Yes, divorce records are public in Illinois. Under the Illinois Clerks of Courts Act, 705 ILCS 105/16, nearly all documents filed with a circuit court clerk are public records open to inspection without fee or reward. Anyone may view a dissolution case file at the county clerk's office, and no reason for the request is required.
The question "are divorce records public Illinois" comes up constantly because divorce touches the most private parts of a person's life: finances, children, and sometimes allegations of misconduct. Illinois answers that question in favor of transparency. Court proceedings in Illinois are presumptively open, and the paperwork generated by those proceedings is presumptively public. This guide explains exactly what is accessible, what is automatically hidden, how much a divorce records search costs, and the narrow circumstances under which a judge will seal divorce records in 2026.
Key Facts: Illinois Divorce Records at a Glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Are records public? | Yes — public under 705 ILCS 105/16 |
| Where held | Circuit court clerk in county of filing |
| Plain copy cost | Roughly $2 per page (Cook County) |
| Certified copy cost | ~$15 first page + $6 each additional (Cook County) |
| Name search fee | ~$6 per name (Cook County) |
| State verification | $5 via IDPH, 410 ILCS 530/3 |
| Filing fee | $210–$388 depending on county |
| Residency requirement | 90 days, 750 ILCS 5/401 |
| Grounds | No-fault only (irreconcilable differences) |
| Property division | Equitable distribution, 750 ILCS 5/503 |
Are Divorce Records Public in Illinois?
Divorce records are public in Illinois under the Clerks of Courts Act, 705 ILCS 105/16, which declares that all records, dockets, and papers on file with a circuit clerk "shall be deemed public records" open to inspection "without fee or reward." You do not need to be a party to the case, and you do not need to state a reason to view a file.
The legal foundation for public divorce filings is stronger than most people expect. Illinois layers two statutes on top of each other. First, 705 ILCS 105/16 makes clerk records open by default. Second, the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1, gives every person the right to access government records, and circuit court case files qualify. A member of the public can walk into the clerk's office in the county of filing, request a dissolution case by party name or case number, and inspect the docket, petition, financial affidavits (redacted), and the final judgment. This default openness is why a divorce records search rarely requires a lawyer — the process is designed to be accessible to ordinary citizens exercising their transparency rights.
What Information Appears in Public Divorce Filings
Public divorce filings in Illinois typically include the petition for dissolution, the final judgment of dissolution, any Marital Settlement Agreement filed under 750 ILCS 5/502, parenting plans, motions, and the case docket. Sensitive identifiers such as full Social Security numbers are automatically redacted under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138.
Understanding what is visible versus hidden helps set realistic expectations for any public divorce filings search. The visible layer contains the structural facts of the case: who filed, when, in which county, the grounds asserted, the terms of any settlement, and how the court divided property and allocated parental responsibilities. The final judgment is almost always public because it is the court's official order resolving the marriage. However, the raw evidentiary detail is thinner than people assume. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 201(m), discovery documents — interrogatory answers, deposition transcripts, produced financial records — are explicitly barred from being filed with the clerk. Attorneys exchange those privately and file only a Certificate of Service confirming the exchange occurred. As a result, the juiciest financial and personal detail of a contested divorce usually never enters the public divorce filings at all.
How to Search Illinois Divorce Records
To perform a divorce records search in Illinois, contact the circuit court clerk in the county where the divorce was filed. Records are organized by county, not centrally by the state. Cook County charges approximately $6 for a name search, $2 per page for plain copies, and $15 for the first page of a certified copy. Access methods and fees vary by county.
Illinois has no single statewide divorce records portal that returns full case documents, so the divorce records search begins with identifying the correct county. Divorce cases are filed under 750 ILCS 5/104 in the county where either spouse resides, so start with the county where the couple lived. From there you have three practical routes. First, visit or contact the circuit clerk's office directly and request the file by party name or case number. Second, use the county clerk's online case search, where available, to confirm the case number and docket. Third, for a low-cost proof that a divorce occurred, request a state verification. Note one important Cook County limitation: online access to full records is restricted to registered attorneys, so members of the public generally must request records at the clerk's office or by mail rather than downloading them.
County-Level Access Costs (Cook County Example)
| Service | Cook County Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name/record search | ~$6 per name | Set by clerk under 705 ILCS 105/27.2a |
| Plain copy | ~$2 per page | Available to any member of the public |
| Certified copy — first page | ~$15 | Restricted to parties or those with a court order |
| Certified copy — each additional page | ~$6 | Governed by 750 ILCS 5/413 |
As of January 2026. Fees are set by each county circuit clerk and change periodically. Verify with your local clerk.
Plain Copies vs. Certified Copies: A Critical Distinction
In Illinois, plain copies of divorce records are available to any member of the public, but certified copies are restricted to the parties to the divorce or anyone presenting a court order authorizing access. Certified copies of the final judgment are issued only by the circuit court clerk of the county where the divorce was granted, under 750 ILCS 5/413.
The difference between a plain copy and a certified copy matters enormously for anyone doing a serious divorce records search. A plain copy is simply a photocopy of what is in the public file — anyone can obtain one, and it works fine for genealogy, background research, or confirming that a divorce happened. A certified copy carries the clerk's official seal and legal authority; it is the document you need to prove your marital status to remarry, change your name on federal documents, claim Social Security benefits, or resolve immigration matters. Because certified copies carry legal weight, Illinois restricts them: only the divorcing parties, their attorneys, or someone with a court order can obtain a certified copy. This restriction is a deliberate privacy layer — the public can confirm the fact of a divorce but cannot walk away with a legally operative, sealed-and-stamped record of a stranger's dissolution.
State-Level Verification Through IDPH
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) provides dissolution-of-marriage verifications for $5 under 410 ILCS 530/3, covering divorces from 1962 through the current index date. A verification confirms the facts — names, dates of birth, date of the event, and city or county — but is not a certified copy. IDPH does not issue certified divorce copies; those come only from the circuit clerk.
The IDPH verification is the cheapest and simplest way to confirm that a divorce occurred without navigating a specific county clerk's office. For a non-refundable $5 fee, the Division of Vital Records will verify the essential facts of any Illinois dissolution recorded since 1962. Applicants submit the Application for Verification of Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union Record to the Division of Vital Records at 925 E. Ridgely Ave., Springfield, IL 62702-2737, by mail, fax (217-523-2648), or in person with a valid government-issued photo ID. Additional copies of the same verification requested at once cost $5 each. One quirk of the state index: dissolution records may be searched only by the husband's last name, a legacy indexing limitation that can complicate searches for records filed under a wife's name. For most people, a $5 IDPH verification answers the practical question, while the county clerk remains the source for the full case file and any certified copy.
Divorce Records Privacy: What Illinois Automatically Protects
Illinois automatically protects sensitive personal data in divorce filings through Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138, which bars full Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, driver's license numbers, and dates of birth of minors from public court documents. Filers may include only the last four digits of these identifiers, preserving divorce records privacy without sealing the entire case.
Many people worried about divorce records privacy assume their entire financial life becomes searchable. In practice, Illinois builds several automatic protections into every case. Rule 138 requires that personal identity information — full Social Security numbers, complete financial account numbers, driver's license numbers, mother's maiden name, and minors' birth dates and names — be kept out of public filings. When a party must submit full identifiers to the court, they file a "Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing," which the clerk impounds immediately and stores separately from the public case file. That confidential form is available only to the parties, the court, the clerk, and specified justice partners such as the State Disbursement Unit. Combined with the Rule 201(m) bar on filing raw discovery, these measures mean the most exploitable data in a divorce — account numbers, SSNs, children's identities — is shielded by default, even though the case itself remains public.
How to Seal Divorce Records in Illinois
To seal divorce records in Illinois, a party must file a motion and prove a "compelling interest" that outweighs the strong public policy favoring open court records. Illinois courts will not seal a file merely because its contents are embarrassing; the movant must demonstrate a concrete, protectable interest such as safety, trade secrets, or protection of minor children. Once granted, sealed records require a separate court order to access.
Sealing is the exception, not the rule, and the burden on the person seeking to seal divorce records is deliberately high. Because Illinois courts treat public access as a constitutional-caliber value, a judge applies a demanding standard before impounding an entire dissolution file. Embarrassment, reputational concern, or a general desire for privacy is not enough. Courts have sealed or partially impounded records in cases involving credible safety threats (such as domestic violence victims fearing an abuser), the protection of minor children from harmful exposure, or the presence of legitimate business trade secrets in a marital estate. The motion must identify the specific documents or information to be sealed and explain why redaction under Rule 138 is insufficient. Even when a court grants sealing, it typically seals the narrowest set of documents necessary rather than the whole case, and the sealing order itself, plus the docket, often remains publicly visible. Anyone later wanting access to sealed material must petition the court and show good cause.
Sealed vs. Redacted vs. Impounded: Understanding the Options
| Protection | What It Does | Who Can Access |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 138 redaction | Removes SSNs, account numbers, minors' data from public docs | Public sees redacted version |
| Impoundment (Notice of Confidential Information) | Stores full identifiers separately | Parties, court, clerk, justice partners |
| Sealing (court order) | Closes specific documents or whole file | Requires court order to access |
Illinois Divorce Basics That Shape the Public Record
Illinois requires at least one spouse to reside in the state for 90 days before the court enters a final judgment, under 750 ILCS 5/401. Illinois is a pure no-fault state — the only ground is irreconcilable differences — and filing fees range from roughly $210 to $388 depending on the county, with Cook County at $388. These procedural facts determine what ends up in the public file.
The shape of the public record follows directly from Illinois divorce procedure. Since January 1, 2016, Illinois has been a pure no-fault jurisdiction: fault grounds like adultery and cruelty were eliminated, so the petition on file states only "irreconcilable differences that have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage." This keeps the public petition relatively clinical — you will not find salacious fault allegations because the statute no longer permits them. The residency rule under 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency, and the venue rule under 750 ILCS 5/104 fixes which county holds the record. Property is divided by equitable distribution under 750 ILCS 5/503, meaning the public judgment reflects a fair — not necessarily equal — allocation. Illinois imposes no mandatory waiting period between filing and decree; the frequently cited six-month separation rule is merely an evidentiary shortcut that conclusively proves irreconcilable differences and can be waived by agreement.
Why Illinois Keeps Divorce Records Public
Illinois keeps divorce records public because open court records are a cornerstone of judicial accountability, guaranteed in principle by the presumption of open proceedings and codified in 705 ILCS 105/16. Public access lets citizens verify that courts apply divorce, custody, and support laws consistently and lets parties confirm the marital status of others for legitimate purposes like remarriage or lending.
The policy rationale behind public divorce filings is worth understanding, because it explains why sealing is so hard to obtain. Open records serve three functions. First, accountability: when anyone can inspect how judges divide property, allocate parenting time, and set support, the system is checked against inconsistency and bias. Second, reliability: businesses, lenders, prospective spouses, and government agencies need to verify marital status, and a public record makes that verification possible without invasive investigation. Third, historical and genealogical value: dissolution records are a core source for family historians and researchers. Illinois balances these public benefits against individual privacy not by hiding cases wholesale, but by surgically protecting the data most vulnerable to misuse — Social Security numbers, account numbers, and children's identities — through Rule 138 redaction and impoundment. This is the Illinois compromise: the fact and outcome of a divorce are public; the identity-theft-grade details are not.