The Illinois Department of Public Health states the position in one sentence on its birth records page: birth records are not public records, and only three categories are entitled to receive certified copies. They are the person named on the record if eighteen years of age or older, the parent or parents shown on the record, and a legal guardian or legal representative of the child, who must produce written evidence of guardianship or legal representation. Nothing in the Illinois scheme opens a recent birth record to a sibling, a grandchild or a researcher without a court order.
The Division of Vital Records issues two types of certified copy, both of which the department describes as suitable for legal purposes, and the difference between them is how much of the original record is carried across. A third document, a genealogical copy, exists for family history work. Requests go to the division by post, or to the county clerk for the county where the birth happened, and the department publishes lists of both county clerks and circuit court clerks for that purpose. Local offices that issue vital records appear on the Illinois county pages.
- Ten dollars, or fifteen: the cheaper copy carries a fixed list of facts, the dearer one carries what was collected at the time of birth.
- Two dollars for extras: each additional copy of the same certificate ordered at the same time.
- Twelve weeks by post: the department's own estimate of processing time, with no updates during the wait.
- Not a public record: only the person named if eighteen, the parents on the record, and a guardian or legal representative with written evidence.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Illinois's own systems: the Illinois Department of Public Health birth records page, the department's page on obtaining a birth certificate, the department's page on correcting a birth certificate, the department's birth, death and other records pages, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
What ten dollars buys, and what fifteen adds
The ten dollar certified copy reproduces a defined list: the child's name, date of birth and sex, the place of birth by city, county and state, the mother or co parent's maiden name, place of birth by state or country and age, the father or co parent's name, place of birth and age, the file date, the date of issue and the state file number. For a passport, a driving licence or a school enrolment that is ordinarily enough. The fifteen dollar certified copy instead reproduces the information collected at the time of the birth, which the department notes has varied throughout the years, so it is the version to buy where the original detail matters, for a legal question about what was recorded or for family history.
Each additional copy of the same certificate requested at the same time costs two dollars, which makes ordering several at once much cheaper than returning later.
The other certificates Illinois issues
Three further documents sit alongside the two certified copies. A genealogical copy costs ten dollars and is the route for older family research. Separate certificates exist for the birth record of a deceased individual and for the birth record of a deceased infant, which is the document bereaved families are usually directed to. And Illinois sells a commemorative birth certificate for forty dollars a copy, a decorative document rather than a legal one, whose proceeds are divided equally between the Illinois Child Abuse Prevention Fund and the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
What to send, and what gets a request returned
An application for a copy is made on the department's Application for Search of Birth Record Files, completed in full. It must be accompanied by a valid government issued photo identification that is readable and not expired, and the department states the consequence plainly: where identification is not provided, is unreadable or is out of date, the request will be returned unprocessed. Payment by post is by cheque or money order payable to the department, sent with the application to the Division of Vital Records in Springfield, which moved to West Lawrence Avenue in September 2026.
The department publishes a list of acceptable government issued photo identification, and reading it before posting is worth the minute it takes, because a returned application means starting the twelve week wait again.
The twelve weeks, and the faster counter
The department's notice is candid: requests for vital records may be submitted by regular post, processing takes approximately twelve weeks from the time the paperwork is received, and the applicant will receive no update from the department during that time. Anyone who needs a certificate sooner is directed to the county clerk where the event occurred. County clerks hold birth records for births in their own county and can usually issue a copy far more quickly, often over the counter, which makes them the practical first stop for a passport appointment or a school deadline.
The department maintains the list of county clerks, and a separate list of circuit court clerks for matters that run through the courts.
Corrections, and new certificates
Where information on an Illinois birth certificate is wrong or missing, the department runs a correction process separate from ordering a copy, with its own forms and evidence requirements. In four situations a new birth certificate is created rather than the old one corrected: legitimation, paternity, gender reassignment and adoption, each with its own departmental procedure and documentation. Surrogacy has its own published guidance as well.
The statutory framework behind all of this is the Vital Records Act and the Vital Records Code, together with the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, which is the act that decides whose names may be entered as parents.
Using an Illinois certificate abroad
A certificate intended for use in another country usually needs an apostille, and in Illinois that does not come from the health department. The department directs applicants to the Illinois Secretary of State's Index Department, which authenticates the official signature on the certificate. The practical order is therefore to obtain the certified copy first, from the division or from the county clerk, and then to send it to the Secretary of State for the apostille, allowing time for both steps where a visa or a foreign registration has a deadline.
Questions about Illinois birth certificates
Related Illinois records
Illinois's other records guides on this site are the Illinois public records law guide for the Freedom of Information Act, the Illinois death records guide for the same division, the Illinois court records guide for the circuit court clerks, and the Illinois county pages for every county office.