Boone County Public Records /Boone County Court Records

Boone County Court Records

How To Find Court Records in Boone County in 2026

Members of the public seeking court records in Boone County may access publicly available case information through several official channels. BooneILRecords.us provides a directory of resources and publicly available information related to court records maintained by government agencies serving Boone County, Illinois. Depending on the case type and applicable access rules, records available through official sources may include:

Civil case filings and judgments
Criminal case dockets and dispositions
Traffic and ordinance violation records
Family law matters, including divorce and custody proceedings
Probate filings and estate records
Small claims case information
Juvenile records, subject to statutory restrictions

Court records in Boone County may be searched through the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office, courthouse public access terminals, official court websites, written or mail requests, and statewide judicial search tools administered by the Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts.

1. Clerk of Court or Court Records Office The Clerk of the Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit maintains official case files for Boone County. Members of the public may appear in person during business hours to request case information. Providing a full party name, case number, or approximate filing date assists staff in locating records efficiently.

2. Courthouse Public Access Terminals The Boone County Courthouse provides public workstations where members of the public may search case information on-site at no charge. These terminals allow index-level searches and, in some instances, access to document images filed in the electronic case management system.

3. Online Court Search Case information for matters filed in the 17th Judicial Circuit may be available through the circuit's online case search portal. The 17th Judicial Circuit Court serves both Boone County and Winnebago County. Members of the public may also access online case information through the Winnebago County Circuit Clerk's portal for cases originating in that jurisdiction.

4. State-Level Judicial Search Tools The Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts maintains statewide resources and court directories. Effective May 1, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court approved free remote public access to reviewing court documents, expanding the scope of records available without charge at the appellate level.

5. Written or Mail Requests Members of the public who are unable to appear in person may submit written requests to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Requests should identify the case by party name, case number, or filing year. Fees for copies and certified documents apply and are established under the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Boone County Clerk of the Circuit Court
601 N. Main Street
Belvidere, IL 61008
Phone: (815) 544-0371
Boone County Courthouse

Are Court Records Public in Boone County

Court records maintained by the 17th Judicial Circuit are presumptively open to public inspection under Illinois law. Under 735 ILCS 5/8-2001, all court records are public unless a specific statutory provision, court rule, or judicial order restricts access. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., further governs access to records held by public bodies, including certain administrative records of the courts.

Records that are public under current law include:

Docket entries and case indexes
Party names and attorney information
Hearing dates, continuances, and scheduling orders
Motions, complaints, petitions, and answers
Final judgments, orders, and decrees
Sentencing entries and probation orders
Civil and criminal case dispositions

Records that may be confidential, sealed, or restricted include:

Juvenile delinquency and abuse/neglect proceedings, protected under 705 ILCS 405/1-7
Adoption records and related proceedings
Mental health and developmental disability adjudications
Sealed or expunged criminal records
Protected personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and dates of birth in certain filings
Records subject to specific protective orders

A distinction exists between courthouse inspection and remote online access. Members of the public may inspect a broader range of documents at the courthouse terminal than may be available through remote electronic access, consistent with the Illinois Supreme Court's Electronic Access Policy for Circuit Court Records.

What Are Court Records in Boone County?

Court records are the official documents, filings, and entries created and maintained by a court or its clerk in connection with judicial proceedings. In Boone County, the Clerk of the Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit is the official custodian of trial court records. The Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts maintains records at the appellate and supreme court levels.

A docket entry is a chronological log of all actions taken in a case, while a full case file includes the underlying documents — pleadings, motions, exhibits, orders, and judgments — associated with those entries. Civil court records arise from disputes between private parties or between a party and a government entity, while criminal court records document proceedings initiated by the State of Illinois against an individual charged with a criminal offense.

Filed pleadings represent documents submitted to the court by parties, whereas final judgments are the court's official resolution of the matter. Public filings are accessible to any member of the public, while sealed or restricted filings require a court order or statutory authority to access. Trial court records originate at the circuit court level; appellate records are created when a party seeks review of a trial court decision before the Illinois Appellate Court or Illinois Supreme Court.

Court records are created at the moment of initial filing and are updated continuously as the case progresses through hearings, motions, orders, and final disposition. Upon conclusion of a case, the record is closed but remains subject to retention schedules and applicable access rules.

What's Included in a Boone County Court Record?

A court record in Boone County may contain a range of documents and data entries depending on the case type and the applicable public-access rules. The following information may appear within a publicly accessible court record:

Case identification: Case number, court name, division, and filing date
Party information: Names of plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents, and their attorneys of record
Case classification: Case type (civil, criminal, traffic, family, probate, small claims) and current status
Docket entries: Chronological log of all filings, hearings, and court actions
Hearing information: Scheduled and past hearing dates, continuances, and courtroom assignments
Filed documents: Complaints, petitions, answers, motions, responses, notices, and supporting memoranda
Court orders and judgments: Interim orders, final judgments, decrees, sentencing entries, custody rulings, and probate orders
Outcome information: Dismissals, verdicts, pleas, convictions, acquittals, and appellate decisions
Financial and administrative data: Filing fees, assessed court costs, fines, restitution amounts, and bond information where publicly displayed

Records that are excluded or restricted from public access include sealed filings, expunged criminal matters, juvenile case files, adoption records, protected personal identifiers, and certain exhibits admitted under seal or subject to a protective order.

Types of Courts in Boone County

Boone County is served by the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, a general-jurisdiction circuit court of the State of Illinois. The 17th Judicial Circuit is comprised of Boone County and Winnebago County, with the Boone County division holding court at the Boone County Courthouse in Belvidere. The Clerk of the Circuit Court maintains the official record for all cases filed in Boone County.

Illinois does not maintain a separate probate court, family court, or juvenile court as independent tribunals; these matters are heard as divisions within the circuit court. The Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, hears appeals from Boone County circuit court decisions. The Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts provides the authoritative directory of all courts within the state judiciary.

What Types of Cases Do Boone County Courts Hear

The 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Boone County exercises jurisdiction over the following case categories:

Criminal: Felony and misdemeanor prosecutions brought by the State of Illinois
Civil: Contract disputes, personal injury, property matters, and other civil litigation
Family: Dissolution of marriage, legal separation, child custody, support, and orders of protection
Probate: Estate administration, guardianship, and conservatorship proceedings
Juvenile: Delinquency, abuse, neglect, and dependency matters (access restricted by statute)
Traffic: Moving violations, DUI proceedings, and related infractions
Small Claims: Civil disputes involving amounts at or below the statutory threshold under Illinois Supreme Court Rules
Landlord-Tenant: Eviction and related residential tenancy matters

The circuit court is a court of general jurisdiction, meaning it has authority to hear all categories of cases not exclusively assigned to another tribunal. Small claims and traffic matters represent limited-jurisdiction proceedings within the circuit court structure.

Boone County Courthouse – 17th Judicial Circuit
601 N. Main Street
Belvidere, IL 61008
Phone: (815) 544-0371
Boone County Courthouse

How to Search Boone County Court Records for Free?

Members of the public may inspect court records at no charge through in-person review at the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office or through courthouse public access terminals. The following table summarizes which methods are free and which involve fees:

Access Method	Cost
In-person inspection at clerk's office	Free
Courthouse public access terminal	Free
Online case index search (where available)	Free
Standard paper copies	Per-page fee (set by statute)
Certified copies of court documents	Fee per document
Clerk research or record retrieval services	Fee may apply
Remote electronic document images	Fee may apply depending on platform

Under Illinois law, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is authorized to charge fees for copies and certified documents pursuant to 705 ILCS 105/27.1, which establishes the schedule of allowable clerk fees. Members of the public who wish to inspect records without obtaining copies may do so at no charge during regular business hours.

The Boone County FOIA Requests portal provides an additional avenue for requesting access to government records held by county agencies, including administrative records not maintained by the circuit court clerk.

How Long Does Boone County Keep Court Records?

The retention of court records in Boone County is governed by the Illinois Supreme Court's judicial records retention schedules, which establish minimum retention periods by case type and record category. Retention periods vary as follows:

Felony criminal records: Retained permanently or for extended periods given the severity of the offense
Misdemeanor and traffic records: Retained for a defined period following case closure, after which paper files may be eligible for destruction following imaging or microfilming
Civil case files: Retention varies by case type; major civil judgments may be retained for extended periods
Probate records: Estate files are retained for significant periods given their legal and genealogical importance
Juvenile records: Subject to separate retention and confidentiality rules under 705 ILCS 405/1-7
Docket books and minute records: Retained permanently as the official record of court proceedings

Paper files may be destroyed after imaging, microfilming, or transfer to archival storage, provided the retention schedule permits destruction and the record has been preserved in an approved format. Destruction of a record is distinct from sealing or expungement: a sealed record continues to exist but is restricted from public access, while an expunged record is ordered removed from public availability under specific statutory criteria. Older records may exist in paper files, microfilm, county archives, or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository system.

How To Find a Court Docket in Boone County

A court docket is the official chronological index of all actions, filings, and proceedings in a specific case. It differs from the full case file in that it records what occurred and when, rather than containing the underlying documents themselves. The docket serves as the navigational index to a case file and is the starting point for most court record searches.

Dockets for cases filed in Boone County may be accessed through the following methods:

Courthouse public terminals: The Boone County Courthouse provides public workstations where members of the public may search docket entries by party name or case number.
Circuit clerk's office: Staff at the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office may provide docket information upon request during regular business hours.
Online case search: The 17th Judicial Circuit Court and the Winnebago County Circuit Clerk's access to court records portal provide online case information for matters within the circuit's jurisdiction.
Statewide judicial resources: The Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts provides links to court directories and case search tools across the state judiciary.

A docket entry typically contains the date of the action, a description of the filing or proceeding, and the name of the judicial officer involved. Dockets may reflect hearing dates, continuances, motion filings, minute entries, and status updates. Dockets do not include full document images, sealed entries, exhibits, or confidential attachments unless those items are separately accessible under applicable access rules.

Hearing calendars and daily court schedules may be available separately through the circuit clerk's office or posted at the courthouse. Members of the public seeking to confirm a scheduled hearing date should contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court directly or consult the courthouse public terminal.