How to search Illinois court records

Illinois has no statewide trial-court search at all. Each county runs its own independent case-management system, so finding a record means first identifying the right county, then searching that county's own portal. Cost varies by record type — some searches are free, others require a paid account or a formal records request.

county by county varies criminal data

Open the official Illinois portal →

What's actually there

No unified free public name search. Cook County and other large counties publish their own portals.

Other official lookups for Illinois

How Illinois courts are organized

Illinois has one level of trial court, the circuit court. There is a circuit court clerk in each of the state's 102 counties, and the counties are grouped into judicial circuits set out in the Circuit Courts Act (705 ILCS 35). Cook County is its own circuit and also makes up the entire First Appellate District. Felonies, misdemeanors, traffic, civil, family, probate and small claims cases are all filed with the circuit clerk of the county where the case was brought.

Above the circuit courts are the appellate court, organized into five districts, and the Illinois Supreme Court, which has seven justices.

There is no single free statewide name search for circuit court cases. Each of the 102 circuit clerks keeps its own records, and many run their own online case lookup. The statewide re:SearchIL document repository is open to the public only for Supreme Court and appellate court filings made on or after April 1, 2025.

Searching Illinois cases online

Start with the Illinois Courts directory of circuit court clerks, which lists every county clerk with a mailing address, phone and fax. From there, go to that county's clerk website to see what online lookup it offers. Coverage, search options and fees are set county by county.

Remote access to circuit court documents is governed by the Illinois Supreme Court's Remote Access Policy, which took effect January 1, 2020 and was revised in 2022. Under it, licensed attorneys and legal service providers got wider document access first. The policy does not change what you can see in person at a courthouse.

For appeals, the Supreme Court made non-confidential reviewing court documents filed on or after April 1, 2025 free through re:SearchIL starting May 1, 2025, and suspended the Rule 313(c) remote access fee until further order. The Court said it will shift its focus next to statewide public access for the 102 county courts.

Not in re:SearchIL public access: cases that are not public in circuit court (such as juvenile cases), the circuit court record on appeal, and documents marked confidential under Supreme Court Rule 8.
Reviewing court records filed before April 1, 2025 are generally not included.
County dockets online are often not real-time, so recent entries may lag behind the clerk's own system.

Getting copies and certified copies

Copies and certified copies come from the circuit clerk in the county where the case was filed. Most clerks take requests in person and by mail; use the clerk directory on illinoiscourts.gov for the address and phone number.

Copy and certification fees are set under the Clerks of Courts Act and vary by county population, so each clerk posts its own schedule. Ask the clerk or check the county clerk's fee page before you send payment.

Expunged and sealed records

Illinois record clearing is governed by the Criminal Identification Act, 20 ILCS 2630/5.2. It defines expungement as destroying or returning arrest records and removing the person's name from official indexes, and sealing as keeping the records but making them unavailable without a court order. Sealed and expunged files are generally not viewable by the public.

The Illinois Supreme Court has approved statewide expungement and sealing forms that every Illinois court must accept, including a Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records, separate cannabis expungement forms and juvenile forms. A separate request is needed for each county where you have records, and the forms cannot be used for minor traffic cases. Illinois Legal Aid Online runs a free guided interview that fills out the forms. Whether a record qualifies depends on the details, so talk to a lawyer or use the court's self-help resources.

Tip: Cook County is its own system

Cook County, which includes Chicago, has the state's largest clerk's office and its own online case search portal. The clerk's user guide says names go in Last Name, First Name order and accepts a wildcard, so Smith, J* finds John Smith. For any other county, use the statewide clerk directory to find that county's clerk, since a search on one county's site will not show cases filed anywhere else.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Illinois

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Largest counties in Illinois

Cook County — Free public case-status lookup run by the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Illinois court records online?

It depends on what you're looking for. Some record types on Illinois's portal are free; others require payment or a formal request.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Illinois's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

No single search. Illinois has no statewide index — you need to find the right county first, then search that county's own system.

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