identify the otherwise unappealable interlocutory order and actual entry.

Obtain the prescribed written certification and its actual date.

Compare those two dates and select the later event.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308(b)

How is this Illinois appellate period counted?

Identify the otherwise unappealable interlocutory order and actual entry.
Exclude the independently established triggering day and count intermediate calendar days under 5 ILCS 70/1.11. A filing, entry, effective service or previously established due date must come from its actual record. Do not substitute one event for another.
Check statutory holidays and the proper court’s actual calendar.
Complete the particular act in the proper court.

Section 1.11 excludes a final Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday and consecutive excluded days. Section 17(a) of the Promissory Note and Bank Holiday Act includes Pulaski Day, Good Friday and the general election for members of the House of Representatives. Check proclamations, the proper court’s actual calendar and clerk access separately. The bundled Illinois calendar covers 2026 and 2027.

5 ILCS 70/1.11

What do independently derived facts show?

Fictitious example

Fictitious facts. The qualifying order and written statement are made on the same established date. The established event is August 2, 2027. No additional closure or different actual order applies.

Example counting steps
Step	What is counted	Date
Established event	Later of actual interlocutory-order entry and making the prescribed written Rule 308 statement	August 2, 2027
Applicable period	Thirty calendar days after the independently compared later qualifying event	Wednesday, September 1, 2027

Example resultWednesday, September 1, 2027

Fictitious facts. The appeal classification and triggering event are independently established. No additional closure, court order or unmodeled restart is assumed.

Try these dates in the calculator

Which qualifications and court directions matter?

Certification and permission are different decisions: Rule 308(a) requires an otherwise unappealable interlocutory order, a written identified question of law, substantial ground for difference of opinion and a finding that immediate appeal may materially advance ultimate termination. The Appellate Court separately decides whether to allow the appeal.
The application requires reasons and a supporting record: Rule 308(c) requires the necessary facts, question, reasons for substantial disagreement and material advancement, with an original Rule 328 supporting record containing the order and necessary trial-court material.
An application or grant does not automatically stay the trial case: Rule 308(f) requires an actual stay order from the trial court, Appellate Court or a judge. Neither seeking nor obtaining permission alone stops proceedings.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308(b)

The calculator does not decide appealability, disputed facts, sufficiency of a filing or whether the court grants relief.
Check the governing edition and actual orders. A current rule does not establish every historical appeal’s timetable.

What must be filed, served and preserved?

Identify the otherwise unappealable interlocutory order and actual entry.
Obtain the prescribed written certification and its actual date.
Compare those two dates and select the later event.
Rule 308(a) requires an otherwise unappealable interlocutory order, a written identified question of law, substantial ground for difference of opinion and a finding that immediate appeal may materially advance ultimate termination. The Appellate Court separately decides whether to allow the appeal.
Rule 308(c) requires the necessary facts, question, reasons for substantial disagreement and material advancement, with an original Rule 328 supporting record containing the order and necessary trial-court material.
Rule 308(f) requires an actual stay order from the trial court, Appellate Court or a judge. Neither seeking nor obtaining permission alone stops proceedings.
File the application and original supporting record with the Appellate Court clerk. State the necessary facts, question, grounds for substantial disagreement and how immediate review advances termination. Include the appealed order and other necessary trial-court material. Preserve both event records, filing and service. Use the proper clerk and required filing format. Rule 9 ordinarily requires electronic filing in civil cases, subject to its exceptions and exemptions. Rule 9(f) ordinarily uses submission before midnight in the court time zone, unless a statute, rule or order sets a particular time. A submission when the clerk is closed is ordinarily stamped on the next open day. Current Rule 9(f) provides separate five-court-day motions for a rejected filing or qualifying technical failure; establish the actual notice, failure, corrected document and required proof. Rule 373 ordinarily uses actual receipt, with its mail or carrier exception limited to filings excepted or exempt from electronic filing. Its carrier branch requires delivery for receipt within three business days and Rule 12(b) proof. Filing and service remain separate acts. Use Rule 11’s applicable service method and file Rule 12 proof. Rule 12(c) makes electronic or personal delivery service effective on its stated day, mail service complete four days after mailing, and third-party carrier service complete on the third court day after delivery to the carrier. Establish effective service before using a service-triggered calculator. A rule requiring personal or email service cannot be replaced with ordinary mail.

Questions about this Illinois appellate act