(a) All pleadings shall contain a plain and concise statement of the pleader's cause of action, counterclaim, defense, or reply.
2-603.Form of pleadings.
Article II. Civil Practice · Part 6. Pleading · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2-603 sets the ground rules for how an Illinois pleading must be written: a plain and concise statement of the claim or defense, organized into separately numbered counts and paragraphs, construed liberally toward substantial justice.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/2-603
(b) Each separate cause of action upon which a separate recovery might be had shall be stated in a separate count or counterclaim, as the case may be and each count, counterclaim, defense or reply, shall be separately pleaded, designated and numbered, and each shall be divided into paragraphs numbered consecutively, each paragraph containing, as nearly as may be, a separate allegation.
(c) Pleadings shall be liberally construed with a view to doing substantial justice between the parties.
Plain-English Summary
This is the closest thing Illinois has to a general pleading-form rule. Subsection (a) requires a plain and concise statement of the cause of action, counterclaim, defense, or reply -- language that keeps Illinois pleading grounded in facts rather than legal conclusions, without demanding the granular detail of old common-law forms.
Subsection (b) sets the housekeeping: each separate claim that could support its own recovery gets its own count, each count or defense is numbered, and each is broken into consecutive numbered paragraphs, with each paragraph holding one allegation as nearly as practicable. Lawyers who have read a well-drafted Illinois complaint will recognize this structure -- it's why the numbered-paragraph format is everywhere in Illinois practice.
Subsection (c) supplies the interpretive lens for everything else in this Part: pleadings get a liberal construction aimed at doing substantial justice between the parties, not a technical reading designed to trap a pleader on form.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a pleading contain under 2-603(a)?
A plain and concise statement of the pleader's cause of action, counterclaim, defense, or reply. The standard asks for clarity and brevity, not exhaustive detail.
Why do Illinois complaints number their paragraphs?
Subsection (b) requires it. Each count or defense must be separately designated and numbered, and divided into consecutively numbered paragraphs that each hold, as nearly as practicable, a single allegation.
What happens if a complaint pleads more than one claim?
Each separate cause of action that could support its own recovery must be stated in its own count. Lumping distinct claims into one undifferentiated count runs against subsection (b).
How liberally will an Illinois court read a pleading?
Subsection (c) directs courts to construe pleadings liberally with a view to doing substantial justice between the parties, favoring resolution on the merits over dismissal for a curable formal defect.
Does 2-603 set the standard for how much detail a complaint needs?
It sets the form -- plain, concise, separately numbered. How much factual detail a specific claim needs comes from the substantive law behind that claim, together with sections like 2-612 on pleading sufficiency.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
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 pleading standardform of pleadings 735 ILCS 5fact pleading illinoisseparately numbered counts illinois complaint