Circuit court eFiling - Pay one opt-in fee for criminal or traffic cases that stem from a single incident

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Purpose: When more than one charge is issued for an individual for a single incident, multiple cases may be created within the court system. If the charges and cases share the specific information outlined below, then an individual opting into the cases may only need to pay one opt-in fee. 

Applicable Users: Attorneys, Self-represented parties

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Criteria for cases to qualify for one opt-in fee

If the following case types stem from the same incident, users may qualify to pay only one eFiling opt-in fee for all of the cases:

• Traffic Forfeiture (TR)
• Non-Traffic Ordinance Violation (FO)
• Juvenile Civil Law and Ordinance Violations (JO)
• Misdemeanor (CM)
• Felony (CF)
• Criminal Traffic (CT)

The following information must match on all of the cases to qualify for a single eFiling fee:

1. Offense date
2. Issuing agency
3. Party date of birth
4. Party first and last name

Note: The party’s name must match exactly on all cases, including any capitalization.

Method #1: Pay a single opt-in fee for all cases at once

To ensure you are only charged once when opting into multiple cases that meet the above criteria, take the following steps:

1. Prepare all your opt ins at once so all filings are available on the Ready to file page before making any payment. To do this, populate the fields on the opt in screen for your first case. Select [Save, and opt in on another case] to enter the relevant case information for the next case.
   
   Note: Additional information about the opt in process can be found here.
2. Once you have completed the opt-in information for your final case, select [Save].
3. You are now on the Ready to file page. Select the white checkbox next to the county name to select all the cases visible on the page for that county. The Total fee below the list of filings should be $35. If the filing fee totals more than $35, review the above criteria to ensure your cases meet the requirements for a single eFiling fee.
4. Select [File and Pay] to complete the payment process.
   

Method #2: Opt in to one case, then complete additional opt ins later

As an alternative to the above opt-in process, you may choose to pay a single $35 opt-in fee for one case stemming from a single incident and then opt in to the other cases later after the clerk has processed any documentation, such as a Notice of Retainer or a Notice of Appearance, for the first opt in. To do so, take the following steps:

1. Opt in to one of the qualifying cases stemming from the initial incident.
2. After submitting the $35 payment, wait for the clerk of circuit court to process your submitted opt in. You should receive a notification stating your opt in was processed when this occurs.
3. Proceed to opt in to your additional cases. On the Ready to file page, you will not be prompted to make a payment if the cases meet the above requirements.
4. Select [File] to submit your additional opt ins.

Notes:

• If one of the qualifying cases is missing a party’s date of birth, the case will not qualify for the combined eFiling fee. The party or attorney can work with the clerk of circuit court office to add the date of birth to the case so the case may qualify for the combined fee.
• The offense date must match on all cases to qualify for the single $35 opt-in fee. If one case has an offense date of Jan. 1 at 11:59 p.m., but another case has an offense date of Jan. 2 at 12:00 a.m., you will be charged multiple opt-in fees.