Adoption
Illinois law requires that all Adoption records maintained by the Circuit Clerk are impounded while they are pending and sealed 30 days after they are closed, which means that Adoption records are not available for public inspection. On the day you receive your Adoption judgment go to the Circuit Clerk’s office in Room 136 to receive certified copies of the Adoption judgment for your records. Illinois Adoption Act
If an Adoption judgment was entered within the last 30 days, the individuals on the case, or the attorney of record, are the only parties that can obtain a copy of the judgment from the Circuit Clerk. If the judgment was entered more than 30 days prior, a Motion and Notice of Motion will need to be filed, and a court date scheduled to obtain a court order to unseal the file for the Circuit Clerk to make copies. If the motion is granted, a certified copy can be obtained from the Circuit Clerk.
Obtaining Revised Birth Certificate
After the final adoption order has been entered by the court, the petitioners for adoption can submit a completed Certificate of Adoption form, which they will receive from the Circuit Clerk, to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) in order to obtain a revised birth certificate that will show the child’s new name (if applicable) and list the petitioners as the child’s parents. The Circuit Clerk collects a $15.00 fee (check made payable to IL Dept. of Public Health) to submit with the Certificate of Adoption form to the Illinois Department of Public Health for one certified copy of the new (amended) birth record. Additional copies of the same record issued at the same time are $2.00 each. Make check or money order for amended birth records payable to the IL Department of Public Health.