How to Get a Certified Copy of Your Divorce Decree in Illinois

You'll need certified copies of your divorce decree for almost everything that follows — name changes, title transfers, retirement account divisions, mortgage refinancing. The most common mistake people make is ordering the wrong document from the wrong agency and discovering it's rejected at the next step.

Circuit Court Clerk, Not IDPH

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) maintains a statewide index of divorces and will issue a "Verification of Dissolution of Marriage" for $5. This is not a certified copy of your divorce decree. It confirms a divorce happened on a certain date — but agencies like the Social Security Administration, the Secretary of State, and mortgage lenders require the actual certified judgment, not a verification.

Your certified copies come from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where your divorce was filed. This is the only source for the actual Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage with the court's certification stamp.

How to Order by County

Cook County

Visit the Richard J. Daley Center, Room 802 (Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Domestic Relations Division), or submit a written request by mail.

Fees:

• $6 record search fee per year searched
• $2 for the first page of each document
• $0.50 per page for pages 2–19
• $0.25 per page for page 20 onward
• $6 certification fee per document

For a typical 10-page divorce decree, expect to pay roughly $18–$20 per certified copy.

Other Counties

Contact the Circuit Court Clerk in the county where your divorce was granted. Fees vary but follow a similar structure — search fee plus per-page copy charges plus certification. Most counties accept in-person requests, mail requests, and some offer online ordering through third-party services.

What to include in a mail request:

• Full names of both parties (as listed on the petition)
• Approximate date of the divorce
• Case number (if you have it — speeds things up significantly)
• A self-addressed stamped envelope
• Payment by check or money order payable to "Clerk of the Circuit Court"

How Many Copies Do You Need?

Plan for 8–12 certified copies. Each of these agencies or processes typically requires an original certified copy (not a photocopy):

• Social Security Administration (name change)
• Illinois Secretary of State (driver's license update)
• U.S. Department of State (passport update)
• Mortgage lender (refinancing)
• County Recorder of Deeds (quitclaim deed recording)
• Retirement plan administrator (QDRO or QILDRO)
• Banks and financial institutions
• Insurance companies
• Employer HR department
• Vehicle title transfer (Secretary of State)

Some agencies return your certified copy after review; others retain it. Having extras prevents delays when multiple processes run in parallel.

Understanding What's in Your Decree

An Illinois Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage typically contains several sections that matter for post-divorce execution:

Name restoration provision. Look for language under 750 ILCS 5/413(c) authorizing you to resume a former or maiden name. If this provision exists, it's your name-change document — no separate petition needed.

Property division. The Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA), usually incorporated into the judgment, specifies who gets which assets, who assumes which debts, and deadlines for transfers.

Retirement division. If retirement accounts were divided, the decree should reference the need for a QDRO (private-sector plans) or QILDRO (Illinois public pensions). The decree alone doesn't divide these accounts — separate orders are still needed.

Support orders. Maintenance amounts, duration, and termination conditions. Child support amounts and the income-withholding arrangement.

Parenting plan. Allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time schedules.

Each of these sections drives specific post-divorce tasks. The Illinois After-Divorce Checklist maps every decree provision to its corresponding administrative action, so you can work through the document systematically instead of discovering missed obligations months later.

See more Illinois guides →