The Court has partnered with the State of Illinois to create a secure online payment system through ePAY for Adult Probation and Social Service clients to pay fees.
ePAY gives people convenient and flexible options to submit secure payments through an accessible payment portal website, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Payments made through ePAY will integrate with the departments' case management system and automatically allocate payment funds based on priority.
Payment Deadline
The Court must receive payment at least three (3) business days prior to the court date. Remember, transactions may take a few business days to process and appear in the court's case management system.
If the time period is less than three (3) business days before the court date, the case may no longer be available for payment using ePAY. See below if there is an alternative payment method with a shorter processing time.
About the ePAY Website
Yes, the Circuit Court of Cook County ePAY website has its own dedicated database processing platform, in addition to many other web security standards, including:
- All Personally Identifiable Information (PII) provided during the payment process is encrypted while at rest in the database and while in-transit.
- Clients, or users on behalf of clients, who set up an account can securely save their payment information and make future payments quickly and easily, without needing to re-enter payment information.
- ePay is PCI Level 1 compliant, the highest level of compliance in the Payment Card Industry. They also undergo an annual audit of their systems and processes, ensuring they do everything possible to keep all users' information secure at all times.
Clients, or users on behalf of clients, can make a One-Time Payment or create an ePAY account to set up an Automatic Recurring Payment Plan.
Additional benefits of creating an ePAY account include making future payments quicker, conveniently tracking payment history, and more.
For any problems with the ePAY website or questions about payments, contact your Adult Probation Officer or Social Service Casework Officer.
Know Before You Pay
You will need to know:
- Client's name and date of birth
- ePAY Client ID
- AND a valid debit or credit card (VISA, Mastercard, or Discover only)
Your Adult Probation Officer or Social Service Casework Officer will tell you what your ePAY Client ID is.
Only VISA, Mastercard and Discover.
Languages & Other Ways to Pay
If you don't want to use the ePAY website or are experiencing trouble with that site, the following payment methods are also available:
In person at the Cashier's Office located in the basement of the Criminal Court Administration Building.
Subject to courthouse hours and legal court holidays.By phone (IVR): (888) 226-6071 — Interactive Voice Response is available in English and Spanish.
By mail addressed to:
Circuit Court of Cook County
ATTN: Fee Unit
2650 S. California Ave., Lower Level
Chicago, IL 60608
Yes, Spanish and English.
Language preferences can be changed at the bottom of the ePAY website, in the footer.
The ePAY Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone pay system is available in English and Spanish at (888) 226-6071.
After Making a Payment
If making a One-Time Payment, during the payment process, you'll have the option to enter an email address to send a receipt.
If you create an account, you can choose to receive email and / or text receipts in the account settings.
Your ePAY fee payments will appear labeled as "Cook County Court ePAY" in your credit card or bank statement.
Transactions should appear in banking / credit accounts immediately.
- Funds are withheld immediately as "pending" until the transaction is fully settled, for both debit and credit cards.
- Typically, if it's a debit card, the transaction should clear the bank account within a few business days (usually the next business day). Credit cards may take longer.
- If a transaction remains pending for an extended period, the client should contact their bank or credit card company.
Transactions typically appear in the court's case management system (CMS) within 1 or 2 business days.
Remember: the Court must receive payment at least three (3) business days prior to the court date, and transactions may take a few business days to process and appear in the court's CMS.
If the time period is less than three (3) business days before the court date, the case may no longer be available for payment using ePAY. Note: Payments made in person at the Cashier's Office will be processed immediately — see "other ways to pay" for more information.