How to Get an Illinois Birth Certificate Online

You can get an Illinois birth certificate online by ordering through the authorized third-party vendor portal linked from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) website. A certified long-form copy costs $15 and a short-form copy costs $10, with the vendor’s processing and shipping fees added at checkout. Plan for about 12 weeks of processing time from the day IDPH receives your request.¹

Are You Allowed to Order It

Illinois birth records are not public. Under 410 ILCS 535/25, only a limited group can request a certified copy:

The person named on the certificate, if they are at least 18.
A parent listed on the birth record.
A legal representative, meaning an attorney acting for the person named, someone holding power of attorney, a court-appointed representative, or an agent with written notarized authorization from the named person.
A government agency making a written request.
Anyone presenting a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

Grandparents, adult siblings, and spouses are not automatically eligible. To order for someone else in those categories, you would need notarized written authorization from the person named on the record or another qualifying legal basis.² The IDPH application mirrors these same categories.³

Long Form or Short Form

Pick the version before you start the online order, because ordering the wrong one usually means paying again.

The long form costs $15 for the first copy and contains all information collected at the time of birth. This is the version accepted for U.S. passports and by virtually all government agencies. If you aren’t sure which one you need, order the long form.

The short form costs $10 for the first copy and lists only basic details: name, date of birth, sex, place of birth, parents’ names and ages, file date, and state file number. Some agencies will not accept it.

Each additional copy of either version ordered at the same time costs $2.⁴ One note on the state fee: the $15 long-form charge actually combines a $10 search fee and a $5 certified-copy fee, and the search fee is not refundable even if no record is found.² The vendor adds its own processing and shipping fees to whatever state amount you owe.

If you were released from the Illinois Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice on parole, mandatory supervised release, final discharge, or pardon, you can get one free search and certified copy by presenting the prescribed verification form from the releasing agency.

What to Have Ready Before You Open the Portal

The online system does not let you save a partial application and come back, so pull everything together first:

Full name at birth, exactly as it would appear on the original record
Date of birth
Sex
County of birth
Full names of both parents, including the mother’s or co-parent’s maiden name

Spelling matters more than you might expect. If what you enter doesn’t match the state’s record, the search comes back empty and the $10 search fee is still gone.

Photo ID

You must upload a copy of a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID. Accepted options are a driver’s license, passport, FOID card, active-duty military ID, Veterans Administration photo medical card, or a federally issued tribal ID. The image needs to clearly show your photo, name, date of birth, issue date, and expiration date. If the ID is missing, unreadable, or expired, IDPH will return the request without processing it and without issuing a refund.³

Illinois does not accept secondary documents like utility bills or bank statements in place of photo ID. If you don’t hold any of the accepted IDs, you may need to get a state ID card through the Illinois Secretary of State first.

Walking Through the Online Order

The order itself runs through a third-party vendor linked from the IDPH website; there is no order form on the IDPH site directly. Once you reach the portal, the flow is:

Enter the birth record details and your own contact information. Check every field against whatever documents you have, since corrections after submission usually mean starting over.
Upload your photo ID. Make the image legible with all four corners of the ID visible.
Review the summary screen. Errors that slip past this step can produce a failed search, and the state search fee is not refundable.
Pay with a credit or debit card. The state fee ($15 long form or $10 short form, plus $2 per additional copy) is collected alongside the vendor’s processing and shipping fees. You’ll get a confirmation number and an email receipt.

If IDPH finds a discrepancy later, they’ll reach out using the phone number or email address you entered, so make sure both are current.

How Long It Takes and How It Arrives

This is where most people get caught out. IDPH currently estimates about 12 weeks of processing from the date your paperwork is received, and you won’t get status updates during that window.¹ That timeline is the same whether you order online or by mail. If a passport appointment, school enrollment, or court date is driving the request, count backward from that deadline and add a cushion.

The certificate ships by standard mail to the address you verified during the application. Expedited shipping through a private carrier may be offered at checkout for an added fee.

County Clerk as a Faster Route

Your local county clerk’s office may turn requests around faster if the birth took place in that county. County offices keep their own copies of birth records, and fees and timelines vary by county. Contact the clerk where the birth occurred to ask about current processing time and whether they take walk-in, mail, or online requests.⁴

When Online Won’t Work

If you can’t use the online portal, IDPH also accepts mail-in requests using the “Application for Search of Birth Record Files” from its website, with a photocopy of your valid photo ID and a check or money order for the fee. The 12-week estimate applies to mailed requests too.¹

Related Requests the Online Order Doesn’t Cover

Two situations use a different process, so don’t try to resolve them through the standard online order:

Fixing an error. If the name, date of birth, or a parent’s information on the certificate is wrong, you need to submit an “Affidavit and Certificate of Correction Request” along with your photo ID and supporting documents created before the person named turned 19. If the documents don’t clearly support the change, IDPH may require a court order.⁵

Genealogy research. If you aren’t on the eligible list but you’re tracing family history, Illinois will issue an uncertified copy for $10, stamped “FOR GENEALOGICAL PURPOSES ONLY,” as long as the birth occurred at least 75 years before your request. These copies cannot be used as legal identification.⁶

1
Illinois Department of Public Health. Birth Records
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 410 ILCS 535 – Vital Records Act, Section 25
3
Illinois Department of Public Health. Application for Illinois Birth Record
4
Illinois Department of Public Health. Obtain Birth Certificate
5
Illinois Department of Public Health. Correct a Birth Certificate
6
Illinois Department of Public Health. Genealogy