2-1401.1.Relief from default judgment; military personnel in military service.
Article II. Civil Practice · Part 14. Post-Judgment · Last amended 2013 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2-1401.1 gives service members a dedicated path to undo a default judgment entered while they were on military duty, if they act within 90 days of release and show their service kept them from defending the case.
(a)In this Section: "Military service" means any full-time training or duty, no
matter how described under federal or State law, for which a service member is ordered to report by the President, Governor of a state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States, or other appropriate military authority.
"Service member" means a resident of Illinois who is a member of any component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, or commonwealth, or a territory of the United States.
(b)Relief from and vacation of final orders and judgments after 30 days from the entry thereof entered by default against a service member that has entered military service may be had upon petition as provided in this Section. All relief heretofore obtainable and the grounds for such relief heretofore available shall be available in every case, by proceedings commenced pursuant to this Section, regardless of the nature of the order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the proceedings in which it was entered. Except as provided in Section 6 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, there shall be no distinction between actions and other proceedings, statutory or otherwise, as to availability of relief, grounds for relief or the relief obtainable.
(c)The petition must be filed in the same proceeding in which the order or judgment was entered but is not a continuation thereof. The petition must be supported by affidavit or other appropriate showing as to matters not of record and show that the service member did not appear in the proceeding, the person's military service materially affected the service member's ability to defend the case, the person has a meritorious or legal defense to the action, and the petition must be filed within 90 days after the service member's date of release from military service. All parties to the petition shall be notified as provided by rule.
(d)Except as provided in Section 20b of the Adoption Act and Section 2-32 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or in a petition based upon Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the petition must be filed not later than 90 days after the service member's release from military service. Time during which the person seeking relief is under legal disability or duress or the ground for relief is fraudulently concealed shall be excluded in computing the period for filing.
(e)The filing of a petition under this Section does not affect the order or judgment, or suspend its operation.
(f)Unless lack of jurisdiction affirmatively appears from the record proper, the vacation or modification of an order or judgment pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not affect the right, title or interest in or to any real or personal property of any person, not a party to the original action, acquired for value after the entry of the order or judgment but before the filing of the petition, nor affect any right of any person not a party to the original action under any certificate of sale issued before the filing of the petition, pursuant to a sale based on the order or judgment.
(g)Nothing contained in this Section affects any existing right to relief from a void order or judgment, or to employ any existing method to procure that relief.
Plain-English Summary
An Illinois-resident member of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, or the National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, or a territory, who was defaulted while called to military service can petition to vacate that default judgment, even after the normal 30-day window has closed. Like Section 2-1401, this consolidates all the older relief remedies into one petition procedure, with a narrow exception tied to the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984.
The petition is filed in the same proceeding, backed by an affidavit or other showing of facts outside the record, and it has to establish that the service member never appeared, that military service materially affected the ability to defend the case, that a meritorious or legal defense exists, and that the petition was filed within 90 days of release from military service.
That same 90-day deadline governs subsection (d), tolled for legal disability, duress, or fraudulent concealment of the grounds for relief. Filing the petition doesn't pause or affect the judgment, and good-faith third parties who acquired an interest for value before the petition was filed keep it. As in Section 2-1401, the right to attack a judgment that was void from the start survives, on no fixed timeline at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can use Section 2-1401.1 to undo a default judgment?
An Illinois-resident service member in any branch of the Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, or a territory, who was defaulted while in military service.
How long after leaving military service do I have to file this petition?
90 days after release from military service, subject to tolling for legal disability, duress, or fraudulent concealment.
What does the petition have to prove?
That the service member didn't appear, that military service materially affected the ability to defend, and that a meritorious or legal defense to the action exists.
Does filing this petition stop the judgment from being enforced right away?
No, subsection (e) says filing doesn't affect the order or judgment or suspend its operation.
What if someone bought property based on the judgment before the petition was filed?
Subsection (f) protects a non-party's interest in property acquired for value before the petition was filed.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 97-913, eff. 1-1-13.)
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:military default judgment illinoisservicemember relief default illinoisvacate default judgment military service illinoisSCRA equivalent illinois state court