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How much does it cost to file for divorce in Illinois?

Illinois has no statewide divorce filing fee — each of its 102 county circuit clerks publishes its own schedule. The state's biggest county is also its most expensive: $388 to file a dissolution petition in Cook County, plus a $251 appearance fee when the responding spouse enters the case.

Illinois divorce fees at a glance (Cook County)

The $388 and $251 figures are from the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County's Domestic Relations Division fee schedule; the clerk's own guidance confirms $388 as the regular fee for filing a new case in the division. The sheriff's service figures are the Cook County Sheriff's published rates. Cook County's combined $639 is the highest entry price in the state — across the counties whose schedules have been published and compared, base divorce filing fees run roughly from $306 up to Cook's $388, with local assessments stacked on top of the statutory base fee that 705 ILCS 105/27.1b caps by county population.

Why Illinois fees work this way

Illinois sets a statutory ceiling for the clerk's base fee, scaled to county population, and then state and local assessments — for court automation, document storage, children's waiting rooms, and similar funds — are added on top. That is why a published county total can look higher than the statute's cap: the cap governs one component, not the stack. It is also why no honest single "Illinois divorce fee" exists. Anyone quoting one number for the whole state has picked a county, usually Cook, without saying so. The Illinois court costs guide tracks the same county-by-county pattern across other case types.

How filing works in Cook County

1. Prepare the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and summons — Illinois is a no-fault state, so the petition pleads irreconcilable differences.
2. E-file through eFileIL (mandatory for most filers) and pay the filing fee $388
3. Serve your spouse through the sheriff or a private process server, unless they file an appearance voluntarily appearance $251
4. Exchange financial affidavits — both spouses must disclose income, assets, and debts.
5. Parents must complete the court-approved parenting education class before judgment; the provider sets that price, so it is not listed here.
6. Submit the judgment and marital settlement agreement for the judge's signature, then order certified copies — see copy and certification fees.

Can't afford the fee?

Illinois courts accept a standardized Application for Waiver of Court Fees under 735 ILCS 5/5-105; a granted waiver covers the filing or appearance fee for the spouse who qualifies. The mechanics are covered in the fee waiver guide. Note that each spouse's fee is separate — one spouse's waiver does not erase the other's appearance fee.

The national picture

Cook County's $388 petition fee sits just below California's $435 at the top of the national range ($97–$435), and its $639 combined total is the most expensive two-sided entry in the country that this site has verified — most states charge only the petitioner, or charge the respondent far less. See the full state-by-state comparison in the divorce filing cost guide.

Sources: Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County — Domestic Relations Division fee schedule and division guidance (filing $388; appearance $251; order of protection no fee) · Cook County Sheriff service rates ($60 e-filed / $95 paper) · 705 ILCS 105/27.1b; 735 ILCS 5/5-105. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the circuit clerk.