2-213.Waiver of service.

Subsection (a) lets a plaintiff notify a defendant of a pending action and request a waiver of service of summons. The notice and request must be in writing on a Supreme Court prescribed form, addressed to an individual defendant or someone who could be served as a representative of an entity defendant, sent by first-class mail or an equally reliable means, include a copy of the complaint and identify the filing court, explain the consequences of complying or not, allow at least 30 days to return the waiver, 60 days if the defendant is addressed outside the United States, and include an extra copy and prepaid means for a written response.

Subsection (b) protects the defendant who does waive: waiving service does not waive any objection to venue or to the court's jurisdiction over the defendant. Subsection (c) rewards that waiver with more time, 60 days from when the request was sent, or 90 days if the defendant was addressed outside the United States, to appear or answer.

Subsection (d) treats a filed waiver as equivalent to service, letting the action proceed as if summons and complaint had been served at the time of filing, with no proof of service required. Subsection (e) preserves the defendant's right to refuse: if the defendant does not return the waiver, the plaintiff must serve summons in the ordinary way under this Code and Supreme Court rules.