When does Illinois’s four-year construction discovery period expire?

Identify the covered design, planning, supervision, observation, management or construction of an improvement to real property.

Establish when the claimant or its privy knew or reasonably should have known of the act or omission.

Preserve the actual act date and determine whether discovery occurred before the ten-year period expired.

1. Identify the covered design, planning, supervision, observation, management or construction of an improvement to real property.
2. Measure four calendar years from the established knowledge event. Subsection (b) guarantees at least those four years when discovery occurs before the ten-year act period expires. Do not automatically truncate that qualifying period at ten years.
3. Check the final weekend, statutory holiday and the proper court’s actual calendar.
4. Commence the covered construction action and retain the act, knowledge and improvement records. Preserve any payment or performance bond and longer express promise relevant to the particular defendant.

Section 1.11 excludes a final Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday and consecutive excluded days. Section 17(a) of the Promissory Note and Bank Holiday Act includes Pulaski Day, Good Friday and the general election for members of the House of Representatives. Check proclamations, the proper court’s actual calendar and clerk access separately. The bundled Illinois calendar covers 2026 and 2027.

Fictitious example

Use the ordinary construction discovery component after establishing covered work and knowledge. Check subsection (b)’s act-based provision and full-four-year guarantee, plus disability, longer promises and fraud exceptions. Fictitious statutory event, independently established under the precise scope stated in this guide. Use the ordinary construction discovery component after establishing covered work and knowledge. Check subsection (b)’s act-based provision and full-four-year guarantee, plus disability, longer promises and fraud exceptions.

Fictitious covered construction act and knowledge. Discovery before the ten-year expiration is independently established. This computes the discovery component, with no disability, fraud or longer promise.

Scope follows the work, not merely a damaged building

Section 13-214 concerns the listed acts or omissions in an improvement to real property. It defines person to include individuals, entities and bodies politic and applies to tort, contract or otherwise.

Timely discovery can permit filing beyond ten years

Subsection (b) gives a person discovering the act before ten years expire no less than four years to bring the action under (a). Ten years is not invariably the final date.

Bond claims follow the principal’s applicable period

Subsections (a) and (b) expressly address contract actions against sureties on payment or performance bonds. Identify the principal’s applicable period rather than assume a separate default contract interval.

Disability must satisfy subsection (c)

The statute addresses inability to bring the action solely because of minority, developmental disability or mental illness. It delays the stated periods until eighteen or disability removal under those conditions.

Promises, fraud and asbestos affect separate provisions

A longer express warranty or promise is preserved by (d). Subsection (e) excludes fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment causes from these limitations. Subsection (f) excludes the specified environmental-asbestos injury actions from (b).

• This calculation does not determine whether relief is available or whether the facts satisfy the statute.
• A current statutory edition does not establish the law for every historical claim. Preserve the applicable edition and actual orders.

• Identify the covered design, planning, supervision, observation, management or construction of an improvement to real property.
• Establish when the claimant or its privy knew or reasonably should have known of the act or omission.
• Preserve the actual act date and determine whether discovery occurred before the ten-year period expired.
• Section 13-214 concerns the listed acts or omissions in an improvement to real property. It defines person to include individuals, entities and bodies politic and applies to tort, contract or otherwise.
• Subsection (b) gives a person discovering the act before ten years expire no less than four years to bring the action under (a). Ten years is not invariably the final date.
• Subsections (a) and (b) expressly address contract actions against sureties on payment or performance bonds. Identify the principal’s applicable period rather than assume a separate default contract interval.
• The statute addresses inability to bring the action solely because of minority, developmental disability or mental illness. It delays the stated periods until eighteen or disability removal under those conditions.
• A longer express warranty or promise is preserved by (d). Subsection (e) excludes fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment causes from these limitations. Subsection (f) excludes the specified environmental-asbestos injury actions from (b).
• Commence the covered construction action and retain the act, knowledge and improvement records. Preserve any payment or performance bond and longer express promise relevant to the particular defendant. File with the proper clerk in the required format. Rule 9 ordinarily requires civil electronic filing, subject to its exceptions and exemptions. Rule 9(f) ordinarily requires submission before midnight in the court time zone unless a statute, rule or actual order specifies a different time. A submission on a closed clerk day ordinarily receives the next open-day stamp. Preserve the actual electronic file mark, receipt and any filing-relief order. Filing and service are distinct acts.