Illinois Marriage and Divorce Records: County Clerks Hold the Copies

Illinois runs one of the cleanest county-custody models in the country. The state health department issues no certified marriage or divorce copies at all. It sells a $5 verification and nothing more, and every certified copy comes from a county office.

Information last verified on 2026-08-04. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

What Illinois Does Not Do

Most state pages in this cluster start by explaining what the state holds. Illinois is easier to describe by what it does not hold.

For marriage: certified copies are only available at the county clerk in the county where the marriage occurred (Illinois Department of Public Health, "Marriage Records"). Marriage records are not kept by the Division of Vital Records in the way birth and death records are.

For divorce: the Department does not issue certified copies of dissolution of marriage records, and certified copies are available from the circuit court clerk in the county where the dissolution of marriage was granted (Illinois Department of Public Health, "Dissolution of Marriage Records").

So the decree-versus-certificate split that shapes most states collapses in Illinois. There is no state divorce certificate to order as an alternative to the court file. The circuit court clerk is the only source, and what you get is a copy of the court record itself.

The $5 IDPH Verification and What It Is Good For

The one state-level product is a verification, and it is worth understanding precisely because people order it expecting a certificate.

A verification confirms facts. IDPH can verify names, dates of birth, date of event, and city or county of event, for marriages and for dissolutions from 1962 through the current index date. It does not produce a certified copy of anything, and an agency that has asked for a certified marriage certificate will not accept it.

Where it does earn its $5 is in locating a record. If you know a marriage or dissolution happened in Illinois but not which of the 102 counties handled it, a verification can confirm the county of event, which then tells you which clerk to contact for the certified copy. For that narrow job it is efficient.

The requirements are strict on one point. The application must include a valid government issued photo identification that must be readable and is not expired or out of date. Requests lacking proper identification are returned unprocessed, which in practice means starting the 4 to 6 week clock over.

Mail the completed application, the ID copy, and a $5 check or money order payable to the Illinois Department of Public Health to the Division of Vital Records, 925 E. Ridgely Ave., Springfield, IL 62702-2737. Requests can also be submitted by fax or in person. Fees are current as of August 2026.

Getting the Actual Certified Copy

For a marriage certificate, contact the county clerk in the county where the marriage license was issued and the marriage occurred. Illinois county clerks handle marriage licensing and hold the resulting certificates, and each sets its own copy fee, identification requirements, and ordering channels. Some larger county clerks bot-block automated requests and publish their fee schedules only on their own sites, so check the clerk's page directly rather than relying on a third-party figure.

For a dissolution of marriage, contact the circuit court clerk in the county where the dissolution was granted. Illinois Courts publishes a directory of circuit court clerk offices for all 102 counties with addresses and phone numbers, which is the fastest way to find the right office once the verification has told you the county.

Because these are court records, what a circuit clerk will release, and whether the file or specific documents in it can be viewed remotely, is decided under court records rules rather than by the health department. Ask the clerk what is available and in what format before assuming a full file copy is obtainable by mail.

Related Illinois Records and Laws

• Marriage and divorce records by state for how Illinois compares to states that hold certified copies centrally
• How to get a copy of your marriage certificate for the general ordering walkthrough
• How to find out if someone is married or divorced for what a records search can and cannot establish
• Illinois death records, which IDPH does issue as certified copies, unlike marriage records
• Illinois divorce laws for grounds, residency, and process
• Illinois public records laws for requests to Illinois agencies

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about how Illinois marriage and dissolution of marriage records are held and released as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. County clerk and circuit court clerk fees, identification requirements, and available formats vary by county and change. Confirm current requirements with the Illinois Department of Public Health or the relevant county office before relying on any detail here.

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Last updated: 2026-08-04. Fees, index years, and custody statements reflect the state agency pages as published on that date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get an Illinois marriage certificate from the state?

No. The Illinois Department of Public Health states that certified copies are only available at the county clerk in the county where the marriage occurred. The state sells a $5 verification, which is not a certified copy.

Where do I get an Illinois divorce decree?

From the circuit court clerk in the county where the dissolution of marriage was granted. IDPH does not issue certified copies of dissolution records at all.

What does the $5 IDPH verification actually tell me?

It confirms names, dates of birth, date of event, and city or county of event for marriages and dissolutions from 1962 through the current index date. Its most practical use is identifying which county holds the record.

Why was my Illinois verification request returned unprocessed?

Most often because of identification. The application requires a valid government issued photo ID that is readable and not expired. IDPH returns requests without one rather than processing them.

How long does an Illinois verification take?

Processing typically takes 4 to 6 weeks, excluding mail delivery time, for requests sent to the Division of Vital Records in Springfield.

How much does an Illinois county clerk charge for a certified marriage copy?

Fees are set at the county level and vary, so there is no statewide figure. Check the fee schedule published by the specific county clerk that holds the record.

Do Illinois records go back further than 1962?

County records generally do. The 1962 start date applies to the IDPH statewide verification index, not to the county clerk and circuit clerk holdings, which are the actual custodians of the records.