Search Illinois Court Dockets
Illinois court dockets track every step of a case from first filing to final judgment. The circuit court clerk in each of the state's 102 counties keeps the official docket for cases filed there. You can search an Illinois court docket online through free tools like Judici.com and re:SearchIL, visit a courthouse in person, or contact the clerk directly. This page covers how the Illinois court system works, where to find docket records by county, what each system includes, what you can and cannot access remotely, and how to get copies of documents you need.
Illinois Court Docket Quick Facts
Illinois Circuit Courts and the Court Docket System
Illinois has a unified court system with three levels. The Supreme Court of Illinois sits at the top, based in Springfield. Five Appellate Court districts handle appeals across the state. At the base, 24 judicial circuits serve all 102 counties. These circuit courts are where most cases start and where court docket records are first created. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, located at 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, Chicago, oversees court administration statewide and runs the key digital tools used to access dockets across Illinois.
Each circuit court clerk in Illinois is responsible for maintaining the court docket for their county. When a party files a document, the clerk logs it on the docket. When a judge holds a hearing, that goes on the docket too. Every motion filed, every order entered, every continuance granted becomes a docket entry. This log is the official record of what happened and when. The Illinois Legal Aid organization describes the court docket as the record that shows "dated docket entries" even when the full text of documents is not viewable online.
The Illinois Courts website states that the mission of the Illinois court system is to protect rights and liberties by providing equal access to justice, resolving disputes, and upholding the rule of law. Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. leads the Supreme Court. The site is the central portal for all court-related services, including filings, opinions, rules, and self-help resources. It links to tools like re:SearchIL and eFileIL that directly affect how the public accesses court dockets in Illinois.
The Illinois Courts homepage is the starting point for accessing official state court services, including docket search tools and filing resources.
This portal connects users to all major court services including eFileIL, re:SearchIL, court rules, and self-help guides for navigating the Illinois court docket system.
Find Illinois Court Docket Records Online
Judici.com is the most widely used free platform for searching Illinois court dockets. It covers 82 of the state's 102 counties. The site pulls case data from participating county courts and makes it searchable at no charge. Data available through the system includes litigant names, criminal charges, dispositions and sentences, civil judgments, fines and fees, payment records, hearing dates, case minutes, and will indexes. Some counties have data going back as far as 1986. Adams County has criminal and civil records from 1987. Alexander County covers cases from 1986. Boone County has records from 1993. Use judici.com to search free court dockets from any participating Illinois county.
The Judici.com portal offers free public access to court docket records from 82 Illinois counties, covering civil, criminal, and traffic cases.
Premium services like Courtlook are also available for attorneys who need multi-county docket access and document retrieval tools.
Re:SearchIL is the Illinois Supreme Court's official statewide document repository. Starting May 1, 2025, it opened free public access to non-confidential reviewing court documents filed on or after April 1, 2025. This system covers Supreme Court and Appellate Court filings. Circuit court records are not in this system. The fee for electronic remote access to documents was suspended as part of the launch. Visit re:SearchIL to search appellate and Supreme Court dockets in Illinois. Note that cases which are not public in the circuit courts, such as juvenile cases, are also excluded here.
The re:SearchIL portal provides free access to Supreme Court and Appellate Court docket records filed on or after April 1, 2025.
This statewide system launched free public access in May 2025, covering non-confidential documents at the reviewing court level in Illinois.
Many counties operate their own portals. Cook County's case lookup is at cookcountyclerkofcourt.org and covers civil, probate, traffic, and county division dockets. Criminal cases in Cook County are not online and require an in-person visit. Lake County's 19th Judicial Circuit portal covers civil, criminal, and traffic records, with online case search and document payment options. Kane County's circuit clerk portal is at kanecountyclerk.org. Kankakee County's clerk website at kankakeecountycircuitclerk.com gives direct access to county court docket information. For counties without their own portal and not on Judici, you will need to visit the courthouse in person or call the clerk.
Note: Online docket systems may not always be complete or fully up to date. Check with the circuit clerk for the most current case status.
What an Illinois Court Docket Contains
A court docket is a running log of everything that happens in a case. It is not the same as the case file. The docket shows what was filed and when, but it does not always include the full text of the document. In Illinois, you can often view dated docket entries online even when the actual documents are not available for remote access. This gives you a clear picture of what happened in a case without having to visit the courthouse. For the actual documents, you usually need to visit the clerk in person or request copies by mail.
The Cook County Clerk of Court describes the online docket as containing "brief summaries of court documents and court events in a particular case." The information in the docket is the electronic record, not the official paper file. The official court records are held and maintained in the hard-copy paper files at the courthouse or other official repositories. Because of how databases are updated, it can sometimes take a few days before new activity appears in the online docket system. Always check with the clerk if you need real-time case status on an Illinois court docket.
Illinois court dockets typically include these types of entries:
- Case number, type, and filing date
- Names of all parties and attorneys of record
- Description and date of each filing
- Scheduled and completed hearing dates
- Orders entered by the judge
- Dispositions and sentences in criminal cases
- Judgments and dollar amounts in civil cases
The Judici FAQ page explains what data is available through their system and how often courts update their records.
The FAQ also covers options for people who want to petition for expungement or sealing of their court docket records in Illinois.
Public Access to Illinois Court Dockets
Most Illinois court dockets are public records. The Illinois Legal Aid organization confirms that in Illinois, most court records are open to the public with some exceptions. Each county's circuit court clerk is responsible for keeping records and making them available. While the judicial branch is not subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act under 5 ILCS 140, court records and proceedings are generally open under other state laws. Anyone can request to see a court docket. You do not need to be a party to the case, and you do not need to give a reason for your request.
The Illinois Supreme Court's Remote Access Policy sets out what can be viewed online by the general public. Documents are presumptively open unless restricted by court order, rule, law, or policy. However, several case types are excluded from remote access for general users. These include eviction cases, family cases, foreclosures, guardianship matters, probate, small claims, traffic cases, miscellaneous criminal, and orders of protection. People who are attorneys or parties of record may access more categories. Anyone wanting these excluded records may still visit the courthouse in person during regular business hours.
The Illinois Legal Aid court records guide is a free resource explaining which records are public and how to access an Illinois court docket.
This guide answers common questions about fees, what records are excluded, and how to get copies of Illinois court docket documents in person or online.
Records that are never open to the public include juvenile delinquency and child protection cases, adoptions, sealed or expunged cases, and confidential filings containing sensitive financial or medical data. Arrest warrants prior to arrest are also excluded. If a case file is stored offsite, the clerk will tell you how long retrieval will take. People with qualifying arrests and convictions can petition the court in their sentencing county for expungement or sealing of their records. Court records do not show arrests where no charges were filed, so a blank docket search does not always mean no prior contact with the court system.
Illinois Circuit Court Clerks Directory
The circuit court clerk in each county is the right starting point for any court docket search in Illinois. The clerk maintains the official records and can help you search by name or case number. If you don't know the case number, the clerk can search by name. In-person visits let you see the full case file and get copies right there. Most offices are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Printed copies cost money at most courthouses, and certified copies cost more than plain ones.
The Illinois Circuit Court Clerks Directory lists every county clerk organized by judicial district and circuit. Each entry includes the clerk's name, mailing address, phone number, and fax. This is the most reliable source for finding current contact info. Looking at records on a courthouse computer is usually free. Online access is free in most counties, though a few counties charge a fee for remote access to their docket system.
The Circuit Court Clerks Directory provides complete contact information for all 102 county clerks organized by judicial circuit in Illinois.
Use this directory to find the address, phone, and fax for any circuit clerk in Illinois before visiting or calling to request court docket records.
Electronic Filing and the Illinois Court Docket
Illinois requires electronic filing for civil cases statewide through a system called eFileIL. The Illinois Supreme Court launched this initiative to give attorneys and self-represented litigants a uniform, around-the-clock filing experience at any Illinois court. The system works with 17 approved Electronic Filing Service Providers. Once a document is submitted and accepted, it becomes part of the official court docket for that case. Access the filing portal at efile.illinoiscourts.gov. Central registration and authentication are required to use eFileIL across all Illinois courts.
The eFileIL login portal is where attorneys and self-represented litigants submit documents that become part of the permanent Illinois court docket record.
Filing through this system is mandatory for civil cases and provides around-the-clock access for all parties in any Illinois court.
Four counties have been approved for the Electronic Record, or E-Record, program: DuPage, Madison, McHenry, and Montgomery. This program applies only to civil case types and adds a layer of digital document management on top of the standard eFileIL system. The eFileIL information page explains how the statewide filing system works for both attorneys and people filing without a lawyer. Resources for self-represented filers are at information for filers without lawyers. Legal professionals can find their own guidance at information for legal professionals.
The eFileIL information page explains how the statewide electronic filing system works and how submissions enter the official court docket.
The page covers registration, the 17 approved filing service providers, and the process for getting documents accepted into the court docket record.
Illinois Court eServices for Docket Access
The Illinois Courts offer several online services at illinoiscourts.gov/eservices. These tools are designed for the public, attorneys, and court staff. Services listed include eFileIL for statewide e-filing, re:SearchIL for the document repository, remote proceedings for online hearings, and the e-Guilty program for entering pleas on traffic and conservation tickets. All of these tools connect to the same underlying court docket system, so whether you file in person or online, the record appears in the official docket.
The Illinois Courts eServices portal is the central hub for all digital tools used to file, access, and manage court docket records in Illinois.
This portal links to eFileIL, re:SearchIL, remote proceedings, and other tools that feed into the official Illinois court docket system.
Circuit court clerks have their own set of resources for processing electronic filings. The eFileIL reviewer resources page guides clerks through accepting and rejecting submissions that enter the court docket. This step in the process is what turns an electronic filing into an official docket entry. Clerks use these tools every business day to manage the flow of documents into the permanent record.
The eFileIL reviewer resources page is used by circuit court clerks to process filings that become part of the permanent court docket.
Clerks use these tools daily to review, accept, and reject filings that enter the court docket across all 102 Illinois counties.
The filers without lawyers page helps self-represented litigants navigate the Illinois court docket filing process step by step.
This guide is useful for anyone who needs to file into the Illinois court docket system without hiring legal representation.
The legal professionals information page provides detailed guidance for attorneys who use the Illinois court docket filing system on behalf of clients.
Attorneys can use this section to understand filing requirements, service options, and how their submissions appear in the electronic court docket.
Browse Illinois Court Dockets by County
Each county in Illinois maintains its own court docket through the circuit court clerk. Select a county below to find local contact info, online search tools, and court docket resources for that area.
View All 51 Illinois Counties →
Illinois Court Dockets in Major Cities
Court dockets for cases in Illinois cities are maintained at the county circuit court. Pick a city below to find the courts and clerk offices that serve your area.