What happens if the Defendant is not served within 30 days of filing?
Note that a summons is valid for only 30 days. Consequently, if the defendant is not served within 30 days of filing, the first summons (or a previous summons) will then have expired. If this is the case, you must then complete, file and issue a second summons known as an Alias Summons.Thus, if the Defendant has not been served within 30 days of filing your lawsuit, you have two options: 1) First, you may complete an Alias Summons form and serve the Defendant through the Sheriffs Office or; 2) you may complete an Alias Summons form and serve the Defendant by Certified Mail. You may get an Alias Summons form from the Clerks Office in Room 601 of the Richard J. Daley Center or you may download the form from this website.
