How to search deeds in Cook County, IL
Deeds in Cook County are recorded with the Cook County Clerk, Recordings, searchable by grantor and grantee name. Cook County no longer has a Recorder of Deeds. A HeritageDeed report does this for one address in Cook County: $49, usually within minutes, with the source of every finding.
Search a Cook County property, $49
Step by step in Cook County
- 1
Start from the parcel
The Cook County Assessor's Office parcel record often names the current deed's book and page or document number.
- 2
Search the index
Search the Cook County Clerk, Recordings grantor-grantee index by name, or by the document number, to find the deed and the earlier ones in the chain.
- 3
Read each deed
Check the parties, the legal description and the recording date, and whether a later deed conveyed the property again.
- 4
Or order the report
A HeritageDeed report runs these searches for one Cook County address and lists every finding with its source, $49, usually within minutes.
What Cook County records show
Cook County no longer has a Recorder of Deeds. Voters approved merging the office into the County Clerk in a binding referendum on November 8, 2016, and the Recorder of Deeds ceased to exist on December 7, 2020. Deeds and mortgages are now recorded and searched through the Cook County Clerk's Recordings division.
Parcels are identified by a 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN) issued by the Assessor.
A real Cook County report
We ran this search on the Willis Tower (233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606): 5 deeds, 2 open mortgages, 9 recorded liens. See the Cook County sample report.
What the report checks in Cook County
- Deeds, mortgages, releases and liens recorded with the Cook County Clerk
Questions
How far back do Cook County land records go?
Cook County no longer has a Recorder of Deeds. Voters approved merging the office into the County Clerk in a binding referendum on November 8, 2016, and the Recorder of Deeds ceased to exist on December 7, 2020. Deeds and mortgages are now recorded and searched through the Cook County Clerk's Recordings division.
Is this title insurance?
No. It is a search of the public record for one Cook County property. A lender closing a loan will still require a title insurance commitment from a licensed insurer.
More about Cook County property records
Check the title of a Cook County property
AI title search, $49 per report. Usually ready in about a minute. Full refund if we can't deliver.