Article III. Civil Appeals Rules · Part C. Record on Appeal · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 325 requires the circuit clerk to file the completed record with the reviewing court once the required fee has been paid.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 325
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Upon payment of the prescribed fee for preparation of the record on appeal, the clerk shall file
the record with the reviewing court. Amended October 21, 1969, effective January 1, 1970; amended July 1, 1985, effective August 1, 1985; amended April 10, 1987, effective August 1, 1987; amended December 17, 1993, effective February 1, 1994; amended May 30, 2008, effective immediately; amended June 22, 2017, eff. July 1, 2017.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 325 is short and mechanical: after the fee for preparing the record on appeal has been paid, the clerk files the record with the reviewing court. It's the hinge between the trial court's job of assembling the record under Rules 323 and 324 and the appellate court's job of putting it to use.
Because the clerk handles the filing directly, the rule spares the parties an older, roundabout process where a certificate would first go to the appellant, who then had to file it. That change keeps the record moving to the reviewing court without an extra, avoidable step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who files the record on appeal with the reviewing court?
The circuit clerk, once the prescribed fee for preparing the record has been paid.
Does the appellant need to do anything to get the record filed?
No. Under the current rule, the clerk transmits the record directly to the reviewing court rather than routing it through the appellant.
What has to happen before the clerk files the record?
Payment of the prescribed fee for preparing the record on appeal.
Is Rule 325 the rule that sets the deadline for filing the record?
No. Rule 326 sets the 63-day deadline; Rule 325 addresses how the completed record gets to the reviewing court.
What rules govern how the record is assembled before it's transmitted?
Rules 323 and 324, covering the report of proceedings and the clerk's certification of the record.
Committee Comments and Commentary
(Revised October 21, 1969)
This rule, based on former Rules 36(2)(c) and 36-1(4), with some additions and changes, recognizes the existing practice of transmission of the record to the reviewing court by a party and affirmatively requires the clerk to deliver the record to the appellant for transmission upon request and payment of the prescribed fee. If such a request is not made but the fee is paid, the clerk is to transmit the record himself. The procedure provided for in the second and third sentence of this rule for filing a certificate in lieu of the record was initiated in 1964 by former Rule 36-1(4) for cases assignable to magistrates. The new procedure eliminates the wasteful and time-consuming step of sending the record to the reviewing court and then immediately having it sent back to the appellant, who normally needs it to prepare the excerpts from record or abstract and his brief. The requirement of filing the record can be met under the new rule by the filing of the certificate obtained from the clerk of the trial court. The appellant can then retain the record on appeal and either file it with his brief or, as will often be convenient, turn it over to the appellee for the latter’s use during the writing of his brief. Rule 326 requires that the record be delivered to the reviewing court at the time the reply brief is due or earlier if the reviewing court so orders. The requirement that a copy of the notice of appeal be sent to the clerk of the reviewing court with the certificate, added in 1969, is for the convenience of the clerk. Failure to comply, or late compliance, with this requirement would not affect the timeliness of the filing of the certificate.
(December 17, 1993)
Rule 325 is amended to require the clerk of the circuit court to deliver the certificate in lieu of record directly to the reviewing court for filing, which is consistent with the circuit clerk’s responsibility of delivering the record to the reviewing court. Previously, the certificate was delivered to appellant, who then had the responsibility of filing it with the reviewing court, a circuitous procedure. The provision that a copy of the notice of appeal be sent to the reviewing court with the certificate is eliminated as unnecessary because the reviewing court already would have received the notice of appeal under Rules 303 or 307.
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:transmit record on appealfiling the appellate recordcircuit clerk transmits recordrecord transmission Illinois appeal