Cases and documents within a case identified as impounded, sealed, secured or otherwise confidential in the circuit court shall remain as such when filed in the reviewing courts, and the parties of record shall have the same level of access, if any. This Rule does not apply to an opinion or Rule 23 order disposing of an appeal, or to a supervisory order affecting the validity of an opinion or Rule 23 order.
Rule 371.Confidential Records When On Review
Article III. Civil Appeals Rules · Part F. Other Provisions · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 371 carries a case's sealed or confidential status up to the reviewing court exactly as it existed in the circuit court.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 371
Plain-English Summary
When a case or a document within it is impounded, sealed, secured, or otherwise made confidential in the circuit court, that status doesn't disappear once the case is appealed. Rule 371 keeps the same confidential treatment in place at the reviewing court, and the parties of record keep whatever level of access they already had.
The rule doesn't extend confidentiality to everything, though. An opinion or Rule 23 order that disposes of the appeal is public, as is a supervisory order that affects the validity of that opinion or order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does appealing a case expose sealed circuit court records to the public?
No. The same confidentiality that applied in the circuit court carries over automatically to the reviewing court.
Do the parties keep the same access to sealed material on appeal?
Yes. Rule 371 preserves whatever level of access the parties of record already had.
Are the reviewing court's own opinions treated as confidential under this rule?
No. Opinions and Rule 23 orders that dispose of the appeal fall outside the rule and remain public.
What about a supervisory order concerning that opinion?
It's also excluded from confidentiality if it affects the validity of the opinion or order.
Does a party have to file a new motion to keep a case sealed once it's on appeal?
No. The confidential or sealed status transfers automatically without a separate motion.
Amendment History
Adopted Dec. 19, 2019, eff. Jan. 1, 2020; amended June 11, 2021, eff. immediately.
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: sealed case on appealconfidential record appellate courtimpounded documents on reviewsealed circuit court record on appeal