(a) In all cases, including criminal, quasi-criminal and civil, when a person is imprisoned, incarcerated, confined or committed to the custody of a sheriff, warden, Department of Corrections or other executive officer by virtue of a judgment or order which is signed by a judge, a copy of such judgment or order shall, in each case, constitute the mittimus, and no separate mittimus need be issued.
2-1801.Mittimus.
Article II. Civil Practice · Part 18. Mittimus · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2-1801 says a signed judgment or order committing a person to a sheriff's, warden's, or Department of Corrections' custody serves as the mittimus itself, so courts don't need to issue a separate mittimus document.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/2-1801
(b) Where no written judgment or order was signed by a judge, the practice heretofore prevailing in such cases in the courts of this State shall be followed.
Plain-English Summary
A mittimus is the paper that authorizes a sheriff, warden, or the Department of Corrections to hold someone in custody. Before this section, courts sometimes had to draft that document separately from the judgment or order that decided the case. Section 2-1801 cuts that step out: whenever a judge signs a judgment or order committing a person to custody — in a criminal case, a quasi-criminal case, or a civil case — a copy of that signed judgment or order is the mittimus. No second document has to be prepared.
The section reaches beyond criminal sentencing. It covers any case, including civil matters, where a judge's signed judgment or order results in someone being imprisoned, incarcerated, confined, or committed to custody. A civil contempt commitment, for example, fits the same pattern: once the judge signs the order, that signed copy authorizes the confinement.
Subsection (b) covers the gap case: if no written judgment or order was ever signed by a judge, the section doesn't try to fill that void with new rules. It tells courts to follow whatever practice already prevailed in Illinois courts for that situation, preserving prior practice rather than displacing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mittimus under Illinois law?
A mittimus is the document that authorizes a sheriff, warden, the Department of Corrections, or another executive officer to take and hold a person in custody. Section 2-1801 says a judge's signed judgment or order committing the person serves as that document, so a separate mittimus doesn't need to be drafted.
Does this section apply outside criminal cases?
Yes. The section expressly covers criminal, quasi-criminal, and civil cases alike. Any signed judgment or order that results in a person being imprisoned, incarcerated, confined, or committed to custody counts, which can include a civil commitment order.
What happens if no judge ever signed a written judgment or order?
Subsection (b) sends courts back to whatever practice previously prevailed in Illinois courts for that situation. The section doesn't create a new procedure for that gap; it preserves the prior practice.
Who acts on the mittimus created by this section?
A sheriff, warden, the Department of Corrections, or another executive officer holding the person in custody. The signed judgment or order gives that officer the authority to act.
Why would a civil case involve a mittimus at all?
Civil confinement situations exist — a civil contempt commitment is one example — where a court's signed order results in a person being held in custody. Section 2-1801 treats that signed order the same way it treats a criminal commitment order: as the mittimus itself.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 84-622.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: illinois mittimus statutecivil contempt commitment order illinoisjudgment as mittimus illinoiscustody commitment order illinois