The Lake County Sheriff's Office Civil Process Team acts as the administrative arm of the court fulfilling the Sheriff’s statutory responsibilities to serve all civil papers, documents and orders directed to the Sheriff from the court.  Deputies within Civil Process are tasked with serving Writs, Summonses, Subpoenas, Civil Warrants, and various Court Orders.  Civil Process Deputies are responsible for executing Writs of Replevin (repossession), Orders of Judgment and Levies on goods and real estate. Civil Process also conducts Court-Ordered Evictions, Sheriff’s Sales, and issues Tax Deed Notices. The Civil Process Team processes over 14,000 documents annually.

As of  January 1, 2018, the State of Illinois requires all civil filings to be filed electronically in all counties in Illinois.  The Lake County Circuit Clerk's Office adopted the State’s e-Filing solution. While the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office accepts electronic filings, the Lake County Sheriff's Office does not have an e-filing system.  Filers can choose from a number of certified Electronic Filing Service Providers (EFSPs) that are certified by the State’s e-Filing Manager, to submit their filings electronically to Lake County.  To learn more visit the Lake County Circuit Clerk's E-Filing Portal.

Legal Disclaimer

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office does not provide legal advice. While the Sheriff’s Office may provide information about its policies and procedures for service of process, this is not legal advice. If you have questions related to legal issues, contact an attorney, or visit the 19th Judicial Circuit Center for Self-Representation in the William D. Block Memorial Library located in Lake County Government Building, 18 North County Street in Waukegan.

General Information

• Civil Process operates Monday – Friday during daytime hours and is closed on evenings, weekends, and on court holidays.
• A minimum of 2 weeks (14 days, excluding weekends and holidays) is required for service. Please be aware of your court date when you leave the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office.
• The Lake County Sheriff’s Office accepts cash, checks, money orders, or credit cards (other than American Express).  The Lake County Sheriff's Office cannot accept a single check for multiple cases.  Each case requires a separate check payment.
•  Know your case number when calling to check the status of service.
• Prior to mailing or delivering court orders, documents, or papers to the Sheriff’s Office, verify the address to be served is in Lake County by utilizing the Lake County Assessor’s Office Assessment by Address locator.
• The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is unable to serve outside of Lake County.
• The Lake County Sheriff’s Office does not mail papers to other counties for service with the exception of Orders of Protection and Body Attachments.
• If the address to be served is outside Lake County, please contact the Sheriff of the county the address is located in for service requirements.
• Please mail all proper documentation to:
  Lake County Sheriff
  Attention: Civil Process
  25 S Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
  Waukegan, IL 60085
• The only parties authorized to serve papers in Lake County are the Sheriff’s Office or a licensed process server. The Sheriff’s Office does not provide referrals of private process servers.
• Affidavits of service are e-filed for all cases originating from the Lake County Circuit Clerk.
• For further information contact the Civil Process Team by phone at 847-377-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected]