(a) Right of Appeal. An appeal from a final judgment of the circuit court in any postconviction
proceeding shall lie to the Appellate Court in the district in which the circuit court is located.
Rule 651.Appeals in Post-Conviction Proceedings
Article VI. Appeals in Criminal Cases, Post-Conviction Cases, and Juvenile Court Proceedings · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 651 governs the separate appeal that follows a ruling on an Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act petition, requiring notice to the petitioner and applying the ordinary criminal-appeal rules to that later proceeding.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 651
(b) Notice to Petitioner of Adverse Judgment. Upon the entry of a judgment adverse to a petitioner in a postconviction proceeding, the clerk of the trial court shall at once mail or deliver to the petitioner a notice in substantially the following form:
“You are hereby notified that on __________ the court entered an order, a copy of which is enclosed herewith. You have a right to appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court in the district in which the circuit court is located. If you are indigent, you have a right to a transcript of the record of the postconviction proceedings and to the appointment of counsel on appeal, both without cost to you. To preserve your right to appeal you must file a notice of appeal in the trial court within 30 days from the date the order was entered.”
(c) Record for Indigents; Appointment of Counsel. Upon the timely filing of a notice of appeal in a postconviction proceeding, if the trial court determines that the petitioner is indigent, the procedures for appointment of counsel and provision of the report on proceedings shall be governed by Rule 607. In a postconviction proceeding, the appellant or appellant’s counsel shall, upon written request, be provided the postconviction report of proceedings and any relevant report of proceedings not previously provided to the appellant or appellant’s counsel.
The record filed in that court shall contain a showing, which may be made by the certificate of petitioner’s attorney, that the attorney has consulted with petitioner by phone, mail, electronic means or in person to ascertain his or her contentions of deprivation of constitutional rights, has examined the record of the proceedings at the trial, and has made any amendments to the petitions filed pro se that are necessary for an adequate presentation of petitioner’s contentions.
(d) Procedure. The procedure for an appeal in a post-conviction proceeding shall be in accordance with the rules governing criminal appeals.
Plain-English Summary
A post-conviction appeal isn’t another round of the direct appeal — it comes later, from a ruling on a separate petition raising constitutional claims under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, and it goes to the Appellate Court in the district where the circuit court sits.
When a petitioner loses, the circuit clerk has to mail a notice explaining the right to appeal, the right to an indigent petitioner’s free transcript and appointed counsel, and the 30-day deadline for filing a notice of appeal. That notice is the petitioner’s main safeguard, since post-conviction proceedings often reach people without a lawyer already watching the clock.
Once counsel is appointed for an indigent petitioner, Rule 607’s procedures for the record and transcript apply, and counsel has to show — often by certificate — that they consulted with the petitioner, reviewed the trial record, and amended any pro se petition as needed to present the claims properly. Beyond that, a post-conviction appeal proceeds under the same rules that govern criminal appeals generally.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a post-conviction appeal different from a direct appeal?
It comes later, from a ruling on a separate petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act raising constitutional claims — not from the original conviction and sentence.
What must the circuit clerk do after an adverse post-conviction ruling?
Mail the petitioner a notice explaining the right to appeal, appointed counsel, a free transcript if indigent, and the 30-day filing deadline.
Does an indigent petitioner get the same rights as an indigent criminal defendant on direct appeal?
Yes — Rule 607’s procedures for appointed counsel and the record apply.
What must post-conviction appellate counsel certify?
That counsel consulted with the petitioner, examined the trial record, and amended any pro se petition as needed to adequately present the claims.
Which procedural rules govern a post-conviction appeal once it’s filed?
The general rules governing criminal appeals.
Committee Comments
(Revised November 30, 1984)
This rule was drawn from former Rule 27-1, in effect from January 1, 1964, to January 1, 1967. Paragraph (a) was added.
Paragraphs (b) and (c) were amended effective January 1, 1969, by adding the references to appointment of counsel on appeal. Minor language changes were also made at that time.
The last sentence of Rule 651(c) was added in 1969 to implement the decisions of the court with respect to the responsibilities of an attorney representing an indigent prisoner in a post- conviction proceeding. People v. Garrison (1969), 43 Ill. 2d 121; People v. Jones (1969), 43 Ill.
2d 160; People v. Slaughter (1968), 39 Ill. 2d 278, 285. In 1971 Rule 651 was amended to provide that appeals in post-conviction proceedings lie to
the Appellate Court. Prior to that time, the appeal lay directly to the Supreme Court. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) were amended in 1984 by providing that appeals from post-
conviction proceedings involving a judgment imposing a sentence of death shall lie directly to the Supreme Court as a matter of right.
Amendment History
Amended effective January 1, 1969; amended October 21, 1969, effective January 1, 1970; amended effective July 1, 1971; amended November 30, 1984, effective December 1, 1984; amended April 26, 2012, eff. immediately; amended Feb. 6, 2013, eff. immediately; amended June 22, 2017, eff. July 1, 2017.
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: post-conviction appeal IllinoisPost-Conviction Hearing Act appealcollateral appeal Illinois criminal caseappeal from denial of postconviction petition