750 ILCS 46/605

(750 ILCS 46/605)

Sec. 605. Notice to presumed parent.

(a) Except in cases governed under the Gestational Surrogacy Act, the petitioner shall give notice of a proceeding to adjudicate parentage to the following individuals:

(1) the woman or individual who gave birth to the child, unless a court has adjudicated that the woman or individual is not a parent;

(2) an individual who is a parent of the child under this Act;

(3) a presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated parent of the child; and

(4) an individual whose parentage is to be adjudicated.

(b) An individual entitled to notice under subsection (a) has a right to intervene in the proceeding.

(c) Lack of notice required by subsection (a) does not render a judgment void. Lack of notice does not preclude an individual entitled to notice under subsection (a) from bringing a proceeding under subsection (b) of Section 609.

(d) A notice required by this Section shall be served on the individual in the same manner as summonses are served in other civil proceedings or, in lieu of personal service, service may be made as follows:

(1) The petitioner shall pay to the clerk of the circuit court a mailing fee of $1.50 and furnish to the clerk of the circuit court an original and one copy of a notice together with an affidavit setting forth the individual's last known address. The original notice shall be retained by the clerk of the circuit court.

(2) The clerk of the circuit court shall promptly mail to the individual, at the address appearing in the affidavit, the copy of the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. The envelope and return receipt shall bear the return address of the clerk of the circuit court. The receipt for certified mail shall state the name and address of the addressee and the date of mailing and shall be attached to the original notice.

(3) The return receipt, when returned to the clerk of the circuit court, shall be attached to the original notice and shall constitute proof of service.

(4) The clerk of the circuit court shall note the fact of service in a permanent record.

(e) The notice shall read as follows:

"IN THE MATTER OF NOTICE TO .......... INDIVIDUAL.

You have been identified as an individual with a claim to parentage of ........., born on ......... The woman or person who gave birth to the child is .........

An action is being brought to establish the parent-child relationship between the named child and a parent named by the person filing this action, .........

You may have certain legal rights with respect to the named child, including the right to notice of the filing of proceedings instituted for the establishment of parentage of the named child and, in some situations, the right to submit to, along with the woman or person who gave birth to the child and the child, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests to determine inherited characteristics, subject to Section 401 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015. If you wish to assert your rights with respect to the child named in this notice, you must file with the Clerk of this Circuit Court of ......... County, Illinois, whose address is ........, within 30 days after the date of receipt of this notice, that you intend to assert your legal rights with respect to the child, or that you request to be notified of any further proceedings with respect to the parentage of the child.

If you do not file a request for notice, then you may be later barred from asserting parentage claims with respect to the named child, and you will not be entitled to notice of any future proceedings.".

(f) The notice under this Section in any action brought by a public agency shall be prepared and mailed by the public agency, and the mailing fee to the clerk of the circuit court shall be waived.

(Source: P.A. 104-448, eff. 12-12-25.)