Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

CIVIL PROCEDURE
(735 ILCS 5/) Code of Civil Procedure.

735 ILCS 5/13-214.2

    (735 ILCS 5/13-214.2) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-214.2)
    Sec. 13-214.2. (a) Actions based upon tort, contract or otherwise against any person, partnership or corporation registered pursuant to the Illinois Public Accounting Act, as amended, or any of its employees, partners, members, officers or shareholders, for an act or omission in the performance of professional services shall be commenced within 2 years from the time the person bringing an action knew or should reasonably have known of such act or omission.
    (b) In no event shall such action be brought more than 5 years after the date on which occurred the act or omission alleged in such action to have been the cause of the injury to the person bringing such action against a public accountant. Provided, however, that in the event that an income tax assessment is made or criminal prosecution is brought against a person, that person may bring an action against the public accountant who prepared the tax return within two years from the date of the assessment or conclusion of the prosecution.
    (c) If a person entitled to bring the action is, at the time the cause of action accrues, under the age of 18, or under a legal disability, the period of limitations shall not begin to run until the disability is removed.
    (d) This Section shall apply to all causes of action which accrue on or after its effective date.
(Source: P.A. 85-655; 86-1329.)

735 ILCS 5/13-214.3

    (735 ILCS 5/13-214.3) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-214.3)
    Sec. 13-214.3. Attorneys.
    (a) In this Section: "attorney" includes (i) an individual attorney, together with his or her employees who are attorneys, (ii) a professional partnership of attorneys, together with its employees, partners, and members who are attorneys, and (iii) a professional service corporation of attorneys, together with its employees, officers, and shareholders who are attorneys; and "non-attorney employee" means a person who is not an attorney but is employed by an attorney.
    (b) An action for damages based on tort, contract, or otherwise (i) against an attorney arising out of an act or omission in the performance of professional services or (ii) against a non-attorney employee arising out of an act or omission in the course of his or her employment by an attorney to assist the attorney in performing professional services must be commenced within 2 years from the time the person bringing the action knew or reasonably should have known of the injury for which damages are sought.
    (c) Except as provided in subsection (d), an action described in subsection (b) may not be commenced in any event more than 6 years after the date on which the act or omission occurred.
    (d) When the injury caused by the act or omission does not occur until the death of the person for whom the professional services were rendered, the action may be commenced within 2 years after the date of the person's death unless letters of office are issued or the person's will is admitted to probate within that 2 year period, in which case the action must be commenced within the time for filing claims against the estate or a petition contesting the validity of the will of the deceased person, whichever is later, as provided in the Probate Act of 1975. An action may not be commenced in any event more than 6 years after the date the professional services were performed.
    (e) If the person entitled to bring the action is under the age of majority or under other legal disability at the time the cause of action accrues, the period of limitations shall not begin to run until majority is attained or the disability is removed.
    (f) If the person entitled to bring an action described in this Section is not under a legal disability at the time the cause of action accrues, but becomes under a legal disability before the period of limitations otherwise runs, the period of limitations is stayed until the disability is removed. This subsection (f) does not invalidate any statute of repose provisions contained in this Section. This subsection (f) applies to actions commenced or pending on or after January 1, 2015 (the effective date of Public Act 98-1077).
    (g) This Section applies to any cause of action, regardless of the date the cause of action arises. This Section, however, does not bar the filing of an action based on the performance of professional services before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly if the action is timely filed under the version of this Section in effect on January 1, 2021, and is filed within a reasonable period, not to exceed 6 years, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 102-377, eff. 1-1-22.)

735 ILCS 5/13-214.4

    (735 ILCS 5/13-214.4)
    Sec. 13-214.4. Actions against insurance producers, limited insurance representatives, and registered firms. All causes of action brought by any person or entity under any statute or any legal or equitable theory against an insurance producer, registered firm, or limited insurance representative concerning the sale, placement, procurement, renewal, cancellation of, or failure to procure any policy of insurance shall be brought within 2 years of the date the cause of action accrues.
(Source: P.A. 89-152, eff. 1-1-96.)

735 ILCS 5/13-215

    (735 ILCS 5/13-215) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-215)
    Sec. 13-215. Fraudulent concealment. If a person liable to an action fraudulently conceals the cause of such action from the knowledge of the person entitled thereto, the action may be commenced at any time within 5 years after the person entitled to bring the same discovers that he or she has such cause of action, and not afterwards.
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)

735 ILCS 5/13-215.1

    (735 ILCS 5/13-215.1)
    Sec. 13-215.1. Fertility fraud limitation. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, an action for fertility fraud under the Illinois Fertility Fraud Act must be commenced within the later of 20 years, if brought under Section 15 of the Illinois Fertility Fraud Act, or 8 years, if brought under Section 20 of the Illinois Fertility Fraud Act, after:
        (1) the procedure was performed;
        (2) the 18th birthday of the child;
        (3) the person first discovers evidence sufficient to
    
bring an action against the defendant through DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis;
        (4) the person first becomes aware of the existence
    
of a record that provides evidence sufficient to bring an action against the defendant; or
        (5) the defendant confesses to the offense.
(Source: P.A. 103-478, eff. 1-1-24.)

735 ILCS 5/13-216

    (735 ILCS 5/13-216) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-216)
    Sec. 13-216. Stay of action. When the commencement of an action is stayed by injunction, order of a court, or statutory prohibition, the time of the continuance of the injunction or prohibition is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)

735 ILCS 5/13-217

    (735 ILCS 5/13-217) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-217)
    (Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 89-7, which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 13-217. Reversal or dismissal. In the actions specified in Article XIII of this Act or any other act or contract where the time for commencing an action is limited, if judgment is entered for the plaintiff but reversed on appeal, or if there is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and, upon a motion in arrest of judgment, the judgment is entered against the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for improper venue, then, whether or not the time limitation for bringing such action expires during the pendency of such action, the plaintiff, his or her heirs, executors or administrators may commence a new action within one year or within the remaining period of limitation, whichever is greater, after such judgment is reversed or entered against the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for improper venue. No action which is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff or dismissed for want of prosecution by the court may be filed where the time for commencing the action has expired.
    This amendatory Act of 1995 applies to causes of action accruing on or after its effective date.
(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7, which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 13-217. Reversal or dismissal. In the actions specified in Article XIII of this Act or any other act or contract where the time for commencing an action is limited, if judgment is entered for the plaintiff but reversed on appeal, or if there is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and, upon a motion in arrest of judgment, the judgment is entered against the plaintiff, or the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for improper venue, then, whether or not the time limitation for bringing such action expires during the pendency of such action, the plaintiff, his or her heirs, executors or administrators may commence a new action within one year or within the remaining period of limitation, whichever is greater, after such judgment is reversed or entered against the plaintiff, or after the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for improper venue.
(Source: P.A. 87-1252.)

735 ILCS 5/13-218

    (735 ILCS 5/13-218) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-218)
    Sec. 13-218. Revival of judgment. A petition to revive a judgment, as provided by Section 2-1601 of this Code, may be filed no later than 20 years next after the date of entry of such judgment. The provisions of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly are declarative of existing law.
(Source: P.A. 96-305, eff. 8-11-09.)

735 ILCS 5/13-219

    (735 ILCS 5/13-219) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-219)
    Sec. 13-219. Railroads and carriers. (a) All actions by railroads, motor carriers, common carriers by water, common carriers by air, the Railway Express Agency or freight forwarders for the recovery of their charges, or any part thereof, for the transportation of property moving wholly within the State of Illinois shall be filed within 3 years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after.
    (b) All actions against railroads, motor carriers, common carriers by water, common carriers by air, the Railway Express Agency or freight forwarders for the recovery of any part of transportation charges paid to such carrier for the transportation of property moving wholly within the State of Illinois shall be filed within 3 years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after.
    (c) If on or before the expiration of the 3 year period of limitation in subsection (b) a railroad, motor carrier, common carrier by water, common carrier by air, the Railway Express Agency or a freight forwarder files an action under subsection (a) for recovery of charges in respect of the same transportation service, or, without filing an action, collects charges in respect of that service, the period of limitation shall be extended to include 90 days from the time such action is filed or such charges are collected.
    (d) The cause of action in respect of a shipment of property shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to accrue upon delivery or tender of delivery thereof by a railroad, motor carrier, common carrier by water, common carrier by air, the Railway Express Agency, or a freight forwarder, and not after.
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)

735 ILCS 5/13-220

    (735 ILCS 5/13-220) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-220)
    Sec. 13-220. Fraud by decedents. Actions under Sections 10 to 14, both inclusive, of "An Act to revise the law in relation to frauds and perjuries", approved February 16, 1874, as amended, shall be commenced within 2 years after the death of the person who makes a fraudulent legacy as provided in that Act, or who dies intestate and leaves real estate to his or her heirs to descend according to the laws of this State, unless letters of office are applied for on his or her estate within 2 years after his or her death and the representative has complied with the provisions of Section 18-3 of the Probate Act of 1975, as amended, in regard to the giving of notice to creditors, in which case the action shall be commenced within and not after the time for presenting claims against estates of deceased persons as provided in the Probate Act of 1975, as amended.
(Source: P.A. 86-815.)

735 ILCS 5/13-221

    (735 ILCS 5/13-221) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-221)
    Sec. 13-221. Contract to make will. An action against the representative, heirs and legatees of a deceased person to enforce a contract to make a will, shall be commenced within 2 years after the death of the deceased person unless letters of office are applied for on his or her estate within 2 years after his or her death and the representative has complied with the provisions of Section 18-3 of the Probate Act of 1975, as amended, in regard to the giving of notice to creditors, in which case the action shall be commenced within and not after the time for presenting a claim against the estate of a deceased person as provided in the Probate Act of 1975, as amended.
(Source: P.A. 86-815.)