Illinois Genealogy Records

To begin, add a genealogy record or view a list of locations and resources for Illinois genealogy records.

Genealogical records help to illuminate a family's past. There are many reasons why people look for their history, including connectivity and medical history. Illinois became the 27th State in the Union in 1818. The Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records houses the records for all of the deaths, births, marriages and divorces throughout the state. Since the initial collection of birth and death records by the office in 1916, more than twenty-seven million have been filed with the state. Illinois also allows for delayed birth records. As a result of this, there are some birth records that can be traced back to the mid 1800s. The state agency and county clerks and circuit clerks sometimes have the materials you need to help make your search easier for genealogy records. Illinois is a large state, and with that growth comes more records.

Birth or death records that may have been created before 1916 and marriages that occurred before 1962 will only be kept on file with the county clerk where the event took place. For easier searching, most clerks maintain a comprehensive index. These records are available for genealogical research. Illinois takes its citizens privacy and identity seriously, so it's important to note that not everyone will be granted permission to view these records. Certified copies of birth records are only available after 75 years has passed from the date of birth. Since Illinois is concerned for the safety and privacy of its citizens, obtaining Illinois genealogy records will be a bit labor intensive.

Some local libraries and the Illinois Regional Area Depository system keep an index of all deaths in the state post 1916. The Illinois State Archives keeps an index of the death certificates from 1916 to 1950. Death records filed before 1916 are typically filed with county clerks. This makes searching for Illinois genealogy records difficult, but not impossible.

Copies of marriage records from 1962 on are also on file with the local county clerks. The Illinois State Archives has a database contains documents for marriages that occurred in Illinois from 1763 to 1900. The individual circuit court clerks for the counties are the ones who maintain all divorce decrees. The Vital Records Department has maintained an index since 1962.

Records can be requested by walking in, online, sending the request via mail, and you can fax a request.