The notice bureau: Illinois
Legal notices in Illinois: rules, rates, deadlines
Qualifying papers, the statutory rate basis, run schedules, and booking, from the state's own rules.
Statutory basis: 715 ILCS 5 (Notice by Publication Act)
The controlling law for Illinois newspaper notices. Read the current text at the official source before filing; legislatures amend these sections, and the statute outranks every guide, including this one.
Source: 715 ILCS 5 (Notice by Publication Act) (official text), retrieved Jul 31, 2026.
Which papers qualify
The Notice by Publication Act, 715 ILCS 5, sets the qualifying tests for Illinois papers carrying legal publications: general circulation in the county, regular publication, and local office requirements as the Act details. The Illinois Press Association aggregates published notices at publicnoticeillinois.com.
Source: publicnoticeillinois.com, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. The state's official notice aggregation and verification point.
What it costs: the rate basis
Illinois papers set their own legal advertising rates, quoted per line or per inch at the legal desk. Statutes governing specific notice types (assumed business names, foreclosures, government filings) control the run counts; the paper controls the price per run.
| Notice type | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Assumed business name | Weekly runs as the Assumed Business Name Act directs; your county clerk states the requirement when you file |
| Foreclosure and judicial notices | As the governing statute and court order direct |
Source: 715 ILCS 5 (Notice by Publication Act), retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Schedules stated by the code section or order governing each notice type.
Booking before the deadline
Place with the legal desk of a qualifying paper in the county of filing; in Cook County the metro dailies and a deep bench of qualifying community papers both work if they meet the Act's tests, and rates differ widely between them. Get the certificate of publication routed to your court file or clerk as required.
The local wrinkle
Chicago has cheaper qualifying options
Nothing in 715 ILCS 5 requires the most famous paper in the county. Qualifying community papers in Cook County run the same statutory notice at much lower rates. Verify qualification, then shop the rate.
Notice cost and deadline desk
Enter the paper’s legal per-line rate for a cost figure. Rates are set by each paper or by statute; this desk never guesses one.
Add your court or sale date and the desk counts the weeks back to your last safe first-run date.
Deadline arithmetic only; the statute or court order for your notice type controls the real schedule. State rules and citations are on the state pages below.
Neighboring bureaus: Michigan and Ohio. All states and the general workflow: the notice bureau. Commercial deadline mechanics: the deadline page.