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Illinois Statutes of Limitations

What is the statute of limitations for your legal rights in Illinois?


Illinois Statute of Limitation

Statute of Limitation Laws in Illinois

Illinois State SealIn order to convict you of an offense or sue you for monetary gain, your crime, tort or contractual agreement must fall within a certain time-line allowed by law. An Illinois law on statute of limitations is simply that time which is allotted by the law as written by the state of Illinois within which you can be convicted or held liable for a debt.

Below is the Illinois statute of limitations listings for a number of different offenses and torts. While this list is updated regularly, often-times laws in every state get modified, repealed, amended or changed by legislation. Please consult with a qualified Illinois attorney in this and any other legal matter.

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ILLINOIS STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Type of Offense Length of Statute
Any Capital Offense:No Limit
Rape:No Limit
Drug trafficking:3 Years
Forgery (felony):3 Years
Counterfeiting(felony):3 Years
Contracts:10 Years
Injury to personal property:6 Years
Open accounts for debt collections:5 Years
Wrongful Death:2 Years
Medical Malpractice Actions:The statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois is two (2) years from the date the negligent injury occurred. If the injury was not immediately discovered a lawsuit must then be filed within 2 years of when it was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, but not longer than 4 years after the date of the injury. The statutes of limitations for wrongful death suits must be filed within 2 years of the date of death. For a minor under 18 years of age the malpractice claim must be filed within 8 years of the date of negligence or before their 22nd birthday.
Code Section 735 ILCS § 5/13-212(a)
Fraud:5 years from when the fraud was or reasonably should have been discovered.
Intentional Torts:2 Years
Libel | Slander | Defamation:1 Year
Personal Injury Actions:2 years from the date of injury
Rules for Minors:Limitation period begins to run on the minors 18th birthday, except in cases of medical malpractice or wrongful death
Oral Agreements:5 Years
Products Liability Actions:Within 2 years of the date the injury occurred.
Complete Illinois criminal revised statute of limitations can be found on the Illinois Criminal Statute of Limitations page.
Disclaimer: Statute of Limitation laws in every state get modified, repealed, amended, and/or changed by the legislature of that states jurisdiction. The authors and webmaster of StatuteofLimitation.info have made every effort to post the most current laws. Please use this site as a general reference and for comparison purposes. Do not substitute any information from this site for advice you would get from a qualified legal professional

Illinois Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

In order for an Illinois debt collector or debt buyer to sue you to collect a debt they have to do that within the time limits that the state of Illinois law requires. This is what is known as the statute of limitations. If they sue you outside of that statute of limitations then that may violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Even threatening to sue you beyond the statute of limitations can also be considered a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violation.

If you are dealing with an unscrupulous Illinois debt collector that is threatening you with a lawsuit, whether verbal or written, for an old debt, then you need to look at the Illinois statute of limitations if that debt collector has a potential case against you or has potentially violated the FDCP Act.

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