Article II. Rules on Civil Proceedings in the Trial Court · Part J. Small Claims · Last amended 1982 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 288 lets a small-claims court order a judgment paid in installments or by a set date, and pause collection while the payments continue, for up to three years.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 288
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The court may order that the amount of a small claim judgment shall be paid to the prevailing
party on a certain date or in specified installments, and may stay the enforcement of the judgment and other supplementary process during compliance with such order. The stay may be modified or vacated by the court, but the installment payments of small claims judgments shall not extend over a period in excess of three years’ duration.
Plain-English Summary
Rather than requiring immediate payment in full, a small-claims court can order the losing party to pay the judgment on a certain date or in installments, and can stay enforcement and other supplementary proceedings while that order is followed. The court can later modify or vacate the stay if circumstances change.
Installment payments can’t stretch beyond three years. That cap lines up with the recordkeeping practice of destroying small-claims case files three years after judgment, unless a trial court orders otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a small-claims judgment be paid over time instead of all at once?
Yes, if the court orders installment payments.
How long can installment payments last?
No more than three years.
Can the court pause collection efforts while someone pays in installments?
Yes, through a stay of enforcement and other supplementary proceedings.
Can a payment order be changed later?
Yes — the court can modify or vacate the stay.
Why is there a three-year cap on installment payments?
It matches how long small-claims case files are typically kept before being destroyed.
Committee Comments
(Revised October 1969) As adopted effective January 1, 1967, this rule was paragraph H of former Rule 9-1, effective January 1, 1964, without change. The provision in the last sentence that installment payments shall not extend over a period of more than three years was added by amendment January 21, 1969, in view of the provision in the Supreme Court recordkeeping order that small claims files are to be destroyed three years after the date of judgment, unless otherwise ordered by the trial court.
Amendment History
Amended effective January 21, 1969; amended May 28, 1982, effective July 1, 1982.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Committee Comments, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Supreme Court Rules,
promulgated by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
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