Statute citation815 ILCS 530/10
Notification deadlineConsumer notice in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay after discovery, consistent with scope and restoration needs; Attorney General notice for 500+ Illinois residents no later than the consumer notice.
Who must be notifiedIllinois residents whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person. Notify the Illinois Attorney General when a data collector must notify more than 500 Illinois residents from a single breach; HIPAA covered entities and business associates that notify HHS must also notify the Attorney General within five business days of notifying HHS.
AG / regulator portalIllinois Attorney General
Consumer-reporting-agency thresholdThe business-notice section reviewed does not create a separate nationwide consumer-reporting-agency notice trigger; Illinois consumer notices for certain data elements must include consumer-reporting-agency contact information.
Consumer-notice triggerIllinois requires businesses that notify more than 500 Illinois residents from a single breach to notify the Attorney General no later than when consumer notice is provided.
Illinois breach notification fields
FieldVerified valueUse in the incident file
Statute815 ILCS 530/10Link the decision record to the official citation
DeadlineConsumer notice in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay after discovery, consistent with scope and restoration needs; Attorney General notice for 500+ Illinois residents no later than the consumer notice.Sort multi-state response work by the shortest stated clock
ResidentsIllinois residents whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.Identify whether affected residents receive notice
RegulatorNotify the Illinois Attorney General when a data collector must notify more than 500 Illinois residents from a single breach; HIPAA covered entities and business associates that notify HHS must also notify the Attorney General within five business days of notifying HHS.Record AG or regulator portal review
Consumer-reporting agenciesThe business-notice section reviewed does not create a separate nationwide consumer-reporting-agency notice trigger; Illinois consumer notices for certain data elements must include consumer-reporting-agency contact information.Check whether the affected count crosses a CRA threshold
Consumer triggerIllinois requires businesses that notify more than 500 Illinois residents from a single breach to notify the Attorney General no later than when consumer notice is provided.Tie notice analysis to the statutory trigger, not an unsupported assumption

What this state lookup shows

Illinois fields are rendered from the verified state dataset only when the field exists. No deadline is inferred when the data does not state one.

815 ILCS 530/10 is the statute citation retained for this lookup, and the state page links to the official statute source when available.

Illinois requires businesses that notify more than 500 Illinois residents from a single breach to notify the Attorney General no later than when consumer notice is provided. The consumer trigger matters because the clock usually starts only after a legally meaningful incident analysis, not merely because an IT alert appeared.

The last verified date for this Illinois lookup is 2026-08-12. Use that date as a prompt to refresh counsel review before making a live notification decision.

How to use it during an incident

Start with containment and evidence preservation, then identify affected resident states and compare the shortest stated deadline first.

A practical incident file should record discovery time, encryption status, systems involved, affected consumer count, vendor involvement, and the person responsible for counsel review.

For Illinois, the WISP should say where the notification decision log lives, who contacts counsel, who checks the regulator portal, and who approves any consumer notice before it is sent.

This lookup pairs with the Incident Response Plan because the plan owns the workflow: intake, escalation, containment, preservation, notice analysis, communications, and final review.

How it fits the WISP

A WISP should not guess at state-law outcomes; it should make the breach-review path fast, documented, and source-linked.

Pair this lookup with the Illinois WISP requirements page so the firm's written program names the state-aware incident path before an event happens.

Policywright keeps the breach clock separate from the policy packet: the lookup tells you what to review, while the generated packet assigns owners, evidence records, remediation steps, and review cadence.

Not legal advice. A qualified lawyer should confirm whether the incident facts meet a statutory definition, whether substitute notice or regulator notice applies, and whether another state or federal rule changes the timeline.

FAQ

Is this Illinois lookup legal advice?

No. It is a source-linked lookup for incident planning and should be reviewed with qualified counsel before relying on it in a live notification decision.

What if affected residents live outside Illinois?

Use the multi-state lookup page and include every state where affected residents may live. The comparison table sorts selected states by the shortest stated deadline first.

Does this replace the FTC Safeguards Rule notice analysis?

No. State notice review is separate from the federal Safeguards Rule and 16 CFR 314.4(j) analysis. A serious incident file should preserve both review tracks.

Sources

This tells you the clock.

Policywright writes the plan that starts it.

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Policywright is a configurable template product, not a law firm and not legal advice. State breach deadlines and legal reliance should be reviewed with qualified counsel before launch or use.