Illinois Process Server Service of Process in All 102 Counties, Under 735 ILCS 5/2-202

Who serves an Illinois summons

Section 2-202(a) gives process to the sheriff, or to a coroner when the sheriff is disqualified. Where the county or State is an interested party, a special investigator appointed by the State’s Attorney may serve. On motion, the court may in its discretion order service by a private person over 18 years of age who is not a party to the action.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a)

Private detectives, in any county

Under Section 2-202(a), as last amended by Public Acts 103-671 and 103-1057 (both effective January 1, 2025), process in any county may be served without special appointment by a private detective holding a license or registration under the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004, or by a registered employee of a private detective agency certified under that Act. The detective supplies each county sheriff a copy of the license or agency certificate, one time only under subsection (a-5); a missing copy does not impair the validity of the service.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a), (a-⁠5)

Special process server orders

Any other private person, over 18 and not a party, serves an Illinois summons only under a court order entered on motion. The Supreme Court’s approved statewide motion, form ATJ 1551.2, names the specific person to be approved and explains why (for example, the sheriff tried and could not serve); it is filed with the circuit clerk in the county where the case is pending and sent to the other people in the case, with notice of the court date, and, if the judge grants the motion, the order form MSP-O 1552.1 approves that person to serve the named defendants. A new summons may be needed. In counties of 3,000,000 or more, Section 2-202(f) provides for service, with special appointment by the court, by a private process server or a law enforcement agency other than the sheriff in an Article IX eviction brought after a lessor declares a lease void under Section 11 of the Controlled Substance and Cannabis Nuisance Act.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a), (f); forms ATJ 1551.2, MSP-⁠O 1552.1

How Served 123 arranges Illinois service

Served 123 LLC arranges Illinois service through local process servers. Where the server we assign is a private detective or a registered employee of a certified agency, Section 2-202(a) requires no appointment in any county. Where a case needs one, because the server is any other private person or the case is a Section 2-202(f) eviction in Cook County, we tell you at intake and give you the steps to have our server appointed, and once the court enters the order our servers hold the appointment for that case.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a), (f)

Counties of 3,000,000 or more

There, a share of each private detective service fee is remitted to the county sheriff. The plaintiff pays that share to the clerk of the court when filing the summons and complaint or when an alias summons issues, and the detective deducts it from the bill to the party who paid it.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a-⁠3)

Other officers who serve

A sheriff of a county under 2,000,000 people may employ civilian personnel to serve process. In counties of 3,000,000 or more, a housing authority police force may serve process in eviction actions that housing authority starts. Service need not be made by the sheriff or coroner of the county where it happens, and an officer may serve outside his or her own county, though mileage outside it cannot be taxed as costs.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a), (b)

Statewide reach and mailed returns

A summons may be served on defendants wherever they are found in Illinois, by any person authorized to serve process, and a person serving in a foreign county may make the return by mail.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(b)

The 30-day life of a summons

An Illinois summons shows the date it is issued. The standard form requires an answer or appearance within 30 days after service, exclusive of the day of service, and it may not be served later than 30 days after its date. Promptly upon issuance, the summons is placed with the sheriff or other person authorized to serve process, and under Rule 104(a) every summons used in making service has a copy of the complaint attached.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(a), (d); 102(a), (b); 104(a)

Summonses with an appearance day

In an action for money up to 50,000 dollars, or a mandatory arbitration case where a local rule sets the date, the appearance day falls 40 to 61 days after issuance, and service must come at least 21 days before it. Eviction and recovery-of-property summonses set a day 7 to 40 days out, and a summons for service under Section 2-208 sets a return day 40 to 60 days out with no default until 30 days after service; both must be served at least three days before the appearance day.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(b); 102(b)

Alias summonses and reasonable diligence

On any party’s request the clerk issues successive alias summonses, whatever became of earlier ones. If the plaintiff fails to use reasonable diligence to obtain service before the statute of limitations expires, the action against that defendant may be dismissed without prejudice; a failure after it expires brings dismissal with prejudice as to that defendant only. Any party may apply, or the court may act on its own motion, and the court reviews the totality of the circumstances.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 103(a), (b)

Individuals: in hand or at the abode

A copy goes to the defendant personally, or is left at the defendant’s usual place of abode with a family member or a person residing there aged 13 or older, who is told what the summons contains. The server then also mails a copy in a sealed, postage-prepaid envelope to the defendant at that abode, and the server’s certificate or affidavit of the mailing is evidence that it was sent.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠203(a)

Nursing homes and gated communities

No employee of a facility under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act or the MC/DD Act may obstruct a person making service. An employee of a gated residential community, a term that includes a condominium association, housing cooperative or private community, must let a process server authorized under Section 2-202 into the community and its common areas to serve a defendant or witness who lives or is known to be there.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠203(a)

Inmates in jails and prisons

A correctional facility or jail may refuse a process server entry for security, and each one designates a representative to accept service on an inmate in its custody from a private detective or agency. For an Illinois Department of Corrections inmate, the server contacts the chief administrative officer in advance to set a time and date during regular business hours. Service on the warden’s or sheriff’s representative is substitute service, and the server completes a mailing to the inmate. If the inmate is not at the facility, the representative may refuse service, or returns papers already left, and the process server promptly notifies the court that service failed.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠203.2

Corporations

A private corporation is served by leaving a copy with its registered agent or with any officer or agent of the corporation found anywhere in Illinois, or in any other manner the law permits, and it may also be notified by publication and mail like an individual.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠204

Corporations through the Secretary of State

Process may go to the registered agent or to the Secretary of State when a corporation fails to appoint or keep an Illinois registered agent, when the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, when a dissolved corporation in either situation is sued within five years after dissolution or faces a criminal proceeding, or when a foreign corporation’s authority to do business has been revoked or withdrawn. The person suing serves the Secretary of State with the papers and fee, sends notice and a copy by registered or certified mail to the last registered office and to the address most likely to give actual notice, and appends an affidavit of compliance. Other lawful methods stay open.

805 ILCS 5/5.25

Limited liability companies

An Illinois or foreign LLC is served on its registered agent or on the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State route opens when the LLC has no registered agent in Illinois, when the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office or at the principal place of business in the articles of organization, when a dissolved LLC meets both of those conditions and a civil action is brought within 5 years after its certificate or judgment of dissolution, when a dissolved Illinois LLC meets either condition and faces a criminal proceeding, or when a foreign LLC’s admission has been revoked or withdrawn. The plaintiff does all of the following: serves the Secretary of State and pays the fee, mails notice and a copy by registered or certified mail to the last registered office and the address most likely to give actual notice, and attaches an affidavit of compliance. Other lawful methods stay open.

805 ILCS 180/1-⁠50

Partnerships, associations, trustees and receivers

A partnership sued in its firm name is served on any partner personally or any agent found anywhere in Illinois, and a partner facing a personal judgment may be served by leaving the summons with another partner and mailing a copy to his or her usual abode as shown by an affidavit filed in the case; for a nonresident partner, only if the claim is a partnership liability arising from business transacted in Illinois. A voluntary unincorporated association is served on any officer personally or with an agent at its office. A trustee of a corporation or a receiver may be served through any agent in its employ anywhere in Illinois.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠205, 2-⁠205.1, 2-⁠212

Counties, cities, villages and towns

The summons is left with the chairperson of the county board or the county clerk for a county; the mayor or city clerk for a city; the president of the board of trustees or the village clerk for a village; the supervisor or town clerk for a town; and the president, clerk or corresponding officer of any other public or quasi-municipal body.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠211

Personal service outside Illinois

Personal service of summons may be made on any party outside the State, in the same manner as inside it, by any person over 18 years of age who is not a party, and no court order is required. An affidavit of the server stating the time, manner and place of service must be filed, and no default is entered until at least 30 days after service. On an Illinois citizen or resident, or someone who submitted to Illinois jurisdiction, it has the effect of personal service within the State; otherwise, of service by publication. Section 2-209 lists the acts that submit a person to Illinois courts, starting with transacting business or committing a tortious act in Illinois, and allows personal service outside the State on anyone it reaches.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠208; 2-⁠209(a), (d)

Product liability defendants abroad

For a product liability defendant who resides or has a business address outside the United States and is subject to Illinois jurisdiction, the summons and complaint may be served on the Secretary of State. The plaintiff then mails a copy showing the date of service on the Secretary, with the complaint, to the defendant’s last known residence or business address, and files an affidavit of that address with a certificate of mailing.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠209(e)

Waiver of service

A plaintiff may notify a defendant of the action and ask the defendant to waive service, by first class mail or another equally reliable means, using the Article II Forms Appendix form. The defendant gets at least 30 days to return the waiver (60 if addressed outside the United States), and an answer is not due until 60 days after the request was sent (90 outside the United States). Once the waiver is filed, the case proceeds as if the summons and complaint had been served when it was filed, with no proof of service. A defendant who waives keeps objections to venue and personal jurisdiction; one who does not return it must be served.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠213; Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(f)

Service by special order of court

When service under Section 2-203(a)(1) and (2) is impractical, the plaintiff may move without notice for an order directing a comparable method, supported by an affidavit with a specific statement that a diligent inquiry was made into the defendant’s location and that reasonable efforts at service failed. The court may order service in any manner consistent with due process.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠203.1

E-mail, text message and social media

Under Rule 102(f), if the court is satisfied that the defendant has access to and can use the technology to receive and read the papers electronically, a special order may direct service by social media, by e-mail or by text message. The supporting affidavit explains why the movant believes the defendant recently used that address, number or account. Within 10 days, the plaintiff mails the summons, complaint and other required documents to the defendant’s last known residence. The proof of service gives at least the date and details of service, the platform, phone number or e-mail address used, and the last known residence, with a screen print of the message or a copy of the sent e-mail. The listed methods are not exclusive.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 102(f)

Publication

In an action affecting property or status within the court’s jurisdiction, an affidavit that the defendant resides or has gone out of Illinois, on due inquiry cannot be found, or is concealed within Illinois, so that process cannot be served, leads the clerk to publish notice in a newspaper published in the county where the case is pending, at least once a week for 3 successive weeks. Within 10 days of the first publication the clerk mails a copy to each defendant whose residence the affidavit states. In a Part 15 foreclosure under subsection (a-5), the plaintiff or the attorney causes the publication, has the non-delegable duty to mail within 10 days, and files a copy of the certificate of mailing with the clerk. No default is taken unless the first publication was at least 30 days before.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠206, 2-⁠207

The return of service

A sheriff or coroner endorses the return on the process; a private person’s return is by affidavit. For service on an individual, in hand or at the abode, the affidavit (or a record kept in the employer’s office) identifies the defendant or other person the summons was left with by sex, race and approximate age, and states the place, as an exact street address whenever possible, and the date and time of day. The server indorses the date of service on the copy left. Under Rule 102(d) the person making service files proof of service immediately after all defendants are served (or after each, when there are several) and, in any event, at least 21 days before the appearance day for a Rule 101(b)(1) summons, at least 3 days before it for a Rule 101(b)(2) or (b)(3) summons, and otherwise immediately after the last day fixed for service; the proof need not say whether the complaint was served, and a party who placed the summons with the server but has no access to the court filing system files the proof obtained from the server. A knowingly false statement in the affidavit brings civil contempt.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(a), 2-⁠203(b), (c); Ill. S. Ct. R. 102(c), (d)

The statewide proof of service form

The approved statewide Summons, form ATJ 1503.8 (08/25), ends with a Proof of Service of Summons and Complaint/Petition that the Illinois Supreme Court approved and every Illinois circuit court must accept. The server records service in hand, on a family member or resident aged 13 or older at the home with the mailed copy, or on a business’s agent; lists each attempt; and certifies the form under Section 1-109. The form’s note to the officer or process server has it filed with the court or returned to the plaintiff.

Form ATJ 1503.8 (08/25)

Late or missing returns

Failing to return the summons or file proof of service does not invalidate the summons or the service, if service was had. If a server neglects or refuses to make the return, the plaintiff may petition the court for a rule requiring it by a fixed day, or a showing of cause why the server should not be attached for contempt.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 102(d); 735 ILCS 5/2-⁠202(c)

New relief against a party in default

When new or additional relief is sought against a party in default, by amendment, counterclaim or otherwise, Rule 105 requires notice to that party, and the notice may be served by any method the law provides for a summons, inside or outside Illinois, by an officer or by any person over 18 who is not a party to the action.

Ill. S. Ct. R. 105(a), (b)

Certification under Section 1-109

Unless a Supreme Court rule expressly provides otherwise, where an affidavit or a return or proof of service must be verified or sworn, Section 1-109 accepts a certification under penalty of perjury with the same force as a sworn statement, and there is no further requirement to swear it before an authorized person. Rule 16 applies the same certification to any affidavit filed under oath. A false statement, material to the issue, that the person does not believe to be true in a certified document is a Class 3 felony.

735 ILCS 5/1-⁠109; Ill. S. Ct. R. 16

Sunday service of an attachment order

Section 4-117 lets the clerk issue, and the sheriff or other officer serve, a certified copy of an order for attachment on a Sunday as on any other day when the affidavit shows the debtor is absconding or concealed, stands in defiance of an officer authorized to arrest on civil process, or has left Illinois, or intends to leave, meaning to have his or her property removed from the State.

735 ILCS 5/4-⁠117

Counting days and Illinois holidays

Time for any act set by law is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, which is excluded along with any such day that follows. Illinois’s legal holidays include Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, Casimir Pulaski Day on the first Monday in March, Good Friday, general election days for the U.S. House, and any day the Governor proclaims.

5 ILCS 70/1.11; 205 ILCS 630/17

Out-of-state subpoenas under 735 ILCS 35

A party submits the foreign subpoena, one issued by a court of record of another state, to the clerk of court in the county where discovery is to be conducted; that is not an appearance in Illinois courts. The clerk promptly issues an Illinois subpoena incorporating its terms, with the names, addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and any unrepresented party, unless Section 3.5 bars it. A subpoena for information on lawful health care activity, or tied to enforcing another state’s law against Reproductive Health Act rights, issues only with an attestation signed under penalty of perjury that a Section 3.5(c) exemption (an action brought by the patient or the patient’s authorized legal representative, or a contract action brought by a party in a contractual relationship with the individual whose records are sought, each with a similar claim under Illinois law) applies. Every request also carries the Rule 17 attestation form from the Article I Forms Appendix and any local documents, and the clerk will not issue without all of them. A motion for a protective order, or to enforce, quash or modify the issued subpoena, goes to the court in the county where discovery is to be conducted.

735 ILCS 35/2, 3, 3.5, 6; Ill. S. Ct. R. 17(b), (c), (d)

Serving subpoenas in Illinois

The clerk of the court where an action is pending issues subpoenas for witnesses, to any county in the State, as either party requires, and an Illinois attorney who is counsel of record in the pending action may issue them as an officer of the court. A deponent, or a trial witness under Rule 237, must respond to a lawful subpoena he or she actually knows of once the fee and mileage are tendered; 705 ILCS 35/4.3 sets the per diem and mileage for a witness at trial in the circuit courts (except in Article II Juvenile Court Act cases, and only on the witness’s affidavit of the days attended), and a person attending to give a deposition receives the same. Mail service may be proved prima facie by a certified or registered mail return receipt showing delivery to the deponent or an authorized agent at least seven days before the appearance date, plus an affidavit that the prepaid, restricted-delivery mailing enclosed a check or money order for the fee and mileage. A subpoena issued under 735 ILCS 35 is served under Rules 204 and 237 and Section 2-1101, and the person serving it files a certificate of service with the clerk and serves the recipient with that certificate, the issued subpoena and copies of everything submitted to the clerk.

735 ILCS 5/2-⁠1101; 35/4; 705 ILCS 35/4.3; Ill. S. Ct. R. 17(e), 204(a), 237(a)

Rules current as of October 2026, from the official texts published by the Illinois General Assembly and the Illinois Supreme Court: 735 ILCS 5/1-109, 2-202 to 2-213 and 2-1101; the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, 735 ILCS 35; 805 ILCS 5/5.25; 805 ILCS 180/1-50; 5 ILCS 70/1.11; 205 ILCS 630/17; 735 ILCS 5/4-117; 705 ILCS 35/4.3; Illinois Supreme Court Rules 16, 17, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 204 and 237; and the Supreme Court’s approved statewide forms ATJ 1503.8, ATJ 1551.2 and MSP-O 1552.1, and the court instructions ATJ 1550.2. General information, not legal advice. The official text controls.