Illinois Genealogy Search

Illinois family history benefits from two free statewide indexes built by the Illinois State Archives in Springfield: the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index covering 1763 to 1900 and the Illinois Statewide Death Index covering 1916 to 1950, plus the pre-1916 death index for many counties. Illinois began statewide vital registration in 1916, but its counties, formed from 1790 onward, kept marriage records from the start and births and deaths from 1877 in most cases, and Chicago kept its own from 1871.

The state censuses of 1855 and 1865 and the county records on microfilm at the State Archives cover the settlement decades, and Cook County's own genealogy site sells birth, marriage and death records for the Chicago area.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Illinois statewide genealogy links

• Family History Resources in Illinois Regional Archives DepositoriesFamily History State Archives
• State and Federal Governmental Records in the Illinois State ArchivesGovernment Archival Records
• Illinois State Archives Local Governmental Records Holdings DatabaseSearch Genealogy Archives Database
• Illinois State Archives and Libraries SearchIllinois Archives and Libraries Search
• University of Illinois Newspaper ProjectIllinois Newspapers Database
• Illinois State Library
• Genealogy at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential LibraryLincoln Presidential Library Genealogy Resources
• USGenWeb Archives IllinoisSearch Illinois GenWeb Archives
• National Archives Great Lakes Region in ChicagoIllinois Genealogy Research at the National Archives

Illinois began statewide birth and death registration in 1916, and the Illinois Department of Public Health's Division of Vital Records holds the certificates, with county clerks holding copies and the earlier county registers from 1877. The State Archives' free death index covers 1916 to 1950, and a pre-1916 death index covers most counties from 1877. Birth records are restricted for 75 years and death records for 20. Marriage records go back to each county's founding and are indexed statewide to 1900 by the Archives. Cook County's clerk sells records for Chicago through its genealogy site, and divorce records sit with the circuit clerk.

• Illinois Division of Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1916, checked September 25, 2026
• Illinois Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The Illinois State Archives holds the 1855 and 1865 state censuses, earlier partial state censuses from 1820 to 1845, the federal land sale records for Illinois public land, the Illinois Civil War muster rolls and the veterans' burial index, Illinois Black Hawk War and Mexican War rosters, the state penitentiary registers, and county records on microfilm through the Illinois Regional Archives Depository system at seven universities. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield holds Illinois newspapers, an Illinois newspaper index and manuscript collections. The National Archives at Chicago holds Illinois federal court and naturalization records, including the Chicago naturalization index.

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential LibraryIllinois newspapers, newspaper index and manuscripts, checked September 25, 2026
• National Archives at ChicagoFederal court and naturalization records for Illinois, checked September 25, 2026
• FamilySearch Illinois research guideFree indexed Illinois records and images, checked September 25, 2026

Illinois county clerks hold marriage licenses, the county birth and death registers from 1877 and the vital records after 1916, recorders of deeds hold land records from the county's founding, and circuit clerks hold probate, divorce and civil case files. The Illinois Regional Archives Depository system holds the older books of most counties at seven universities, searchable through the State Archives' online catalog. Cook County's records are the largest set in the state, with the clerk's genealogy site, the recorder's online index and the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court's archives holding Chicago probate and divorce files.

• Illinois County Public RecordsCounty clerks, recorders and circuit clerks for all 102 counties
• Illinois Court RecordsCircuit court case and probate searches

These federal and national sources complement Illinois's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Illinois state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.

FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.

Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.