(a) A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with the acts of Congress or the statutes of this State may be filed in the office of the circuit clerk for any county of this State. The clerk shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of the circuit court for any county of this State. A judgment so filed has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as a judgment of a circuit court for any county of this State and may be enforced or satisfied in like manner. A judgment filed or registered under this Act shall be construed to be an original Illinois judgment from the date it is filed with the clerk of the circuit court and for purposes of enforcement and revival, shall be treated in exactly the same manner as an Illinois judgment entered on that same date.
12-652.Filing and Status of Foreign Judgments.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 6. Foreign Judgments and Foreign-Money Claims · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceLets a judgment creditor file an authenticated sister-state or federal judgment with a circuit clerk, giving it the same effect as an Illinois judgment from the filing date, with special rules for child-support liens and out-of-state orders of protection.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-652
(b) A foreign judgment or lien arising by operation of law, and resulting from an order requiring child support payments shall be entitled to full faith and credit in this State, shall be enforceable in the same manner as any judgment or lien of this State resulting from an order requiring child support payments, and shall not be required to be filed with the office of the circuit clerk in any county of this State, except as provided for in Sections 10-25 and 10-25.5 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
(c) A foreign order of protection issued by the court of another state, tribe, or United States territory is entitled to full faith and credit in this State, is enforceable in the same manner as any order of protection issued by a circuit court for any county of this State, and may be filed with the circuit clerk in any county of this State as provided in Section 222.5 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or Section 22.5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. A foreign order of protection shall not be required to be filed with the circuit clerk to be entitled to full faith and credit in this State.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection (a) is the Act's registration mechanism. A judgment creditor files an authenticated copy of a foreign judgment with the circuit clerk of any county, and the clerk treats it like a circuit court judgment. From that filing date forward, the judgment is treated as an original Illinois judgment for every purpose that matters, defenses, procedures for reopening or vacating it, and enforcement or revival timelines.
Subsections (b) and (c) carve out two categories that don't need this filing step at all. A foreign child-support judgment or lien is entitled to full faith and credit and enforceable in Illinois without being filed with a circuit clerk, subject to the Illinois Public Aid Code provisions referenced in the text. And a foreign order of protection from another state, tribe, or U.S. territory is entitled to full faith and credit and enforceable in Illinois whether or not it's ever filed; filing under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure is available but not required.
The practical effect is a two-track system: most sister-state and federal money judgments need this filing to become directly enforceable in Illinois courts, while child-support orders and protective orders are enforceable on their own footing, filing or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a creditor register a sister-state or federal judgment in Illinois?
By filing an authenticated copy of the judgment with the circuit clerk of any Illinois county, along with the affidavit Section 12-653 requires.
What effect does filing have on the judgment?
The judgment is treated as an original Illinois judgment from the filing date, for purposes of defenses, procedures for reopening or vacating it, enforcement, and revival.
Does a child-support order from another state need to be filed to be enforced in Illinois?
No. Subsection (b) makes a foreign child-support judgment or lien enforceable in Illinois without filing, subject to the Illinois Public Aid Code provisions it references.
Do out-of-state orders of protection need to be filed in Illinois to be enforceable?
No. Subsection (c) entitles a foreign order of protection to full faith and credit and makes it enforceable in Illinois whether or not it's filed; filing remains an option.
Can the judgment debtor still raise the same defenses available against an Illinois judgment?
Yes. A filed foreign judgment is subject to the same defenses and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as any Illinois circuit court judgment.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 97-350, eff. 1-1-12.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: filing an out of state judgment in Illinois circuit courtregistering a sister state judgment in Illinoisenforcing a child support order from another state in Illinoisforeign order of protection Illinois