Chicago Eviction Filing Fees and Court Costs (2026)

Eviction isn't just slow. It's also not free. Before you get your unit back, you'll pay to file in court, pay to serve the tenant, pay to obtain the Writ of Possession, and pay the Cook County Sheriff's Office to carry out the actual removal. None of those costs are optional, and none of them are reimbursed automatically even if you win.

Understanding what you're looking at financially before you start the process is part of making a clear-headed decision about how to proceed.

Quick Answer

• Filing an eviction case in the Circuit Court of Cook County involves court filing fees that vary based on the amount claimed and the type of case.
• Additional costs include process service fees, the Writ of Possession fee, and the sheriff's enforcement fee.
• Attorney's fees, if you hire one, are separate and often significantly larger than the court costs themselves.
• For current, case-specific fee amounts, Dweller IQ can help you understand what the Cook County process typically involves before you budget for it.

The Court Filing Fee

To open an eviction case in Cook County, you pay a filing fee to the Circuit Court Clerk. The amount depends on the type of case and what you're claiming — eviction-only cases have different fee structures than cases where you're also seeking a money judgment for unpaid rent.

Fee schedules change, and the exact amount you'll pay is worth confirming with the Clerk of the Circuit Court before you file. What won't change is the fact that you pay it upfront, before the case is heard, regardless of outcome.

Process Service Costs

After you file, the court has to formally notify the tenant that a case has been opened against them. That's called service of process, and it typically happens through the Cook County Sheriff's Office or a private process server.

There's a fee for this service. If the sheriff can't locate the tenant to serve them — which happens — there are alternative service methods, each with their own costs and procedural requirements. The more difficult the tenant is to serve, the more the process service step costs and the more time it adds.

The Writ of Possession Fee

Winning the case and obtaining a Writ of Possession are two separate steps with two separate costs. After the court enters judgment in your favor, you pay to have the writ issued. Then you submit the writ to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, which charges its own fee to schedule and execute the eviction.

That enforcement fee covers the sheriff's deputies showing up at the unit on the appointed date to oversee the removal. It's a required step — you can't execute the writ yourself — and it's a cost that comes at the very end of the process, after you've already paid everything else.

Attorney's Fees: The Biggest Variable

Court costs are relatively predictable. Attorney's fees are not, and for many landlords they dwarf everything else.

Whether you need an attorney depends on the complexity of your case. An uncontested eviction where the tenant doesn't appear and the paperwork is clean is manageable without one. A contested case where the tenant raises RLTO defenses, has their own attorney, or brings counterclaims is a different situation entirely.

Trying to represent yourself against a tenant with legal representation in a complex Chicago eviction is a risk most landlords underestimate. The cost of losing — or of having the case dismissed and starting over — often exceeds the cost of hiring counsel from the start.

Can You Recover Your Costs?

If the court enters judgment in your favor, you may be able to include court costs as part of the judgment. Whether you can actually collect those costs depends on whether the tenant has assets or income to collect from — and many tenants who stop paying rent don't.

Attorney's fees are generally not recoverable in a standard eviction case unless a specific provision of the RLTO or your lease makes them available. The money you spend getting the eviction done is mostly money you don't get back.

That reality is worth factoring in when you're deciding how to handle a situation. It's also worth understanding fully before you start the clock. The Chicago Eviction Laws overview for landlords covers the full process those costs are attached to, and Dweller IQ can help you think through what your specific situation is likely to involve before you commit to filing.

"Eviction costs money before it saves you money. Go in knowing both numbers."

Key Takeaways

• Filing an eviction case in Cook County requires upfront court filing fees that vary by case type and claimed amount
• Process service fees are separate and increase if the tenant is difficult to locate
• The Writ of Possession requires its own fee, as does the Cook County Sheriff's enforcement of the writ
• Attorney's fees are often the largest cost and are largely non-recoverable even when you win
• Court costs may be included in a judgment but are only collectible if the tenant has assets — many don't
• Understanding the full financial picture before filing is part of making a sound decision about how to proceed