Illinois divorce filing fees by county.

Illinois does not set one statewide divorce filing fee. The legislature sets a ceiling and each county board sets the price, so the county where you file changes the number. Across the 17 counties below the base fee to file runs from $306 to $388. Only Kane County lists a different fee with children ($459) than without ($369) in the schedules we read.

Filing fee by county

Each figure was read from the linked county circuit clerk document on 17 October 2026. Counties are listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking by population.

How to read this table

• Fee to file is what the clerk’s schedule lists to open a dissolution case, the first payment. It is not the cost of a divorce. Serving the papers, any required parenting class, and lawyers are separate. The Illinois divorce costs page covers those and the fee waiver.
• With or without children. Most schedules list dissolution with children (DC) and without children (DN) at the same amount. Kane is the one county here that lists them differently.
• Check the date. Where the printed date is before July 1, 2026 (Bureau, Cook, Peoria, St. Clair), the schedule may predate later changes. McHenry’s October 1, 2026 schedule says its revision reflects a “PA 104-468 $5 Guardianship & Advocacy Fee,” so a county that has not updated its posted schedule may now charge $5 more. Where a page prints no date (Clinton, Randolph, Woodford) we say so. Confirm the current amount with the clerk before you pay.
• Appearance fee. Some schedules, Cook’s among them, list a separate appearance fee column. This table shows only the fee to file.
• Fee waiver. If you cannot afford the fee you can ask the court to waive it. See the Illinois divorce costs page.

Counties not yet checked

We have not yet confirmed the divorce filing fee for the other 85 Illinois counties, so we show no figure for them and do not estimate one. Check the county circuit clerk’s own site: Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lawrence, Lee, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, Macon, Macoupin, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Richland, Rock Island, Saline, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Williamson.

Not legal advice. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Court fees change and clerks update their schedules; confirm the amount with the circuit clerk in the county where you will file, and talk to a licensed Illinois attorney about your own situation. Corrections: thecusp.app/corrections.