Article III. Civil Appeals Rules · Part A. Appeals from the Circuit Court · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 308 lets a trial court certify a difficult legal question in an otherwise unappealable order for immediate review by the Appellate Court, if an early answer could move the whole case along faster.
(a)Requests. When the trial court, in making an interlocutory order not otherwise appealable,
finds that the order involves a question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion and that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation, the court shall so state in writing, identifying the question of law involved. Such a statement may be made at the time of the entry of the order or thereafter on the court’s own motion or on motion of any party. The Appellate Court may thereupon in its discretion allow an appeal from the order.
(b)How Sought. The appeal will be sought by filing an application for leave to appeal with the clerk of the Appellate Court within 30 days after the entry of the order in the trial court or the making of the prescribed statement by the trial court, whichever is later.
(c)Application; Answer. The application shall contain a statement of the facts necessary to an understanding of the question of law determined by the order of the trial court; a statement of the question itself; and a statement of the reasons why a substantial basis exists for a difference of opinion on the question and why an immediate appeal may materially advance the termination of the litigation. The application shall be accompanied by an original supporting record (Rule 328), containing the order appealed from and other parts of the trial court record necessary for the determination of the application for permission to appeal. Within 21 days after the due date of the application, an adverse party may file an answer in opposition, together with an original of a supplementary supporting record containing any additional parts of the record the adverse party desires to have considered by the Appellate Court. The application and answer shall be submitted without oral argument unless otherwise ordered.
(d)After the applicant has filed the application and supporting record and the time for filing any answer has expired, the Appellate Court, except for good cause shown, shall decide whether to allow the interlocutory appeal within 30 days.
(e)Record; Briefs. If leave to appeal is allowed, any party may request that a complete record on appeal be filed , or the court may order the appellant to file the record within 35 days of the date on which such leave was allowed. The appellant shall file a brief in the reviewing court within the same 35 days. Otherwise the schedule and requirements for briefs shall be as provided in Rules 341 through 344.
(f)Stay. The application for permission to appeal or the granting thereof shall not stay proceedings in the trial court unless the trial court or the Appellate Court or a judge thereof shall so order.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 308 addresses a narrow problem: sometimes a trial court's non-final ruling turns on a legal question that's unsettled, and waiting until the end of the case to resolve it would waste everyone's time if the appellate court later disagrees. The rule lets the trial judge write a statement identifying that question and certifying that reasonable people could differ on the answer, and that deciding it now could speed up the case. The Appellate Court then has discretion whether to take the appeal.
Getting a certified question up on appeal takes two separate approvals: the trial court's certification and the Appellate Court's agreement to hear it. A party has 30 days from whichever comes later — the order or the certifying statement — to file an application for leave to appeal, supported by a record and a statement of the facts, the question, and why immediate review is warranted.
Rule 308 doesn't pause the trial court proceedings by itself. Unless the trial court, the Appellate Court, or a judge specifically orders a stay, the case keeps moving while the certified question is pending on appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides whether a question gets certified for appeal under Rule 308?
The trial court decides whether to certify the question in the first place; the Appellate Court then separately decides whether to accept the appeal.
What does the trial court have to find before certifying a question?
That the order involves a legal question with substantial ground for differing opinions, and that an immediate appeal could materially speed up the case's resolution.
How long do I have to seek leave to appeal a certified question?
30 days after the trial court enters the order or makes its certifying statement, whichever happens later.
Does a Rule 308 appeal stop the trial court case while it's pending?
No, not automatically. The case continues unless the trial court, the Appellate Court, or a judge specifically orders a stay.
Is oral argument held on a Rule 308 application?
No. The application and any answer are submitted and decided without oral argument unless the court orders otherwise.
Committee Comments
(Revised 1979)
This rule was new in 1967. Prior to that time appeals from interlocutory orders had been permitted in Illinois only in a few specified classes of cases. (See former Rule 31 and its predecessor, former section 78 of the Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1961, ch. 110, par. 78).) This was also generally true in the Federal courts. In 1958, however, Congress adopted what is now 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), which permits an interlocutory appeal from other than final orders when the trial court “shall be of the opinion that such order involves a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion and that immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.” The court of appeals may then “in its discretion” permit the appeal to be taken. Thus, this type of interlocutory appeal is allowed when both the trial and appellate courts agree that an appeal will expedite the disposition of the litigation, and also that there is a substantial question of law to be decided. The appellate courts themselves can insure that this authority to allow interlocutory appeals is not abused. This power has been sparingly exercised in the Federal courts, but it has proved valuable.
This rule establishes a similar procedure for Illinois. One change from the Federal rule is to eliminate the requirement that the question raised be a “controlling” one. The meaning of “controlling” has not been clear, despite many cases on the point. and experience has shown that sometimes an important question of law that only arguably could be said to be controlling should be heard on appeal without awaiting final judgment.
The 1964 judicial article authorized the Supreme Court to provide by rule for appeals to the Appellate Court of other than final judgments of the circuit court. Arguably, however, it made no provision for rules permitting direct appeal to the Supreme Court except in the case of final judgments. Accordingly, Rule 308 was made applicable only to appeals to the Appellate Court, but it permits the Appellate Court to allow interlocutory appeals in classes of cases in which the final judgment is appealable only to the Supreme Court. Though the reference to “final judgments” in section 5 of the 1964 judicial article was not carried forward into article VI, section 4 of the new constitution, direct appeals to the Supreme Court remain limited to appeals from final judgments. See Rule 302.
Normally the interlocutory appeal will not stay proceedings in the trial court. The case may proceed in that court unless the trial court or the Appellate Court or a judge thereof otherwise orders. This will discourage an attempt to take an interlocutory appeal with a motive of delay. In 1974, paragraph (b) was amended to substitute the word “application” appearing in the last sentence of the paragraph for the word “petition” to make the terminology uniform. At the same time paragraph (d) was amended to insert the clause “the appellant shall file his brief in the reviewing court within 35 days of the date on which such leave was allowed.” This requirement formerly appeared in Rule 343(a). See the committee comments to Rule 306, paragraph (g).
Until 1979, paragraph (d) provided that, if appeal were allowed, “[e]xcerpts from record or an abstract shall be prepared and filed as provided in Rule 342.” In that year Rule 342 was amended to eliminate altogether the practice of duplicating and filing excerpts from the record and to provide that no abstract shall be filed unless by order of the reviewing court. Accordingly, paragraph (d) was amended to reflect this change. See the committee comments to Rule 342.
Amendment History
Amended effective September 1, 1974; amended July 30, 1979, effective October 15, 1979; amended December 17, 1993, effective February 1, 1994; amended February 26, 2010, effective immediately; amended Dec. 11, 2014, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; amended Oct. 15, 2015, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; amended June 22, 2017, eff. July 1, 2017; amended Sept. 26, 2019, eff. Oct. 1, 2019.
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
Also known as:certified question appealinterlocutory appeal certified questionRule 308 Illinoissubstantial ground for difference of opinionpermissive interlocutory appeal