Naturalization Records 

​

Contents of the record may include the following:  declaration of intent, petition for naturalization, and certificate of arrival.  Presence of the documents is determined by when an individual began the citizenship process.  Additionally, the amount of information available will differ by time period, and the form required by the court at the time.

Several databases exist for the location of naturalization records.  The first was compiled by the Cook County Circuit Court Archives. This database consists solely of "Declaration or Intent" records.  This document was the first step in the citizenship (Click here to read more about this database).  Search for your ancestor in this database.  

​

The second database available is title "Illinois, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950".  This title can be misleading, as it represents multiple counties throughout the state.  Naturalization records for 1871 through 1929, for Cook County, can be found in this collection.  Search for your ancestor in this database.  

​

To request a naturalization search please provide the following:  a copy of the card from the database, or the name of individual, date of naturalization, court it occurred in, and petition number.  

​

A pre-paid retrieval fee of $20.00 is required.  Please provide the index information from database(s) above.

​