Illinois Online Birth, Marriage, Death Records

United States Illinois  'Illinois Online Birth, Marriage, Death Records

Illinois birth, marriage and death records are available digitally through a variety of state and local resources, as well as through genealogy websites including FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.

No single website covers all records for all counties. Some Illinois county clerks (Cook, Champaign, Lake, Kane, Kankakee) have their own genealogy websites with indexes to county records, and the option to purchase official copies.

Not all Illinois birth, marriage and death records have been indexed, so an official record may exist, even if you don’t locate one in the databases mentioned below.

Birth
Links to Illinois collections and research information:

Statewide

 * Statewide at FamilySearch (Index only)
 * 1877-1940: Most entries were indexed from microfilmed county records.
 * 1842-1872: Indexed from Illinois births, prior to act, excluding Chicago: 1842, 1849-1872, microfilmed records. See
 * 1824-1940: Includes entries indexed from church records or submitted by individuals.
 * 28 counties are missing from this index. For a list of counties included, see Coverage Table

Cook County

 * at FamilySearch
 * at FamilySearch
 * Indexed from microfilmed county records.
 * Birth Registers were recorded in a book. Certificates are copies of individual birth certificates and contain more information than the Registers. There is overlap in the two collections. Check both.
 * If the "GSU Film number" is listed in the index entry, request a copy certificate using FamilySearch Photoduplication Request (free).
 * For further explanation, see wiki articles for Cook County Birth Certificates and Cook County Birth Registers


 * Cook County Illinois Historic Vital Records at Cook County Genealogy Online.
 * births 75 years ago or before
 * free index; purchase copies online through Cook County. Free or low-cost copies may also be available via IRAD or FamilySearch, depending on date.

Marriage
Links to Illinois collections and research information:


 * Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives. Index only
 * at FamilySearch. (Free, index only)
 * Illinois Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com. Index only ($)
 * Illinois Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com. Index only ($)
 * Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860 at Ancestry.com. Index only ($)
 * Cook County at cookcountygenealogy.com. Free index.
 * marriages 50 years ago or before
 * Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920 at FamilySearch. (Free, index and images)
 * Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records marriages to 1930 at FamilySearch. (Free, browse images)
 * at FamilySearch. (Free, index and images, incomplete)
 * Largest of the FamilySearch Illinois marriage collections (as of June 2014).

Death
Links to Illinois collections and research information:


 * Index and transcription
 * Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 Index and transcription ($)
 * Illinois State Archives, Death Certificate Database, 1916-1950 Index
 * Illinois State Archives Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
 * Cook County Illinois Historic Vital Records
 * deaths 20 years or more ago
 * free index; can order records for a fee
 * Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922
 * Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records browse images, deaths to 1956
 * Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records browse images, deaths to 1956