General Information
You can call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (312) 603-2000 for complete information concerning your ticket issued within the City of Chicago, or call the Suburban District in which your ticket is pending.
Alternatively, you can visit the Clerk's Traffic Ticket Search Online Database (for tickets issued on or after December 15th, 2023 till yesterday) or the Clerk's Search / Pay My Case Online Database.
The Offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the Richard J. Daley Center, Municipal Districts Two through Six and the Criminal Court Building are open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
All offices are closed on Saturdays, Sundays and all court holidays.
Court calls commence each day at 9 a.m., and court remains in session until all cases for that date have been concluded. Court usually recesses between 12 (noon) and 1 p.m. for lunch.
Court Date Information
Please call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (312) 603-2000 to obtain information concerning your case.
Please review the options available (for tickets issued in the City of Chicago) to you and select the option which reflects your decision.
Download the document and mail your selection to the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the courthouse where your case is pending. Please mark "court diversion" on the envelope.
If you do not receive a response from the clerk within 21 days of the date you mailed your response, please call the Clerk at the courthouse where your case is pending.
Failure to promptly respond to the citation may result in an ex parte judgment of guilty being entered and a fine assessed against you in the amount set by the Illinois Supreme Court.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING THE PROGRESS OF YOUR CASE.
More information about Court Diversion is available on the Clerk's website
Please see Continuances for Traffic Cases for further information.
ILLINOIS RESIDENTS:
You will receive a notice from the Clerk of the Circuit Court advising you that an ex parte judgment has been entered against you and a fine assessed in accordance with Supreme Court rules.
You may pay this fine by check or money order mailed to the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the courthouse location where your case is pending. Do not send cash. You can also pay by credit card.
Please make your check or money order payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court and insert your ticket number on the payment. Please write "payment enclosed" on the envelope.
In most instances this will result in a conviction being entered on your driver's license which may result in a license suspension.
If you do not want a conviction on your driver's license, you must come to court and file a motion requesting the court to vacate the ex parte judgment. A $40.00 nonrefundable fee (subject to change) is required for filing this motion. In order to obtain relief, this motion must be filed within 30 days of the date the ex parte judgment has been entered.
If you do not receive a post card within 21 days of your response date, please come to the courthouse to file a motion immediately.
If your motion is filed more than 30 days after the ex parte judgement, relief will only be granted if you show the judge due diligence and a meritorious defense.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING THE PROGRESS OF YOUR CASE.
NON-ILLINOIS RESIDENTS:
If you are licensed to drive in a state other than Illinois and fail to respond to the ticket or fail to attend any court date scheduled, the court will enter that fact on the record and continue the case until the next scheduled court date and you will be notified.
If you still do not respond or appear, an order of failure to appear will be entered and forwarded to the Illinois Secretary of State.
If you are a resident of the District of Columbia or one of the other 44 states in the Driver's License Compact, your driver's licensing authority will be notified and your driving privileges will be suspended until the ticket is resolved.
Payment must be made by check or money order payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Payments also can be made by credit card.
DO NOT SEND CASH.
Please call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (312) 603-2000 for the current status of your case.
You may call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (312) 603-2000 two business days after your case was scheduled for hearing to receive this information.
My Day in Court
The judge may give an opening statement concerning individual rights in traffic cases and the procedures the court will follow. It is important to arrive at the courthouse, or on Zoom, in sufficient time before the court call begins.
Most trials are not long, but you should plan for at least three hours on the day of your trial.
In most traffic court cases, the court date is the day set for trial for which any witnesses must be present and ready to testify.
If you have witnesses that are necessary to your defense, you should make certain they have agreed to voluntarily appear in court.
If your witnesses do not agree to voluntarily appear in court, you must have them subpoenaed for the trial. You can obtain a subpoena for witness appearances from the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Do this well in advance of your trial date. Complete the subpoena form, have the subpoena served and file the subpoena along with proof of service with the court on your trial date.
However, if you have been charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense, your initial court date is not the trial date and your witnesses will normally not testify. In a misdemeanor traffic court case, the judge will schedule the trial date when you appear in court.
Bring any photos, diagrams, reports or any other exhibits you wish to present to the judge on your trial date.
Photographs may be helpful if you are contesting the placement or visibility of a sign or other road conditions which resulted in the issuance of the ticket.
The officer will be notified to appear in court by the prosecution. In some cases, unavoidable circumstances prevent or delay the officer's appearance. In cases where a personal injury crash occurred, the case may be continued to allow the prosecution to investigate the circumstances of the incident by ordering a traffic crash report and contacting the other driver.
Fine Information
This information is not currently available online. Please call (312) 603-2000 for information concerning the amount of the fines due.
Fines are payable in person at the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court or by mail to the courthouse where your case is pending.
The Circuit Clerk's office hours at the Richard J. Daley Center are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed on Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays). Please contact the specific courthouse where your case is pending for further information regarding office hours for the Circuit Court Clerk at other locations.
In most instances, you may pay your fine by mail before your court date. Send your check or money order payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court to the address of the courthouse where your case is pending. Please make certain that your ticket number(s) is indicated on the check or money order. Do not send cash. Payments also can be made by credit card.
If your fine cannot be paid by mail, your payment will be returned to you and a court date will be scheduled, or you will receive instructions on how to pay your fine.
If you were placed on supervision for an offense punishable by fine only, a judgment of conviction will be entered and forwarded to the Illinois Secretary of State for entry on your driving record. In some cases, the fine amount will be increased to the statutory minimum plus court costs.
You will receive a notice from the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the amount of the fine. If the fine is not paid within 45 days, the Illinois Secretary of State will be notified and you will not be allowed to renew, replace or re-classify your driver's license until the fine is paid in full.
In addition, the prosecutor may file a petition to hold you in indirect criminal contempt for failure to pay the fine. This may result in the issuance of a warrant for your arrest. If you cannot establish to the court's satisfaction that your failure to pay the fine was due to circumstances beyond your control, you may be incarcerated for a period not to exceed 30 days or until the fine is paid. (see ILCS 5/5-9-3)
If you deposited a bond and the bond is active, you will receive a check for your bond deposit by United States mail approximately 10 days after your case is concluded as long as there are no outstanding financial obligations.
Please note: If you were placed on supervision, the case remains pending until the termination date. You will not receive previously posted bond money until the order of supervision is terminated satisfactorily.
Traffic Safety School Information
Once the National Safety Council receives notification from the Circuit Court of Cook County that you have paid your fines, mandatory court costs, and Traffic Safety School fees, NSC will send you a letter as your notice of your Traffic Safety School course assignment.
The letter should reach you within two to three weeks of your payment to the Circuit Court of Cook County – it will be sent via email OR postal service depending on the contact information provided to the Court when the ticket is paid. The letter will include the date by which you must complete the course.
If you have questions about your traffic case, please contact the local Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County in your District. Alternatively, you can visit the Clerk's Traffic Ticket Search Online Database or the Clerk's Search / Pay My Case Online Database.
- Chicago - 1st Municipal District
- (312) 603-2000
- Skokie - 2nd Municipal District
- (847) 470-7250
- Rolling Meadows - 3rd Municipal District
- (847) 818-3000
- Maywood - 4th Municipal District
- (708) 865-6040
- Bridgeview - 5th Municipal District
- (708) 974-6500
- Markham - 6th Municipal District
- (708) 232-4551
For information regarding rescheduling your Traffic Safety School class please call (888) 245-8450.
No, when you have successfully completed your assigned Traffic Safety School course, your attendance is reported to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County by the Traffic Safety School, and you are not required to attend court to show completion.
There is one exception to this rule:
If you were required to attend the Defensive Driving Course as a condition of supervision or conditional discharge, you must return to court on the date indicated by the judge and present proof you attended Traffic Safety School.
Driver's License Information
You will either receive your driver's license by mail or you can retrieve it from the Clerk's Office 24 hours after the order is entered to release the license.
Your driver's license will be returned once your check is received and processed. This takes approximately 7 to 10 business days.
Driver's License Suspension and Reinstatement Procedures. For more information, contact the Illinois Secretary of State.
If you have the ticket number and you know the courthouse location where the ticket was pending, you may go to the Special Service Section of the Clerk of the Circuit Court Office at the courthouse to receive complete and accurate information regarding the disposition of the ticket.
If you do not know the ticket number you can go to any of the Circuit Court Clerk's office locations and request a search for a ticket number. Alternatively, you may go to the local office of the Secretary of State and obtain a copy of your driving record.
Your driving record will contain the following information:
- ticket number;
- date the ticket was issued;
- location where the case was pending; and
- the disposition.
After you obtain this information, go to Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court where the ticket was pending to receive information on how to resolve the ticket.
Warning: Seek legal advice before acting. You may unknowingly damage your driving record. The staff of the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court are not allowed to give legal advice. They may only provide information concerning the disposition of the ticket and what fines are due.