IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
IN RE: )
REFUND POLICY FOR ) GENERAL ORDER NO. 22-01
ELECTRONIC FILING FEES )
The Judicial Conference of the United States has had a longstanding policy of not
refunding filing fees even if a party filed the case in error or the court dismissed the case or
proceeding. In 2005, with the advent of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF)
system, the Judicial Conference issued guidance addressing a court’s limited authority to refund
fees when errors occur in electronic payments. The 2005 guidance did not otherwise affect the
general policy prohibiting refunds. This Order promulgates procedures for refunding filing fees
in the Central District of Illinois.
IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of Court, or his designee, shall refund a fee
erroneously paid if discovered by the Clerk of Court or upon application of a party. “Fee
erroneously paid” is defined as a duplicative payment, a fee paid in the wrong amount, or a
payment caused by a technological error. Upon verification of the error, the Court will process
the refund back to the same credit card from which the payment was made and enter a note on
the docket. Applications must be emailed to
[email protected] and include:
Account holder full name
Date of pay.gov transaction
Receipt number or pay.gov tracking ID number
Current and complete billing address
Reason for refund
Case number
Signature
Date of request
In the event that a particular attorney or law firm makes repeated mistakes when
submitting fees, the Court may consider remedial action, such as issuing an order to show cause
why further requests for refunds should be considered. All other refund requests must be made
by motion for a judicial determination in the applicable case.
ENTERED this 20th day of January, 2022.
Sara Darrow, Chief Sue E. Myerscough
United States District Judge United States District Judge
James E. Shadid Colin S. Bruce
United States District Judge United States District Judge
