Submit a Reference Request  (Illinois Residents Only)

Indexes are available for many of the Archives' most frequently used records. Archives reference staff will search these indexed records and provide Illinois residents unofficial and uncertified photocopies of requested records at no charge. 

The Illinois State Archives is pleased to offer an online reference request form for use by Illinois residents. In order to offer the most efficient and equitable service to patrons of the Illinois State Archives, the following procedures have been adopted for the acceptance of and response to queries submitted online.

  • The Illinois State Archives will accept requests for no more than two specific names at a time. Please await a reply concerning the first two names requested before submitting others.
  • If requests for more than two names are received, only two of the names will be researched. A message stating this procedure will be electronically mailed to the researcher.
  • Online requests are printed daily and the paper copy is date-stamped. All electronic mail requests are combined with telephone and postal mail requests and routed to the appropriate staff researcher. Online requests are not given priority or answered before postal mail requests.
  • For each name search, provide the individual's name and the name of the record to be searched.
  • Under additional information, please provide the following information, if known:
    • For Illinois war service rosters: company and/or regiment; residence, birthplace, or place of enlistment; and rank.
    • For Illinois censuses: county and township; and spouse and children's names, ages and birthplaces.
    • For Illinois servitude and emancipation records: name of master, witness, or related party; county; and date of filing.
    • For Soldiers' and Sailors' Home records: number of resident.
    • For 1929 Roll of Honor records: volume and page numbers of publication on which veteran's name appears.

For other inquiries, please write: Illinois State Archives, Reference Unit, Springfield, IL 62756. Illinois law requires the Illinois State Archives to charge $2.00 per page for photocopies of original land records. Orders for photocopies of entries from the Field General Land Office registers must be pre-paid. Click here for instructions on requesting Public Domain Land Tract Sales Records.

First Request:
 
Full Name to Search:
Record to Search:
Additional Information:
Characters Remaining
 
Second Request:
 
Full Name to Search:
Record to Search:
Additional Information:
Characters Remaining
 
Mailing Address:
 
Name (required):
Street Address (required):
 
City (required):
State or Province (required):
Postal Code (required):
Country (required):
 
E-mail Address (required):
Telephone Number:

 

Change in Non-Illinois Resident
Research Fee Policy
 

Effective July 1, 2003, the Illinois State Archives is required to receive, from all out-of-state or non-Illinois residents, a $10 fee, prepaid and nonrefundable, along with all research requests before those requests may be honored. That fee will entitle the requester to up to 2 unofficial, non-certified copies of the records requested if those records exist.

The Illinois State Archives Reference Request Form is currently available for use by Illinois residents ONLY. We hope to have a means to accommodate payment for out-of-state or non-Illinois residents in the future.

Until an online form is available, out-of-state or non-Illinois residents should mail requests along with the appropriate fee to: Illinois State Archives, Reference Unit,
Margaret Cross Norton Building, Capitol Complex, Springfield, IL 62756. Checks and money orders should be made payable to the Illinois Secretary of State.

 
  Illinois State Archives Fee Schedule

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