How to Find Cook County Marriage Licenses After 1916
Cook County marriage licenses are available on microfilm through 1920, and you may, in the near future, be able to find the license numbers needed to choose the right films using the online index at the Cook Count Clerk's website. But until then, unless you have access to all of the reels (in Salt Lake, for example), the best way to obtain Chicago marriage licenses after 1916 is through the Cook County Clerk's Office.
New! Marriage licenses 50 years or older can be obtained online (downloadable images) from the Cook County Clerk's Office for $15 each plus a small handling fee.
Cook County Clerk's Office
Cost: $15.00
Cook County's "Genealogy Online" Website
Alternate sources of information include:
- Engagement and Marriage Notices
Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
Subscription database; available at Ancestry.com
Includes the Chicago Tribune, 1850-1985 and the Chicago Defender, 1921-1975
- Church Marriage
Records
See Newberry Library's Guide to Chicago Church and Synagogue Records. - Anniversary announcements
- Divorce records
Divorce records for Cook County can be obtained from the Circuit Court Archives.