SearchSystems Editorial

Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

Cook County, Illinois, has about 5.2 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). The divorce record of a couple from Cook County is a file of the Circuit Court's domestic relations division, kept by the Circuit Clerk, not a vital record. This guide says where the file is, how a certified copy of the decree is had and what the state issues.

This guide covers the court, copies, related records, cities and common questions.

Related guides: Cook County public records, Cook County warrants, Cook County inmate search, Cook County criminal records, Cook County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.

Where a Divorce from Cook County Is Filed and Kept

Divorce records are not vital records in Illinois. The decree and the file of a divorce from Cook County are court records of the Circuit Court's domestic relations division, and certified copies come from the Circuit Clerk.

For Cook County the court records page SearchSystems verified is at cookcountyil.gov/service/court-records-and-archives (page title: Court Records and Archives), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026. Most of a divorce file is open to the public; the papers the law keeps confidential and anything the court has sealed are not.

Illinois has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.

Copies of a Divorce Decree from Cook County

The copy another court or an agency asks for is a certified copy of the judgment, issued by the Circuit Clerk.

The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps a divorce index from 1962 and issues verifications, not copies; the Circuit Clerk has the file.

The Illinois vital records page SearchSystems verified is at dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/birth-death-other-records/birth-re....

The County Recorder, whose page SearchSystems verified is at cookcountyclerkil.gov/recordings, records deeds and liens, not divorces.

Cities in Cook County

A divorce from any city in the county is filed in the Circuit Court's domestic relations division and kept by the Circuit Clerk.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Cook County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population:

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a copy of a divorce decree from Cook County?

From the Circuit Court's domestic relations division, through the Circuit Clerk (cookcountyil.gov). The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps a divorce index from 1962 and issues verifications, not copies; the Circuit Clerk has the file.

Are divorce records public in Illinois?

Mostly. The court file is open except for the papers the law makes confidential and anything the court seals.

Which court hears divorces from Cook County?

The Circuit Court's domestic relations division. The file is kept by the Circuit Clerk.

Does Illinois issue divorce certificates?

The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps a divorce index from 1962 and issues verifications, not copies; the Circuit Clerk has the file.

Is this the official Cook County website?

No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.