The Cook County court clerk’s office maintains an online database that contains information about your case. It’s not just for lawyers and judges, you can use the database to monitor your case. Though this database does not contain links or images to any orders and documents in the clerk’s physical case file. It’s a simple way to find basic information about your case. As an attorney, I use the database frequently, but clients often find it confusing and hard to navigate.

To use the database, you will need to know either the full case number or the the full name of one of the parties.

A screenshot of the confusing search boxes on the Cook County Online Case Database

How do I look up a family law case by case number:

1. Open the Cook County Online Case Database
2. In the section titled Division Name, select Domestic Relations/Child Support in the drop down menu
3. In the section Search by Case Number, fill in these fields:
   1. Case Year: type the 4 digit year, for example 2006 not 06
   2. Division Code: type “D” for Domestic Relations/Child Support
   3. Case Number: type the 6 digit case number with leading zeroes, for example 000851
4. Press the “Search Now” button in the Search by Case Number section

How do I look up a family law case by party name:

1. Open this webpage: Cook County Online Case Database
2. In the Section titled Division Name, select Domestic Relations/Child Support in the drop down menu
3. In the section Search By Name, select either Plaintiff (i.e. the Petitioner, the party who started the case) or Defendant (i.e. the Respondent, the responding party)
4. Type the full name of the person you are searching for, either in “Last, First” or “First Last” format. If that doesn’t work, try just searching for the party’s last name.
5. Press the “Search Now” button in the Search By Name section