Most states have forms specific to practice in the state courts. State statutes/codes and the state court rules may specify what must be included in pleadings filed in court. Forms are often included in the rules volumes. Many states provide forms on local or state court websites. In most instances, state court forms are not as numerous as federal forms. Therefore, it may be necessary to combine portions of a state form with a federal or general form for a specific issue. However, the form must comply with the current court rules for the specific state (jurisdiction).
Other suggestions for finding forms for state courts:
Check for books about legal research for the appropriate state in a law library's catalog. Books have been published for many states and may include information about court rules and forms. For example, the book Wisconsin Legal Research can be located by searching Marqcat at the Marquette University Law Library.
Perform a keyword search in a law library's catalog for the name of the state and the word forms. (Example: Illinois forms)
Law librarians at many university law libraries prepare state-specific research guides on finding court rules and may include information on forms. Search the Internet for a state-specific research guide. (Example: Pace Law School, New York)
In addition, fee-based commercial databases such as BloombergLaw, Lexis and Westlaw also contain court rules for each state and should be checked for the availability of forms. Content may vary by state. Access to these databases may be restricted to members of the Marquette University Law School community.
