Madison County
Madison County is located in southwestern Illinois and was named after President James Madison. It was created from parts of St. Clair and Randolph Counties. The county was established in September 1812 and has a population of 265,859 according to the 2020 Decennial Census.
Adjudication courts and circuit courts make up the judicial system in Madison County. There are three administrative courts and five circuit courts in the county. The adjudication courts handle violations of local ordinances, including building code violations, littering, local traffic tickets, curfew violations, and alcohol and tobacco violations. The decisions of the adjudication courts may be appealed to the county's circuit court.
Circuit courts in Madison County have general jurisdiction over all criminal cases and civil matters, other than those exclusively in the jurisdiction of the court of claims or the supreme court. The Madison County circuit courts share jurisdiction with the Illinois supreme court of matters related to revenue, habeas corpus, and mandamus prohibition. The circuit court has dedicated departments to handle probate, criminal, civil, domestic relations, and juvenile cases.
Requests for Madison County court records are fulfilled by the office of the circuit clerk. The public records made available to requesters include documents related to court proceedings held in the county. Most court records are public records except where restricted pursuant to a state law or impounded by a court order.
You can obtain hard copies of court records in the county in any of the following ways:
- Visiting the courthouse: This is the fastest means to get public court documents in the county. You can search the document storage for court records at the lower level of the county courthouse on 155 N. Main Street, Suite 11
- Complete a request form on the clerk of circuit website
- Download and complete the
Madison County court record request form.
Email the completed form to
courtcopy@madisoncountyil.gov or mail the completed form to:
Madison County Circuit Clerk
Attn: Document Storage / Record Search
155 N. Main Street
Edwardsville, IL 62025
- Send an email with the information of the records requested to courtcopy@madisoncountyil.gov
- Fax your request to (618) 692-0676 or (618) 655-2017
Note that copies of requested court records cost $2 for the first page, $0.50 for each page for pages 2-20, $0.25 per page for pages 21 and above, and $6 for certification. If you do not know the case number for a court record to be searched, the court will charge $6 per case for each year searched, if the case cannot be found in the system.
Also, court case information for Madison County courts can be viewed online via the court records search page of the clerk of circuit court.
