In all actions, husband and wife may testify for or against each other, provided that neither may testify as to any communication or admission made by either of them to the other or as to any conversation between them during marriage, except in actions between such husband and wife, and in actions where the custody, support, health or welfare of their children or children in either spouse's care, custody or control is directly in issue, and as to matters in which either has acted as agent for the other.
8-801.Husband and wife.
Article VIII. Evidence · Part 8. Privileged Communications · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSpouses may testify for or against each other, but neither may reveal a communication or admission made to the other, or a conversation between them during marriage, outside three specific exceptions.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/8-801
Plain-English Summary
Section 8-801 starts from a permissive baseline: in all actions, husband and wife may testify for or against each other. There is no general rule keeping one spouse off the stand in a case involving the other. What the section restricts is narrower and more specific, the content of marital communications.
Neither spouse may testify to any communication or admission made by one to the other, or to any conversation between them during the marriage. That protection covers private exchanges between spouses as spouses, not everything either one happens to know about the other.
Three exceptions remove the bar. It does not apply in actions between the husband and wife themselves, in actions where the custody, support, health, or welfare of their children, or of children in either spouse's care, custody, or control, is directly at issue, or as to matters in which either spouse acted as agent for the other. Outside those three situations, the marital communications privilege stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a husband or wife be forced to testify against their spouse in an Illinois civil case?
Yes, as a general matter. Section 8-801 lets spouses testify for or against each other; it does not disqualify a spouse as a witness. What it protects is the content of certain marital communications, not the spouse's ability to testify at all.
What exactly does the marital privilege in Section 8-801 protect?
It protects any communication or admission made by one spouse to the other, and any conversation between them, that took place during the marriage.
Does the marital communications privilege apply in a divorce or other case between spouses?
No. Section 8-801 excepts actions between the husband and wife themselves, so the privilege does not block marital communications from coming in when the spouses are litigating against each other.
Does the privilege apply in a child custody or support dispute?
No. The statute excepts actions where the custody, support, health, or welfare of the couple's children, or of children in either spouse's care, custody, or control, is directly in issue.
Does the privilege cover a spouse acting as the other's agent?
No. Section 8-801 excepts matters in which either spouse acted as agent for the other, so communications tied to that agency relationship fall outside the privilege.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 83-408.)
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
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