Bill Text: IL HB1391 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Engrossed

---

Bill Title: Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Deletes provisions that a defendant may refuse to waive service of summons. Provides that if a defendant located within the United States fails, without good cause, to sign and return a waiver requested by a plaintiff located within the United States, the court must impose on the defendant (1) the expenses later incurred in making service and (2) the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, of any motion required to collect those service expenses.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2026-06-01 - Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB1391 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1391-Engrossed.html

---

HB1391 Engrossed LRB104 06058 JRC 16091 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
changing Section 2-213 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/2-213) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-213)
Sec. 2-213. Waiver of service.
(a) Notice and request for waiver. A plaintiff may notify
a defendant of the commencement of an action and request that
the defendant waive service of a summons. The notice and
request shall be in writing in a form prescribed by Supreme
Court rule. The notice and request shall:
(1) be addressed to an individual who is the defendant
or who could be served as representative of an entity that
is the defendant;
(2) be dispatched through first class U.S. mail or
other equally reliable means;
(3) contain a copy of the complaint and identify the
court in which it has been filed;
(4) inform the defendant of the consequences of
compliance and of a failure to comply with the request;
(5) allow the defendant a reasonable time to return
the waiver, which shall be at least (i) 30 days from the

HB1391 Engrossed - 2 - LRB104 06058 JRC 16091 b
date on which the request is sent or (ii) 60 days if the
defendant is addressed outside the United States; and
(6) provide the defendant with an extra copy of the
notice and request and prepaid means of compliance in
writing.
(b) Limits on waiver. A defendant who waives service of a
summons in the manner provided in subsection (a) does not
thereby waive any objection to the venue or to the
jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant.
(c) Time to appear or answer. A defendant who returns a
timely waiver of service is not required to appear or serve an
answer to the complaint until (i) 60 days from the date on
which the request for waiver of service was sent or (ii) 90
days if the defendant was addressed outside of the United
States.
(d) Effect of filing. When a waiver of service is filed by
the plaintiff with the court, the action shall proceed as if a
summons and complaint had been served at the time of filing of
the waiver, and no proof of service shall be required.
(e) Right to refuse to waive service; effect of refusal. A
defendant may refuse to waive service of a summons. If a
defendant does not return the waiver provided for in
subsection (a), the plaintiff must serve summons on that
defendant as otherwise provided by this Code and Supreme Court
rules. If a defendant located within the United States fails,
without good cause, to sign and return a waiver requested by a

HB1391 Engrossed - 3 - LRB104 06058 JRC 16091 b
plaintiff located within the United States, the court must
impose on the defendant (1) the expenses later incurred in
making service and (2) the reasonable expenses, including
attorney's fees, of any motion required to collect those
service expenses.
(Source: P.A. 87-352.)