Illinois
For Illinois, how the statute states the period is no judgment shall be enforced after the expiration of 7 years from the time the same is rendered, except upon the revival of the same by a proceeding provided by Section 2-1601 of this Act; section is 12-108, verified against its source on 2026-09-02.
- State
- Illinois our reading
- How long the judgment stays enforceable before it must be renewed or revived
- Seven years from the time the judgment is rendered. After that it may not be enforced at all unless it has been revived. Three things sit outside the seven years: real estate levied upon inside them may still be sold to enforce the judgment for one further year; a judgment for damages for an injury described in section 13-214.1, and a child support judgment, may be enforced at any time; and a consumer debt judgment is sent to its own timetable in subsection (a-10) of section 2-1602. our reading
- What has to happen to extend it
- Revival on a petition, not an act of enforcement. The judgment may be revived by filing a petition to revive it in the seventh year after its entry, or in the seventh year after its last revival, or in the twentieth year after its entry, or at any other time within 20 years after entry if the judgment has become dormant, and by then serving that petition and obtaining a court order for revival. Successive revivals are contemplated, because a fresh seventh year runs from the last revival; consumer debt judgments are excepted out into subsections (a-5) and (a-10). our reading
- How the statute states the period
- no judgment shall be enforced after the expiration of 7 years from the time the same is rendered, except upon the revival of the same by a proceeding provided by Section 2-1601 of this Act verified
- Section
- 12-108 verified
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
(a) Except as herein provided, no judgment shall be enforced after the expiration of 7 years from the time the same is rendered, except upon the revival of the same by a proceeding provided by Section 2-1601 of this Act; but real estate, levied upon within the 7 years, may be sold to enforce the judgment at any time within one year after the expiration of the 7 years. A judgment recovered in an action for damages for an injury described in Section 13-214.1 may be enforced at any time. Child support judgments, including those arising by operation of law, may be enforced at any time. Consumer debt judgments may be revived or enforced in accordance with subsection (a-10) of Section 2-1602.
— ilga.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02
Where each value comes from
This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.
What has to happen to extend it
(a) Except as provided in subsections (a-5) and (a-10), a judgment may be revived by filing a petition to revive the judgment in the seventh year after its entry, or in the seventh year after its last revival, or in the twentieth year after its entry, or at any other time within 20 years after its entry if the judgment becomes dormant and by serving the petition and entering a court order for revival as provided in the following subsections.
Section
Sec. 12-108. Limitation on enforcement.
— all from ilga.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02