Acquire Free DuPage County, IL Divorce Records

Run a free DuPage County, IL, divorce records search to look up details of marriage dissolutions that have been finalized in this area.

A free records search for divorce cases can be conducted through county-level agencies, offering primary details of the divorcees, the conditions of the divorce, and matters like alimony, division of assets, and child custody.

This resource explains how to seamlessly carry out a divorce records search in DuPage County, Illinois.

How To Find Free DuPage County IL Divorce Records

In DuPage County, Illinois, all court records – including those of divorce cases – are managed by the 18th Judicial Circuit Court Clerk.¹ The Clerk’s Department keeps a record of all files related to cases along with their final verdicts (or decrees), and interested residents can reach out to the department to access them.

For the convenience of the citizens, the department also has an online court records search tool that can be used to search divorce records free of charge.² Interested citizens can look up public divorce records from this tool using different criteria such as case number or the name of either one of the divorcees.

The online tool will provide citizens with specific details such as the filing date, the judicial officer assigned, the list of documents filed in the case, as well as the time and location indicating when and where the divorce happened. The tool can also provide researchers with a brief summary of the documents filed during the divorce case; however, this is only available for some recently filed separation cases.

For basic queries, residents can check out the Frequently Asked Questions page on the Circuit Court Clerk’s website.⁴ However, for more questions or in case the citizen is having difficulty accessing the search tool, they can contact the department directly through their designated Clerk contact page. Ensure that a working email ID is provided to the department because this is where notifications will be sent.

The database of this search tool is updated regularly by the Clerk’s Department so that residents have access to the most up-to-date court records. However, the information provided by the online tool may be insufficient for some users who want more detailed records.

In such a case, where more in-detail divorce records are required, citizens can choose to visit the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office directly, which is located at:

18th Judicial Circuit Court Clerk of DuPage County – Main Office
505 North County Farm Road
Wheaton, Illinois 60187

Phone Number: 630-407-8700

Residents can visit the Clerk’s Office anytime during regular business hours of 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and request divorce records. Citizens planning to visit the office must note that it is closed during weekends and other public holidays. The Circuit Court Clerk’s office can also be called at the above-mentioned number for information as well as to order records.

Interested parties can also choose to order DuPage County divorce records online.⁵ The Clerk’s Department has partnered up with a company called I2File to make the online documentation ordering process easier for citizens. To order divorce records online, interested residents will have to register with I2File with an active email address.

In case anyone has difficulty registering or has any kind of queries, they can visit the I2File Support Page for guidance. There is also a user manual with extensive information on how to order records.

It is important to note that even though the court records search tool is free, the department does charge a small fee for providing copies of the requested divorce records. The first page of the ordered divorce papers will cost $2, and $0.50 for each page after that till the 20th page. For every page after the 20th, the fee is $0.25 per page.

The documents are primarily uncertified. In case the requestor wants certified copies, the certification fee is $6 per document.

Before starting a DuPage County divorce records search through the Circuit Court Clerk, citizens must keep in mind that the department can restrict certain information in the records. Sensitive details such as finances, social security numbers, exact addresses of the people involved in the divorce as well as details of minor children, are restricted for safety and ensuring privacy.

How To Search Divorce Records at the State Level via the Illinois Department of Public Health

In case the desired divorce records are not available at the DuPage Circuit Court Clerk’s Department, there could be a chance that they are available in a different county or are in the custody of a state-level agency. In such a case, residents must know which exact state-level agency they should pursue to obtain the desired record.

In Illinois, the State Department of Public Health has records of all divorces that took place after 1962 till date.⁶ However, it is important to note here that the Department of Public Health only verifies the marriage dissolution through its divorce index with primary details such as names of the divorcees, dates of birth, date of separation, and in which city or county it happened.

For complete divorce records, interested citizens must contact the Circuit Court Clerk of the respective county in which the marriage dissolution originally took place.⁷

For verification of a divorce (as well as common law divorce), residents must fill out an Application for Verification of Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union Record Files and submit it to the department.⁸ The verification request form can be submitted by mail, fax, or in-person visit using the following contact information:

Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
925 East Ridgely Avenue
Springfield, Illinois 62702 2737

Phone Number: 217-782-6554
Fax Number: 217-523-2648
Email: [email protected]

For all three methods, citizens must provide the department with a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID. Furthermore, it is also important to note here that according to the department’s fee schedule, a fee of $5 will be charged to the applicants for a single marriage dissolution verification.⁹

Interested residents can also search these agencies for older divorce records for genealogy, ancestral research, and lineage purposes. For marriage dissolution that happened till 1961, the Illinois Department of Public Health can help, whereas for older records, the Circuit Court Clerk of the county where the marriage dissolution took place will have to be contacted (both these sources are linked above).

Who Is Able To View & Acquire Divorce Records in DuPage County?

Anyone can view and acquire divorce records in DuPage County, Illinois unless the specific records are ordered to be sealed by the court. The availability of divorce records to the general public is in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIC) and the Court Records Act (CRA).^{10, 11}

It is also important to understand that divorce certificates, which are single sheet documents that announce the final dissolution of a marriage, are readily available to the public.

Divorce decrees, on the other hand, are conclusive court orders and contain detailed information about the separation including the court’s final verdict on matters such as separation of assets, child custody, child support, etc., are more difficult to obtain.

Citizens can also utilize third party sources to search divorce records in DuPage County, Illinois. However unless a government agency endorses the third-party website the details obtained from these should not be used for official purposes.

This brief article explains how to conduct a free DuPage County, IL, divorce records search to uncover information on anyone’s past marriage or dissolution details.