(a)Contents. An Application for Waiver of Court Fees in a civil action pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/5-105 shall be in writing and signed by the applicant or, if the applicant is a minor or an incompetent adult, by another person having knowledge of the facts.
(1) The contents of the Application must be sufficient to allow a court to determine whether an applicant qualifies for full or partial waiver of assessments pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/5-105, and shall include information regarding the applicant’s household composition, receipt of need-based public benefits, income, expenses, and nonexempt assets.(2) Applicants shall use the “Application for Waiver of Court Fees” adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, which can be found in the Article II Forms Appendix.(b)Ruling. The court shall either enter a ruling on the Application or set the Application for a hearing requiring the applicant to appear in person. The court may order the applicant to produce copies of specified documents in support of the Application at the hearing. The court’s ruling on an Application for Waiver of Court Fees shall be made according to standards set forth in 735 ILCS 5/5-105. If the Application is denied, the court shall enter an order to that effect specifying the reasons for the denial. If the court determines that the conditions for a full assessment waiver under 735 ILCS 5/5-105(b)(1) are satisfied, it shall enter an order permitting the applicant to sue or defend without payment of assessments, costs or charges. If the court determines that the conditions for a partial assessment waiver under 735 ILCS 5/5-105(b)(2) are satisfied, it shall enter an order permitting the applicant to sue or defend after payment of a specified percentage of assessments, costs, or charges. If an Application for a partial assessment waiver is granted, and if necessary to avoid undue hardship on the applicant, the court may allow the applicant to defer payment of assessments, costs, and charges, make installment payments, or make payment upon reasonable terms and conditions stated in the order.(c)Filing. No fee may be charged for filing an Application for Waiver of Court Fees. The clerk must allow an applicant to file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees in the court where his case will be heard.(d)Cases involving representation by civil legal services provider or lawyer in court-sponsored pro bono program. In any case where a party is represented by a civil legal services provider or attorney in a court-sponsored pro bono program as defined in 735 ILCS 5/5-105.5, the attorney representing that party shall file a certification with the court, and that party shall be allowed to sue or defend without payment of assessments, costs or charges as defined in 735 ILCS 5/5-105(a)(l) without necessity of an Application under this rule. Instead, the attorney representing the party shall file a certification prepared by utilizing, or substantially adopting the appearance and content of, the form provided in the Article II Forms Appendix.
Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 298
Amended October 20, 2003, effective November 1, 2003; amended September 25, 2014, eff. immediately; amended Dec. 29, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; amended Feb. 13, 2019, eff. July 1, 2019.
