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3-107.Defendants.

Article III. Administrative Review · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 20, 2026

In one sentenceSection 3-107 requires naming the agency and everyone who was a party before it as defendants, forgives good-faith naming mistakes and misnomers, and sets special notice-and-intervention rules for zoning and historic-preservation appeals where only the board and the applicant count as parties of record.

Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/3-107

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(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), (b-1), or (c), in any action to review any final decision of an administrative agency, the administrative agency and all persons, other than the plaintiff, who were parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made defendants. The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business. The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court.
No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction: (1) based upon misnomer of an agency, board, commission, or party that is properly served with summons that was issued in the action within the applicable time limits; or (2) for a failure to name an employee, agent, or member, who acted in his or her official capacity, of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity where a timely action for administrative review has been filed that identifies the final administrative decision under review and that makes a good faith effort to properly name the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity. Naming the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, shall be deemed to include as defendant the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity that the named defendants direct or head. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, has been named as a defendant as provided in this Section.
If, during the course of a review action, the court determines that an agency or a party of record to the administrative proceedings was not made a defendant as required by the preceding paragraph, then the court shall grant the plaintiff 35 days from the date of the determination in which to name and serve the unnamed agency or party as a defendant. The court shall permit the newly served defendant to participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice may require.
(b) With respect to actions to review decisions of a zoning board of appeals under Division 13 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code, "parties of record" means only the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the names of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice.
(b-1) With respect to an action to review a decision of an administrative agency with final decision-making authority over designated historic properties or areas under Section 11-48.2-4 of the Illinois Municipal Code or a decision of an administrative agency with final decision-making authority over exterior design review of buildings or structures under item (12) of Section 11-13-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, "parties of record" means only the administrative agency and applicants before the administrative agency. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or a written statement to the administrative agency with respect to the appealed decision. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action was filed, and the names of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the administrative agency. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or a written statement to the administrative agency with respect to the appealed decision shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice.
(c) With respect to actions to review decisions of a hearing officer or a county zoning board of appeals under Division 5-12 of Article 5 of the Counties Code, "parties of record" means only the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the name of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice. This subsection (c) applies to zoning proceedings commenced on or after July 1, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-321).
(d) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 95-831 apply to all actions filed on or after August 21, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-831). The changes made by Public Act 100-212 apply to all actions filed on or after August 18, 2017 (the effective date of Public Act 100-212).
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Plain-English Summary

Subsection (a) states the general rule: except as subsections (b), (b-1), and (c) provide otherwise, the administrative agency and every other person who was a party of record before the agency must be made defendants. The section forgives certain naming errors rather than treating them as jurisdictional defects — a misnomer of an agency, board, commission, or party that was properly served within the applicable time limits doesn't cause dismissal, nor does a failure to name an official-capacity employee, agent, or member where a timely action identifies the decision under review and makes a good-faith effort to properly name the agency or entity. Naming the director or agency head in an official capacity is deemed to include the entity that person heads, and the reverse protection applies too. If the court determines during the case that a required agency or party wasn't made a defendant, it gives the plaintiff 35 days from that determination to name and serve the missing party, who may then participate to the extent the interests of justice require.

Subsection (b) narrows the rule for zoning board of appeals cases under the Illinois Municipal Code: "parties of record" there means only the zoning board and the applicants before it. Everyone else who appeared and gave oral testimony or a written statement gets a certified-mail notice of the filing, sent within 2 days, describing the case and their right to intervene — a right they can exercise by application within 30 days of that mailing.

Subsections (b-1) and (c) apply the same certified-mail notice-and-intervene structure to two other contexts: agency decisions over designated historic properties or exterior design review under specific Municipal Code provisions, and decisions of a hearing officer or county zoning board of appeals under the Counties Code (this last one applying to zoning proceedings begun on or after July 1, 2007). Subsection (d) notes that the changes made by Public Act 95-831 apply to actions filed on or after August 21, 2007, and the changes made by Public Act 100-212 apply to actions filed on or after August 18, 2017.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who must be named as a defendant in an administrative review action?

The administrative agency and, except as the zoning and historic-preservation carve-outs in subsections (b), (b-1), and (c) provide, every other person who was a party of record in the proceeding before the agency.

What happens if I misname the agency or forget to name an individual official?

Neither error causes dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, as long as the misnamed agency or party was properly served within the applicable time limits, or the action was timely and made a good-faith effort to name the correct agency or entity.

What if I discover partway through the case that I left out a required defendant?

The court gives the plaintiff 35 days from the date it determines a required agency or party was omitted to name and serve that party, who can then participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice require.

Who counts as a "party of record" in a zoning board of appeals case?

Under subsection (b), only the zoning board of appeals and the applicants who appeared before it — not everyone else who testified or submitted statements.

How does someone who testified before a zoning board intervene in a review action?

The plaintiff must send that person a certified-mail notice of the filing within 2 days, describing the case and the right to intervene. The person can then apply to intervene as a defendant within 30 days of the mailing.

Amendment History

(Source: P.A. 103-67, eff. 1-1-24.)

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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