Bureau County Divorce Records
Bureau County divorce records are filed and maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk in Princeton, Illinois, where all dissolution of marriage cases in the 13th Judicial Circuit are processed and stored. This page explains how to search those records, what documents a typical case file contains, which Illinois statutes apply, and how the state health department's statewide divorce index relates to cases filed in Bureau County.
County Overview
The Bureau County Circuit Court Clerk
Dawn Reglin is the Circuit Court Clerk for Bureau County. Her office at 700 South Main Street in Princeton serves as the official custodian of every divorce record in the county. That includes the full paper trail from the initial petition through any post-decree actions taken after the original case closed. The clerk's office is not a place to get legal advice, but staff can help you search the records, tell you what documents are on file, and explain how to request copies.
Bureau County is part of the 13th Judicial Circuit, which covers LaSalle, Bureau, Marshall, Putnam, and Grundy counties in north-central Illinois. Dissolution of marriage cases filed in Bureau County go before a circuit judge assigned to family law in the 13th Circuit. All filings go through Dawn Reglin's office, which keeps the case records indefinitely once a case is filed. If you are not certain whether a case was filed in Bureau County or a neighboring county, the clerk's staff can often help you figure that out.
The clerk's office phone is 815/872-2001. The fax is 815/872-0027. Check the clerk's website for current office hours, any online search tools the office provides, and updated fee schedules. Details like fees and hours can change, so verifying before you visit or mail a request is a good idea.
How to Find Divorce Records in Bureau County
The clerk's office at 700 South Main Street in Princeton is your primary point of contact for Bureau County divorce records. Walk-in searches are typically the fastest option. Staff can look up cases by the names of the parties or by case number. If you know the approximate year the case was filed, that information helps staff locate the record more quickly, especially for older cases that may exist only in paper form rather than an electronic docket.
Mail requests are a workable option if Princeton is not accessible to you. Write a letter addressed to 700 South Main Street, Princeton, IL 61356-2037. Include both parties' full legal names, the approximate year of filing, and a contact number or address for follow-up. Enclose payment for copy fees. Before mailing, call 815/872-2001 to confirm what the current fees are and which payment methods the office accepts. Turnaround time by mail depends on office workload and how easy the case is to locate.
The Illinois Courts site lists all circuit court clerks across the state. That directory shows contact details and any online tools available for each circuit, including the 13th. The image below shows the circuit court clerk information available through that directory.
The Illinois Courts clerk directory lists the 13th Circuit along with all other circuits statewide, with contact details and available search tools for each clerk's office.
A quick call to 815/872-2001 can sometimes produce a case number from a name search. Having the case number simplifies any follow-up request for copies. For actual documents, though, a written or in-person request is typically required rather than a verbal one over the phone.
What Bureau County Divorce Files Contain
Every divorce file in Bureau County starts with the petition for dissolution of marriage. The file grows as the case progresses, accumulating motions, orders, and hearings until the judge issues the final judgment for dissolution of marriage. That final judgment, commonly called the divorce decree, is the document that legally ends the marriage. It is what most people need when they contact the clerk's office years after the divorce was completed.
Cases involving marital property will have a settlement agreement in the file, usually incorporated into the decree or filed as an attached exhibit. That agreement spells out how assets and debts were divided between the parties. If the couple had minor children, the file will also contain a parenting plan, child support orders, and any custody determinations the court made. Modifications to those original orders, filed as post-decree motions after the case closed, are kept in the same system and can be accessed through the clerk's office under the same or a related case number.
Some documents in a divorce file may not be available to the public. Courts can and do seal parts of a file, and records related to minor children are often subject to access restrictions. Financial affidavits and other sensitive filings may also be limited. If something seems to be missing from a case you are searching, ask the clerk's office directly whether any documents in that file have been sealed or restricted by court order.
Note: Certified copies of the divorce decree are needed for most legal and financial transactions; plain copies are less expensive but may not meet the requirements of banks, courts, or government agencies.
Illinois Statutes That Apply in Bureau County
All Bureau County divorce cases are governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5. This statute is the foundation of Illinois divorce law. It defines the grounds for dissolution, sets residency requirements, outlines how courts divide marital property, and establishes the standards for child custody, parenting time, and support. Illinois is a no-fault state, so the only recognized ground for divorce is irreconcilable differences.
At least one spouse must have lived in Illinois for 90 days before filing a case. That requirement under 750 ILCS 5 applies uniformly across the state, including in Bureau County. The statute does not set a mandatory waiting period, but the practical timeline from filing to decree varies by case. Agreed or uncontested divorces, where both parties have worked out the terms before filing, tend to move through the system faster than cases with disputed property, custody, or support issues.
Illinois divides marital property under an equitable distribution standard. A judge considers factors such as the length of the marriage, each spouse's financial situation and contribution to the marriage, and the value of the assets involved. Equitable means fair under the circumstances, which does not always mean a fifty-fifty split. Debt allocation follows similar principles.
The state vital records system, separate from the court file, is governed by the Vital Records Act, 410 ILCS 535. This law authorizes the Illinois Department of Public Health to maintain a statewide index of divorces granted from 1962 forward.
State Verification Through IDPH
The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps a record of divorces granted in Illinois since 1962. If you need to confirm that a divorce took place in Bureau County without pulling the full court file, IDPH offers a verification letter for $5. This letter is not a certified copy of the court record. It simply confirms that the state has a record of the dissolution in its index. For many situations, that confirmation is enough to satisfy the requesting party.
Send your request to 925 E. Ridgely Ave., Springfield, IL 62702, or call (217) 782-6553. Include both parties' full names, the approximate year the divorce was granted, and a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID. The IDPH valid ID page lists acceptable forms. The request form and full instructions are on the IDPH dissolution of marriage records page. Mail requests generally take four to six weeks to process.
For divorces that occurred before 1962, the IDPH index does not apply. Those records may be at the Illinois State Archives. Contact them at (217) 782-4682 or through the Illinois Archives website. The Illinois State Genealogical Society is another resource for older Bureau County records, particularly useful for genealogy research.
Note: IDPH verification confirms a divorce occurred but does not provide the settlement terms or parenting arrangements; get the full court file from the clerk's office when those details are needed.
Cities in Bureau County
No city in Bureau County meets the 50,000-person population threshold for a dedicated divorce records page. Princeton is the county seat and largest community, with roughly 7,500 residents, and it is where the Circuit Court Clerk's office is located. Other towns in the county include Kewanee (which sits partially in Henry County), Spring Valley, Tiskilwa, and Buda. All county residents file divorce cases at the clerk's office in Princeton.
Nearby Counties
Bureau County borders several Illinois counties in the north-central part of the state. Each maintains its own circuit court and clerk handling divorce filings within its borders.