13-118.Forty year limitation on claims to real estate.
Article XIII. Limitations · Part 1. Real Actions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceBars claims to real estate that arose more than 40 years ago against a record titleholder with a 40-year chain of title, unless the claimant filed a verified statement preserving the claim within that window, and the protection doesn't apply if the property is in someone else's adverse possession.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/13-118
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No action based upon any claim arising or existing more than 40 years before the commencement of such action shall be maintained in any court to recover any real estate in this State or to recover or establish any interest therein or claim thereto, against the holder of the record title to such real estate when such holder of the record title and his or her grantors immediate or remote are shown by the record to have held chain of title to such real estate for at least 40 years before the action is commenced, unless such claimant, by himself or herself, or by his or her attorney or agent, or if he or she is a minor or under legal disability, by his or her guardian, trustee, either parent, or any other person acting in his or her behalf shall within 40 years after the claim upon which such action is based arises, file in the office of the recorder of the county wherein such real estate is situated, a verified statement definitely describing the real estate involved, the nature and extent of the right or interest claimed, and stating the facts upon which the same is based. However, the holder of the record title to such real estate shall not be entitled to the protection of Sections 13-118 through 13-121 of this Act if the real estate is in the adverse possession of another.
For purposes of this Section an unborn or unascertained person may be a claimant and a verified statement may be filed on his or her behalf as provided in this Section.
For the purposes of Sections 13-118 through 13-121 of this Act, any person who holds title to real estate by will or descent from any person who held the title of record to such real estate at the date of his or her death or who holds title by judgment or order of any court, or by deed issued pursuant thereto, i. e., by trustee's, trustee's in bankruptcy, conservator's, guardian's, executor's, administrator's, receiver's, assignee's, master's in chancery, or sheriff's deed shall be deemed to hold chain of title the same as though holding by direct conveyance.
Plain-English Summary
This is the core operative rule of Illinois's marketable-record-title provisions, Sections 13-118 through 13-121. If a claim to real estate arose more than 40 years before a lawsuit is filed, no court action to enforce that claim can succeed against someone who holds record title and whose chain of title, their own and their predecessors', has run at least 40 years.
The claimant isn't without recourse. Filing a verified statement, describing the real estate, the nature and extent of the claimed right, and the facts behind it, in the county recorder's office within the 40 years preserves the claim. Even an unborn or unascertained person can be a claimant, with someone else filing on their behalf.
The protection has one hard limit built in: a record titleholder gets none of this section's benefit if the real estate is in the adverse possession of someone else. And the statute defines "chain of title" generously; it reaches title passed by will, descent, court judgment, or various officers' deeds, such as a trustee's, guardian's, or sheriff's deed, treating those the same as a direct conveyance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old must a claim to real estate be before Section 13-118 can bar it?
More than 40 years old, counted from when the claim arose or existed, before the action is commenced.
How does a claimant preserve a claim that's approaching the 40-year cutoff?
By filing a verified statement in the recorder's office of the county where the real estate sits, describing the property and the claimed right, within 40 years after the claim arose.
Does this section protect a record titleholder if someone else is possessing the land?
No. The statute says the record titleholder isn't entitled to this section's protection if the real estate is in the adverse possession of another.
What counts as "chain of title" for this section's 40-year requirement?
It includes title passed by will, descent, or court judgment or order, and deeds such as a trustee's, guardian's, executor's, administrator's, or sheriff's deed, treated the same as a direct conveyance.
Can someone not yet born hold a claim under this section?
Yes. The statute allows an unborn or unascertained person to be a claimant, with a verified statement filed on their behalf.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 83-358.)
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 marketable record title act40 year real estate claim bar illinoishow to preserve old real estate claim illinoisillinois chain of title 40 years