Cook County Deed Search: How to Look Up a Deed by Address, Name or PIN
How to search Cook County deeds by address, name or PIN with the County Clerk, what copies cost, what the records cover, and what a deed search cannot tell you.
Quick answer
Search recorded Cook County deeds on the Cook County Clerk website by address, PIN, grantor or grantee. The Clerk lists documents from 1985 to the present online. Older deeds are in tract books at the downtown office. Copies cost $5 to $65, depending on type. A deed search shows documents, not whether title is good.
What is a Cook County deed search?
In Cook County, recorded land records are kept by the Cook County Clerk. The Clerk describes its Recordings Division as the office that records, stores and maintains land records and other official documents.
A deed is the document that moves ownership from one party (the grantor) to another (the grantee). The Clerk says recorded land records can be retrieved by PIN, grantor, grantee and other indexed detail. The PIN is the Property Index Number, the number the county assigns to each parcel for tax purposes.
This guide covers the Clerk search, what the Clerk charges for copies, and how to read what you find. It also covers what a deed search leaves out, which matters if you are about to buy.
Definition
Deed search — A deed search is a look through the public land records for recorded deeds that name a property or a person. It shows which documents were recorded, who signed them and when. It does not decide who legally owns the property.
How do you search for a deed in Cook County?
Open the Clerk search page
Go to the Search Recordings page on the Cook County Clerk site and open the property records search from there. The page says records can be retrieved by address, PIN, grantor, grantee and other indexed detail.
Start with the PIN if you have it
A PIN identifies one parcel, so it avoids the name spelling and street abbreviation problems that come with other keys. The PIN is printed on a Cook County property tax bill. You can also find it through the Cook County Assessor.
Use the address if you do not have a PIN
Search by address to find the parcel and its documents. The Clerk warns that the address shown on its search site is for information only and is not the Clerk's own data. If it is wrong, the fix is through the Cook County Assessor, not the Clerk.
Search by name for a person or company
Enter the grantor (seller) or grantee (buyer) name. Try spelling variants and with and without a middle initial. Names are indexed as typed at recording, so a misspelling in the index can hide a document.
Find the most recent deed
The Clerk's own guidance is to look for the most recent title document, such as a deed, quit claim deed or warranty deed. The names listed as grantee on it should be the current owners. Treat that as a lead to check, not proof.
Order a copy if you need the document
View the index entry first, then buy a copy only if you need the actual document. Copy types and fees are in the table below.
Which search key should you use?
Each key suits a different starting point. The table lists the keys the Clerk says its search supports.
| Search key | Best used when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| PIN | You have a tax bill or Assessor record | Parcels can be split or combined, so older documents may sit under a different PIN |
| Address | You only know where the property is | The address on the Clerk site is informational and may not match the recorded document |
| Grantee (buyer) name | You want to see what a person or company bought | Spelling variants, maiden names and trust names |
| Grantor (seller) name | You want to see what a person or company sold | Same name problems, and common names return many results |
What does a copy of a Cook County deed cost?
The question people ask most is how to get a copy of a deed in Cook County. You can buy copies from the Clerk. The Recording Fees page lists these copy fees, which it says apply to all records.
| Copy type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Certified copy, paper | $55 |
| Certified digital PDF file | $65 |
| Non-certified copy, paper | $27.50 |
| Non-certified copy, electronic download | $5 |
What can you get online and what needs a visit?
The Clerk says real estate documents from 1985 to the present can be searched by computer online or in person at its locations. Pre-1985 documents are available at the downtown office.
Buying copies online has limits. The Clerk says you can buy e-certified and non-certified documents online, but only for documents recorded after 1985. Online purchases must be downloaded and printed by you. The Clerk does not mail copies for online orders.
For older documents, the Clerk says they were recorded in tract books, which list areas by subdivision. Those records are only available at the downtown facility, at 118 N. Clark St., Room 120, Chicago. The Clerk states it does not perform historical research for the public and suggests hiring a title researcher if you cannot come in.
The Recordings page gives office hours of 9 am to 5 pm, with the last customer accepted at 4:45 pm. Check the Clerk site before you go, because hours can change.
What a deed search is not
What kinds of deeds does Cook County record?
Deed types matter when you read search results. A warranty deed carries promises from the seller about title. A quit claim deed passes whatever interest the signer has, with no promises. See our guide to the quitclaim deed.
The Cook County Assessor publishes parcel sales on the county open data portal. For sales dated 2025-08-13 to 2026-08-12, the dataset (as of our nightly pull on 2026-10-03) shows 62,543 sales with a median sale price of $370,000. The deed types recorded on those parcel sales are below.
| Deed type | Count | Share of 63,200 |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty | 44,359 | 70.2% |
| Other | 9,001 | 14.2% |
| Trustee | 8,467 | 13.4% |
| Quit claim | 865 | 1.4% |
| Executor | 508 | 0.8% |
How do you read what you find?
Look at the document type first. A warranty deed, trustee deed, executor deed and quit claim deed each say something different about how the owner got title.
Then read the parties. A trustee deed means the property was held in a trust, so the person who lives there may not be the named owner. An executor deed usually follows a death.
Check the dates in order. Ownership is a chain of deeds, each one starting where the last ended. A gap in the names, such as a seller who was never a buyer, is a reason to ask a professional to look further. Our guide to how to do a title search explains that chain.
Then look for other recorded documents on the same parcel. The Clerk records mortgages, releases and liens as well as deeds. A recorded mortgage does not stay open or closed by itself, and our article on whether a mortgage is actually open explains how to match a mortgage to its release.
Can a deed search tell you who owns a property?
It points to the owner, and the Clerk says as much: the grantee on the most recent title document should be the current owner. That is a good starting point and not a guarantee, because a later deed can be delayed in recording or indexed under the wrong name.
Other sources add to the picture. The Assessor and the Treasurer hold tax records, and the Clerk tells people to use them to fix address and taxpayer-of-record details. For other ways to confirm an owner, see how to find out who owns a property.
A free alert for your own property
What if the index is wrong?
The Clerk says that if your name is spelled correctly on your document but wrong in the index, it may be an indexing error. It points people to a Database Correction Form for that.
Fixing the recorded document itself is harder. The Clerk says re-recording of instruments has not been accepted since February 2017. It lists other routes, including a new or duplicate deed, a scrivener's affidavit for simple typos, a court order, or a corrective recording affidavit signed by all the parties. These involve legal choices, so the Clerk advises talking to a lawyer. It also runs a Recordings Legal Help Desk for county residents with questions about their home, chain of title or other land records.
Where a title search report fits
Searching the Clerk site yourself works well for one deed. A full chain takes longer and means reading many documents. HeritageDeed runs title searches from official records, priced at $49 for a Current Owner search, $79 for a Two Owner search and $129 for a 30-Year search. See our Cook County title search page and the Illinois title search page for coverage.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- The Cook County Clerk lets you search recorded deeds by address, PIN, grantor and grantee.
- Documents from 1985 to the present are searchable by computer; older records are in tract books at the downtown office.
- Copies run $5 for a non-certified download up to $65 for a certified digital PDF, per the Clerk fee page.
- In 2025-08-13 to 2026-08-12, Cook County parcel sales data shows 62,543 sales at a $370,000 median.
- A deed search shows documents, not whether title is good, and it is not title insurance or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I get a copy of my deed in Cook County?
- Buy it from the Cook County Clerk. Online copies are available for documents recorded after 1985, and you download and print them yourself. Older documents need a visit to the downtown office. The fee page lists $5 to $65 depending on copy type.
- How do I get a property deed in Cook County?
- Find the deed by PIN, address or name on the Clerk Search Recordings page, then order a copy. Online orders are limited to documents recorded after 1985. For older deeds, go to the Clerk office at 118 N. Clark St., Room 120.
- Can I do a Cook County deed search by address?
- Yes. The Clerk says recorded land records can be found by address, PIN, grantor and grantee. The address shown on the Clerk site is informational only, so confirm it against the Assessor record or the PIN.
- Can I search Cook County deeds by owner name?
- Yes. Search the grantee name to see what a person or company bought, or the grantor name to see what they sold. Names are indexed as recorded, so try spelling variants.
- How far back do Cook County online deed records go?
- The Clerk says documents from 1985 to the present can be searched by computer. Earlier documents are in tract books listed by subdivision, available only at the downtown office. The Clerk does not do historical research for the public.
- Does a deed search prove who owns a property?
- No. It shows recorded documents. The grantee on the most recent deed should be the current owner, but a deed search does not prove the title is good. It is not title insurance or legal advice.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.