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12-183.Release of judgment.

Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 1. In General · Last amended 2016 · Last verified July 20, 2026

In one sentenceSection 12-183 sets out how a satisfied judgment gets released, whether voluntarily by the creditor, by court order after a refused tender, through recorded instruments and clerk notations, or, for support judgments, through an affidavit-and-notice process, while abolishing the writ of audita querela in favor of a single petition procedure.

Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-183

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

(a) Every judgment creditor, his or her assignee of record or other legal representative having received full satisfaction or payment of all such sums of money as are really due to him or her from the judgment debtor on any judgment rendered in a court shall, at the request of the judgment debtor or his or her legal representative, execute and deliver to the judgment debtor or his or her legal representative an instrument in writing releasing such judgment.
(b) If the judgment creditor, his or her assigns of record or other legal representative to whom tender has been made of all sums of money due him or her from the judgment debtor including interest, on any judgment entered by a court, wilfully fails or refuses, at the request of the judgment debtor or his or her legal representative to execute and deliver to the judgment debtor or his or her legal representative an instrument in writing releasing such judgment, the judgment debtor may petition the court in which such judgment is of record, making tender therewith to the court of all sums due in principal and interest on such judgment, for the use of the judgment creditor, his or her executors, administrators or assigns, whereupon the court shall enter an order satisfying the judgment and releasing all liens based on such judgment.
(c) For the recording of assignment of any judgment the clerk of the court in which such judgment is of record is allowed a fee of $2.
(d) A satisfaction of a judgment may be delivered to the judgment debtor, his or her attorney or to the clerk of the court in which such judgment is of record.
(e) The clerk shall not be allowed any fee for recording the satisfaction of judgment. The clerk of the court shall make appropriate notation on the judgment docket of the book and page where any release or assignment of any judgment is recorded.
(f) No judgment shall be released of record except by an instrument in writing recorded in the court in which such judgment is of record. However, nothing contained in this Section affects in any manner the validity of any release of judgment made, prior to January 1, 1952, in judgment and execution dockets by the judgment creditor, his or her attorney, assignee or other legal representative.
(g) The writ of audita querela is abolished and all relief heretofore obtainable and grounds for such relief heretofore available, whether by the writ of audita querela or otherwise, shall be available in every case by petition hereunder, regardless of the nature of the order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the proceeding in which it was entered. There shall be no distinction between actions and other proceedings, statutory or otherwise, as to availability of relief, grounds for relief or relief obtainable. The petition shall be filed in the same proceeding in which the order or judgment was entered and shall be supported by affidavit or other appropriate showing as to matters not of record. All parties to the petition shall be notified as provided by rule.
(h) Upon the filing of a release or satisfaction in full satisfaction of judgment, signed by the party in whose favor the judgment was entered or his or her attorney, the court may vacate the judgment, and dismiss the action.
(i) Any judgment arising out of an order for support shall not be a judgment to the extent of payments made as evidenced by the records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court or State agency receiving payments pursuant to the order. In the event payments made pursuant to that order are not paid to the Clerk of the Circuit Court or a State agency, then any judgment arising out of each order for support may be released in the following manner:
(1) A Notice of Filing and an affidavit stating that all installments of child support required to be paid pursuant to the order under which the judgment or judgments were entered have been paid shall be filed with the office of the court or agency entering said order for support, together with proof of service of such notice and affidavit upon the recipient of such payments.
(2) Service of such affidavit shall be by any means authorized under Sections 2-203 and 2-208 of the Code of Civil Procedure or under Supreme Court Rules 11 or 105(b).
(3) The Notice of Filing shall set forth the name and address of the judgment debtor and the judgment creditor, the court file number of the order giving rise to the judgment and, in capital letters, the following statement:
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ON (insert date) THE ATTACHED AFFIDAVIT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF .... COUNTY, ILLINOIS, WHOSE ADDRESS IS ........, ILLINOIS. IF, WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, YOU FAIL TO FILE AN AFFIDAVIT OBJECTING TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE STATED JUDGMENT OR JUDGMENTS IN THE ABOVE OFFICE, THE SAID JUDGMENTS WILL BE DEEMED TO BE SATISFIED AND NOT ENFORCEABLE. THE SATISFACTION WILL NOT PREVENT YOU FROM ENFORCING THE ORDER FOR SUPPORT THROUGH THE COURT.
(4) If no affidavit objecting to the satisfaction of the judgment or judgments is filed within 28 days of the Notice described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (i), such judgment or judgments shall be deemed to be satisfied and not enforceable.
End

Plain-English Summary

Subsections (a) and (b) cover the basic release obligation. Once a judgment creditor has received full satisfaction or payment of everything due, the creditor must, at the debtor's request, execute and deliver a written instrument releasing the judgment. If the creditor willfully refuses to do that after the debtor has tendered everything due, the debtor may petition the court where the judgment is recorded, tendering the full principal and interest to the court itself, and the court then enters an order satisfying the judgment and releasing its liens.

Subsections (c) through (f) handle the recording mechanics: a $2 fee for recording an assignment of judgment, delivery of a satisfaction to the debtor, the debtor's attorney, or the clerk, no fee for recording a satisfaction, a clerk's duty to note on the judgment docket where any release or assignment is recorded, and a requirement that release happen only by a recorded written instrument, with a savings clause preserving releases already made in judgment and execution dockets before January 1, 1952.

Subsection (g) abolishes the writ of audita querela outright. Every form of relief that writ used to provide, and every ground for it, becomes available instead through a petition filed in the same proceeding as the underlying order or judgment, supported by affidavit or other showing as to matters outside the record, with notice to all parties as provided by rule. Subsection (h) then lets the court vacate the judgment and dismiss the action once a signed release or satisfaction is filed.

Subsection (i) supplies a distinct mechanism for support judgments. To the extent payments show up in the Clerk of the Circuit Court's or a state agency's records, the judgment isn't a judgment for that amount. For payments made outside that system, the person owed the judgment (or the debtor) files a notice and affidavit that all required support installments have been paid, serves it on the recipient, and if no affidavit objecting to satisfaction is filed within 28 days, the judgment is deemed satisfied and unenforceable, though the underlying support order remains enforceable through the court.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a judgment creditor do once fully paid?

Execute and deliver, at the debtor's request, a written instrument releasing the judgment.

What can the debtor do if the creditor refuses to release the judgment after a valid tender?

Petition the court where the judgment is recorded, tendering the full amount due to the court, which will then enter an order satisfying the judgment and releasing its liens.

What happened to the writ of audita querela?

Section 12-183(g) abolishes it; all the relief it used to provide is now available through a petition filed in the same proceeding as the underlying order or judgment.

How are support judgments satisfied when payments went through the clerk or a state agency?

The judgment is not enforceable to the extent of payments shown by the records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court or the state agency receiving them.

How are support judgments satisfied when payments were made outside that system?

Through a notice and affidavit filed with the court and served on the payment recipient, giving 28 days to object before the judgment is deemed satisfied and unenforceable.

Amendment History

(Source: P.A. 99-744, eff. 8-5-16.)

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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