As of January 1, 2013, property owners in Illinois no longer need traditional “No Trespassing” signs to keep trespassers off their land. Thanks to Public Act 97-0477, purple paint markings are now sufficient notice to would-be intruders.

Under the law, landowners may use purple marks in one of two ways:

• On trees: A vertical line at least 8 inches long, placed 3 to 5 feet off the ground. Marks must be no more than 100 feet apart and clearly visible to anyone approaching the property.
• On posts: A cap or mark at least 2 inches on top, spaced no more than 36 feet apart and visible to anyone approaching.

Read the full text of Public Act 97-0477 here.

Although the law has been effective since August 2011, property owners previously had to maintain signs as well. As of 2013, the purple paint alone is enough.

Trespassing on land marked with purple paint is a Class B misdemeanor, unless done with a motor vehicle on certain agricultural properties (such as orchards, fields used for crops, or barns and enclosures with livestock). In those cases, trespassing rises to a Class A misdemeanor.

This law does not apply to real property located within municipalities of over 2,000,000 residents, such as Chicago.

With this change, Illinois joins several other states that have adopted the purple paint system—making property marking simpler, cheaper, and more durable than traditional signage.

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