Vital Records/Certified Copies
Birth, Death, and Marriage

Because of the confidential nature of these records, the Illinois State Statutes provide that certified copies of birth records may be obtained only by the person himself, a parent or other legal representative. Certified copies of marriage and death records may be obtained by a person having a personal or property right interest in the record or by his duly authorized agent.

Information to give when requesting a certificate BY MAIL or IN PERSON: Name or names, date of birth, death, marriage, place of birth, death, marriage, mother's full maiden name, father's name, and the number of certified copies you are requesting. Please send a photocopy of your driver's license when requesting a birth certificate.  Make checks payable to DeKalb County Clerk.  The fee for marriage certificate and birth certificate is $12.00 for the first certified copy and $2.00 for each additional certified copy of the same record should accompany each request. The fee for death certificate is $14.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional.

Information to bring when picking up a birth certificate BY AN AGENT (ie: spouse, relative or friend)

In order for an authorized agent (a person other than the birth parents or themselves) to pick up your birth certificate - we require signed written authorization from the birth individual giving consent for your agent to pick up the document along with:

·        Birth individual’s photocopy of driver’s license.

·        Name or names, date of birth, place of birth, mother’s full maiden name, father’s full name and the number of certified copies

·        The agent must also bring his/her own driver’s license or state ID

Records Prior to 1916: For birth, death or marriage records prior to 1916 we will issue an uncertified copy for $3.00 each. The State of Illinois did NOT mandate the recording of births or deaths until 1916, therefore we have only a few births and deaths from 1878 to 1916.

If you are not sure of what county in Illinois to look in, you might want to try the Illinois State Archives website which maintains a marriage and death index that could be helpful in locating the county in Illinois. The State of Illinois has NO births or deaths prior to 1916 - they are all kept at the county level. You can visit the Illinois State Archives at http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html to perform a search.