How to file your eviction papers

We fill the forms in. The trip to the courthouse is yours — here is how to make it count.

What we do, and what you do

We do

Ask you questions and fill in the official forms for your county.
Give you the completed forms as PDF and Word, to keep and re-download.
Tell you where and how to file, with the clerk's address, hours and fees.
Explain the deadlines and the sequence in plain English.

We do not

File anything with any court. You file it, in person, by mail or through your court's e-filing system.
Serve papers on anyone.
Appear at your hearing or speak for you.
Give legal advice, or tell you whether to bring the case at all.

Court filing fees and service fees are paid to the court or the server, never to us, and are not included in anything you buy here.

Why we do not file for you

Filing is an act in your own case. Courts require it to be done by the party or by their attorney, and we are neither — EvictWeb is not a law firm and we do not represent you. A service that filed on your behalf would be practising law, and we do not do that.

What we can do is make sure the papers are right before you take them in, and tell you what to expect when you get there. That is the part that most often goes wrong.

1

Read every page and fix what is wrong.

We copy your answers into the official form. We do not check them, and some boxes are deliberately left for you. If a form asks for something only you know — a case number you have been given, a figure that has changed since you answered — write it in.
2

Sign it. Most courts will reject an unsigned form.

Sign and date wherever the form asks. Some states require a notary or a verification under oath on particular forms; the form itself will say so, and the clerk will tell you if you ask.
3

Ring the clerk before you travel, and ask these five things.

How many copies do you want? What is the filing fee and what can I pay with? Do you accept filings by mail or e-filing, or must I come in? Is this the current version of this form? What happens after I file — do you set the hearing date or do I?
4

File it with the clerk of the right court.

Usually the court for the county where the property is. Our county pages list the address, the hours and the phone number we have on file — confirm them, because courts move and hours change.
5

Get your copy back stamped, and keep it.

Ask the clerk to stamp your copy as filed. That stamped copy is your proof of the date, and the date is what every deadline afterwards runs from.
6

Arrange service separately, the way your state requires.

Filing and serving are two different steps. Service is usually done by the sheriff, a process server or certified mail depending on the state and the document, and doing it the wrong way is one of the commonest reasons a case is thrown out. Ask the clerk which methods your court accepts for this document.

Find your court

We hold clerk addresses, phone numbers, hours and fees for county courts across the country. Look up your county — and then confirm what you find by telephone before you travel. Courts move, hours change, and our data was compiled from public sources.

Filing and service are not the same step

This is the single most common misunderstanding we see. Filing puts the case in front of the court. Service is how the other side is formally told about it, and it has its own rules about who may do it and how. Doing service the wrong way gets cases dismissed after the filing fee has already been paid. Ask the clerk which methods your court accepts for the specific document you are filing.

If you can get a lawyer, get one

Self-help is better than nothing, and for a lot of straightforward matters it is enough. But an eviction can turn on a detail, and if the other side has counsel and you do not, that asymmetry is real. Tenants may qualify for free representation — see the advocacy page. Landlords should weigh the cost of an attorney against the cost of a dismissal and a refiling.