Illinois Citation to Discover Assets: Filing, Service, and What Happens Next

You won your case, but the debtor has gone silent. The Citation to Discover Assets under 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 is the tool Illinois gives you to find out what they own — and freeze it while you look.

What a Citation to Discover Assets Does

A Citation to Debtor requires the debtor to appear and answer questions about assets; a third-party citation requires the respondent to answer asset inquiries and may require a court appearance. Service on a third party creates a lien on the debtor's interest in property held by that respondent up to the amount due on the judgment; a separate restraint can prevent transfer and require the respondent to hold funds up to twice that balance.

Citations come in three flavors, each with its own statewide form packet from the Illinois Supreme Court:

• Citation to Debtor — forces the debtor to appear and disclose bank accounts, vehicles, employment, and real estate
• Citation to Debtor's Bank — directs the financial institution to freeze accounts and answer written interrogatories about balances
• Citation to Third Party — reaches receivables, contract payments, or personal property held by someone who owes the debtor

If you do not know where the debtor banks or works, start with the Citation to Debtor. If you already have their bank details — common in security-deposit cases where you have routing numbers from prior payments — skip straight to the bank citation.

How to File in Cook County and Statewide

Filing generally goes through the eFileIL portal using your existing small claims case number, unless you qualify for an exemption under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 9(c). You need three documents:

1. Citation Application or Petition
2. Citation Summons
3. Income and Asset Form (the standardized questionnaire the debtor must complete)

Download the approved statewide forms from illinoiscourts.gov — circuit court clerks are required to accept them. One common eFileIL rejection: interactive PDF form fields that are not "flattened." If the portal rejects your upload, open the PDF in any reader, print to PDF, and re-upload the static version.

Cook County filings go through the appropriate municipal district and courthouse; cases assigned to the First Municipal District are handled at the Daley Center. Downstate counties accept the same statewide forms but may have different return dates and hearing procedures.

Service Rules Under Supreme Court Rule 277

A citation served on a natural-person judgment debtor must be served personally or by abode service under Supreme Court Rule 105; it must include the Income and Asset Form. A citation served on a third-party respondent follows Rules 277 and 105, which allow personal service or prepaid certified or registered mail with restricted delivery and a return receipt.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-202(a-3), a plaintiff pays the Circuit Clerk a $5 fee when filing a summons or alias summons in Cook County; the fee is deducted from the service charge. Process may be served by the sheriff, a licensed or registered private detective, a registered employee of a certified agency, or another person appointed by the court.

After serving a bank citation, send the debtor a copy of the citation and citation notice within three business days. For a non-wage garnishment, the person serving process must mail the summons and garnishment notice within two business days.

The Examination Hearing

At the return date, the debtor appears before the judge and answers questions under oath. You can ask about bank accounts, real estate titles, vehicle ownership, employer information, business interests, and any recent asset transfers. The court or a court reporter administers the oath.

Keep your questions factual and focused on locating non-exempt property. Questioning designed to harass or pressure payment outside the court process is prohibited.

What Happens if They Do Not Show Up

If the debtor was properly served and fails to appear, you cannot have them arrested on the spot. Illinois requires a multi-step process:

1. File a Motion for Rule to Show Cause explaining proper service and the failure to appear
2. The court enters an Order to Show Cause with a new hearing date
3. Serve the order on the debtor personally or by certified mail
4. If they still fail to appear, the court may issue a Body Attachment Order — a civil order directing the sheriff to bring them to court

A body attachment is not a criminal arrest. It compels appearance to answer the citation, nothing more.

The Six-Month Clock

Under Supreme Court Rule 277(f), a citation proceeding automatically terminates six months after the respondent's first court appearance unless the judge extends it. This prevents permanent, open-ended asset freezes. If you need more time, file a motion showing good cause before the six months run out.

Putting It Together

The citation is usually your first post-judgment move because it reveals what enforcement tools to use next — wage deduction if the debtor is employed, bank garnishment if you discover account numbers, or a real estate lien if they own property. The complete Illinois judgment collection guide walks through each enforcement tool, the forms for each, and how to calculate the applicable statutory interest that accrues while you collect.

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