Cook County Marriage Applications

I'm often asked about Cook County marriage applications and I will summarize what I have learned. If you can suggest additions or corrections to the information on this page, please contact me.

As far as I can tell, there are no long-form marriage applications available for Cook County similar to the ones you can find for early marriages in other Illinois counties. I hope someday someone will discover that this is not the case.

It wasn't until the 1960s that Cook County began to use application forms that asked for the kinds of information genealogists are hoping to find.

The one application that I have seen was from the early 1900s and it was provided by the Cook County Clerk's Office in place of the license which hadn't been returned. The application was a 1/3 sheet of paper and it gave very little information—primarily the name of the groom (who obtained the license) and his address.

I have heard that some of the applications before the 1960s may provide birth dates but I haven't verified that and I don't know which years that would be.

Marriage applications can likely be obtained from the Cook County Clerk's Office for the same fee that they charge for copies of licenses. If you have questions, please get in touch with the clerk's office.