When must an Illinois notice of appeal be served and its notice of filing lodged?

Obtain the actual filing receipt for the original notice or amendment as of right.

Identify the reviewing court and every party, person or officer entitled to notice.

Establish the applicable service method and prepare Rule 12 proof.

1. Obtain the actual filing receipt for the original notice or amendment as of right.
2. 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.
3. Check statutory holidays and the proper court’s actual calendar.
4. 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.

Fictitious example

Fictitious facts. The original notice is actually filed in the circuit court. The filing party identifies all required service recipients. The established input date is August 2, 2027. No additional closure, different order or unmodeled restart applies.

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

Filing, service and clerk transmission are different obligations

Rule 303(c) requires the filing party’s notice of filing in the reviewing court and service on every other party and each person or officer entitled by law within seven days, with Rule 12 proof filed with the notice. Rule 303(a)(4) separately requires the circuit clerk to file the notice or covered amendment with the reviewing clerk within five days.

Service method and effective date matter

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.

An as-of-right amendment invokes this duty too

Rule 303(c) expressly includes an amendment as of right. Establish the actual amendment filing and required recipients rather than relying only on original-notice service.

• 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.

• Obtain the actual filing receipt for the original notice or amendment as of right.
• Identify the reviewing court and every party, person or officer entitled to notice.
• Establish the applicable service method and prepare Rule 12 proof.
• Rule 303(c) requires the filing party’s notice of filing in the reviewing court and service on every other party and each person or officer entitled by law within seven days, with Rule 12 proof filed with the notice. Rule 303(a)(4) separately requires the circuit clerk to file the notice or covered amendment with the reviewing clerk within five days.
• 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.
• Rule 303(c) expressly includes an amendment as of right. Establish the actual amendment filing and required recipients rather than relying only on original-notice service.
• File the notice of filing with the reviewing clerk and complete service on the required recipients within the applicable seven days. File Rule 12 proof with the notice and preserve acknowledgments or transmission records. 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. 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.