The lien of every mortgage or trust deed in the nature of a mortgage of record on July 1, 1915, where more than 20 years have elapsed from the time the indebtedness secured thereby is due according to its written terms, or according to any extension agreement on record on July 1, 1915, is declared to have ceased by limitation unless the holder of the indebtedness secured thereby and the then owner of the real estate within 5 years after July 1, 1915, files in the office of the recorder where the mortgage or trust deed in the nature of a mortgage is recorded, an extension agreement showing the time for which the payment of the indebtedness is extended, the time when the indebtedness will become due by the terms of the extension agreement and the amount remaining unpaid on the indebtedness, then the mortgage or trust deed in the nature of a mortgage shall continue to be a lien upon the real estate described therein for a period of 10 years from the time the indebtedness will be due as shown by the extension agreement and no longer, unless some further extension agreement is filed of record. Such extension agreements shall be acknowledged and recorded in the same manner as mortgages and trust deeds in the nature of a mortgage are required by law to be acknowledged and recorded.
13-117.Limitation on mortgage.
Article XIII. Limitations · Part 1. Real Actions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceA transitional 1915 rule that cut off old mortgages and trust deeds of record by that date once 20 years had passed since the debt's due date, unless an extension agreement was filed within 5 years, reviving the lien 10 more years from the new due date.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/13-117
Plain-English Summary
Section 13-117 is a historical cleanup provision tied to a specific date. Mortgages and trust deeds in the nature of a mortgage that were on record as of July 1, 1915, where more than 20 years had already passed since the underlying debt became due, by its own terms or by an extension agreement recorded by that date, were declared expired by limitation.
The lienholder and the property owner had one path to save such a lien: file an extension agreement within 5 years after July 1, 1915, stating the new extended payment terms, the new due date, and the amount still owed. Doing so kept the lien alive for 10 years from that new due date, and it could be kept going further with additional extension agreements recorded afterward, each following the same acknowledgment and recording formalities required of mortgages themselves.
In practice, this section rarely comes up now given how much time has passed, but it can still matter in a title search reaching back into instruments recorded around or before 1915.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of mortgages did Section 13-117 originally target?
Mortgages and trust deeds in the nature of a mortgage that were of record on July 1, 1915, where more than 20 years had elapsed since the debt's due date.
How could a lienholder save a lien that would otherwise expire under this section?
By filing an extension agreement within 5 years after July 1, 1915, stating the extended payment time, new due date, and amount still unpaid.
How long did a properly filed extension agreement keep the lien alive?
Ten years from the new due date shown in the extension agreement, and no longer, absent a further extension.
Does this section still come up in modern title work?
It can, when a title search reaches back to instruments recorded before or around 1915, even though the operative dates in the section are now long past.
What formalities applied to an extension agreement under this section?
It had to be acknowledged and recorded the same way mortgages and trust deeds in the nature of a mortgage are required by law to be acknowledged and recorded.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
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: illinois 1915 mortgage lien limitationhistorical mortgage extension agreement illinoisold mortgage lien expiration illinois law