All testimony that has been or may hereafter be taken by commissions of surveyors for the establishing of original corners of land, shall be filed with their report in court, and may hereafter be read as evidence in all actions in reference to such corners.
8-1301.Surveys.
Article VIII. Evidence · Part 13. Surveys · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceMakes testimony taken by a commission of surveyors establishing original land corners part of the court record, admissible later in any action about those corners.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/8-1301
Plain-English Summary
This section addresses a narrow but recurring problem in land litigation: testimony a commission of surveyors gave years earlier while fixing the original corners of a tract. Once that testimony is filed with the surveyors' report in court, the statute makes it usable as evidence in any later action about those same corners, without requiring the original surveyors to appear again.
The rule covers testimony "that has been or may hereafter be taken," so it reaches both past surveys already on file and future ones. In practice it functions alongside the other real-property evidence provisions in this Part of Article VIII, letting old boundary determinations stand as evidence in later disputes over the same ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Section 8-1301 do?
It makes testimony taken by a commission of surveyors, in the course of establishing an original land corner, admissible as evidence in any later action about that corner, once the testimony is filed with the surveyors' report in court.
Does this section explain who appoints the commission of surveyors?
No. The section assumes such a commission exists and addresses only how its testimony is treated as evidence once filed with the report.
Where does the surveyors' testimony have to be filed for the section to apply?
With their report, in court.
Does the section cover only surveys already completed?
No. It covers testimony "that has been or may hereafter be taken," so it reaches both existing and future survey testimony.
What kind of dispute would this section come up in?
A case turning on the location of an original land corner, where a party wants to use the filed surveyor testimony instead of calling the surveyors again.
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 land survey evidenceboundary corner testimony illinoissurveyor commission evidence illinoisproving land corners in court illinois