To get a civil union in Chicago, both partners apply together in person at the Cook County Clerk’s office, pay a $60 license fee, wait at least one full day, and then hold a ceremony anywhere in Cook County within 60 days. Neither partner has to live in Illinois. The civil union gives you every spousal right Illinois law offers, but federal agencies treat it differently than marriage, which is the part most couples should think through before choosing it over a marriage license.
Who Qualifies
Illinois does not list qualifications so much as it lists disqualifications. If none of the prohibited categories apply to you, you can enter a civil union. Both partners must be at least 18, and neither can already be in a marriage, civil union, or similar legal relationship with someone else.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75/25 – Prohibited Civil Unions
Close relatives are barred: ancestors and descendants, siblings (including half and adoptive), aunts or uncles with nieces or nephews, and first cousins.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75/25 – Prohibited Civil Unions
There is no residency requirement, which is why out-of-state couples sometimes come to Chicago specifically to enter a civil union when their home state does not offer one.
What To Bring
Each partner needs a valid government-issued photo ID that shows age, such as a driver’s license or passport. Bring your Social Security numbers and certified copies of your birth certificates. If either of you was previously married or in a civil union, you need the date and county where that relationship was legally ended, and if the divorce was finalized within the last six months, bring a certified copy of the decree.2Cook County Government. Marriage Licenses
The application form is on the Cook County Clerk’s website. Fill it out before you go. It asks for parent names and other background details people often need to look up. Make sure the name on the form matches the name on your ID exactly, or the clerk will turn you away to correct it.
Applying for the License
Both partners must appear together at a Cook County Clerk’s office location. The license fee is $60, due when you apply.3Cook County Clerk. Marriage and Civil Union Licenses and Certificates
Once issued, the license carries a mandatory waiting period of one full day before any ceremony can take place. After that, you have 60 days to hold the ceremony. Miss the window and the license expires; you start over with a new application and another $60.4Circuit Court of Cook County. Marriage and Civil Union
After the union is recorded, certified copies of the certificate are $15 each, with additional copies of the same record at $4 if ordered at the same time.3Cook County Clerk. Marriage and Civil Union Licenses and Certificates
The Ceremony and Officiant
The ceremony has to happen inside Cook County while the license is valid. Illinois law lets several categories of people officiate:
- Judges of a court of record, including most retired judges and Court of Claims judges.
- The county clerk in counties of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, which includes Cook County.
- Any public official whose existing authority includes solemnizing marriages.
- A clergy member or officiant in good standing with their religious denomination, Native Nation, or tribal group.
Your officiant has to complete the certificate and return it to the county clerk within 10 days of the ceremony. The clerk then issues the official civil union certificate. Follow up to confirm the paperwork was actually filed. An unrecorded ceremony leaves you without proof of legal status when you need it.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75 – Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act
What a Civil Union Gives You Under Illinois Law
A partner in a civil union is entitled to the same obligations, protections, and benefits as a married spouse under Illinois law. That applies whether the right comes from a statute, an administrative rule, or common law.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75/20 – Protections, Obligations, and Responsibilities
The statute goes further and rewrites the vocabulary. Whenever Illinois law uses “spouse,” “family,” “immediate family,” “dependent,” “next of kin,” “husband,” “wife,” or similar terms, those definitions automatically include a party to a civil union. Property ownership, inheritance, hospital decision-making, and every other area governed by state law treats you as a spouse.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75 – Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act
Where Federal Law Does Not Follow
Federal agencies do not treat a civil union as a marriage, and the gap is wider than most couples expect. The IRS ruled in 2013 that civil unions are not marriages for federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the partners are same-sex or opposite-sex. Civil union partners cannot file a joint federal income tax return or claim the marital deductions and credits available to married couples.8Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2013-17
The Department of Labor defines “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act as a husband or wife recognized under marriage law, so civil union partners are excluded. You cannot take FMLA leave to care for a civil union partner.9U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28L: Leave Under the Family and Medical Leave Act When You and Your Spouse Work for the Same Employer
USCIS does not recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships as marriages either. A civil union partner cannot sponsor the other for a green card or immigrant visa.10USCIS. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 6 – Spouses
Social Security has some flexibility. The agency has indicated that some partners in non-marital legal relationships like civil unions may qualify for spousal or survivor benefits if they meet certain requirements.11Social Security Administration. Do I Qualify for Benefits as a Spouse
Converting to a Marriage Later
If the federal gap matters for your situation, you can apply for a marriage license through the normal process, as long as both partners are eligible and the marriage is between the same two people. The marriage license fee is waived when the purpose is converting an existing civil union. Once the marriage is solemnized and recorded, the civil union ends automatically, and the marriage certificate’s date is the operative date going forward. A simpler conversion that let couples relate the marriage date back to the original civil union date expired in 2015.12Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75/65 – Voluntary Conversion of Civil Union to Marriage
Ending a Civil Union
Dissolution works like a divorce. The only ground is irreconcilable differences that have caused an irretrievable breakdown of the relationship. If the couple has lived separate and apart for at least six continuous months before judgment, irreconcilable differences are presumed.
Anyone who enters a civil union in Illinois automatically consents to the jurisdiction of Illinois courts for dissolution, even after moving away. That matters because some other states will not dissolve a civil union they do not recognize, and this provision keeps that door open in Illinois no matter where you end up.13Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 75/45 – Dissolution, Declaration of Invalidity
If You Move or Travel
Marriages are generally recognized across state lines. Civil unions are not. Some states have recognized out-of-state civil unions using choice-of-law principles; others have refused under a public policy exception. The result is an unpredictable patchwork, and your legal status as a couple may or may not follow you across a state line. For couples who travel frequently or plan to move, converting to a marriage removes that uncertainty.