St. Clair County IL Court Records Search

Independent website notice: Public-Court-Records.us is an independent educational resource. It is not the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk, the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, Illinois Courts, Clericus Magnus, JANO Justice Systems, PACER, a law firm, or a government agency. This guide explains lawful public court-record access. It does not provide background reports, legal advice, or access to sealed, expunged, juvenile, or otherwise restricted information.

St. Clair County IL Court Records: Free Case Search, Official Files, Clericus Magnus & Court Copies

St. Clair County uses a court-record setup that is easy to misunderstand. The St. Clair County Circuit Clerk maintains the official trial-court record, while the county website provides separate public tools for criminal records, civil records, court dockets, payments, reminders, and document requests.

There is another important local wrinkle: St. Clair County moved its case-management operation from ICJ to Clericus Magnus during 2025. Clericus Magnus is also used for docket-subscription access, but ordinary users do not need a paid subscription simply to begin a normal public court-record search.

Verified: August 30, 2026 20th Judicial Circuit Circuit Clerk: Kinnis Williams Sr. Public case lookup: currently free

County trial-court custodian St. Clair County Clerk of the Circuit Court

Illinois appeal Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District

Federal court U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

First correction: today’s 20th Judicial Circuit is St. Clair County only

Older websites can describe the 20th Judicial Circuit as including St. Clair, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, and Washington Counties. That information is outdated.

Illinois created the 24th Judicial Circuit effective December 5, 2022, moving Monroe, Perry, Randolph, and Washington Counties into the new circuit. The current 20th Judicial Circuit consists of St. Clair County.

Why this matters: if you are researching a current St. Clair County case, use the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk and 20th Circuit resources. Do not follow an older multi-county 20th Circuit directory simply because it still appears in search results.

Choose the correct St. Clair County record route

What you need	Correct system	Local detail
Criminal case by defendant name	St. Clair County Criminal Records Search	Current search fields include Last Name, First Name, and Date of Birth.
Known criminal case number	Criminal Records Search	Current interface separates Year, Case Type, and Sequence.
Traffic ticket	Criminal Records → Ticket Number	Current search includes Ticket Number plus Agency selection.
Civil / family / probate case	Circuit Clerk Civil Records Search	Use the county’s separate civil-record tool rather than assuming criminal search covers every case.
Current court date	Circuit Clerk Court Dockets / live case record	Court dates can be continued or reset, so recheck before an appearance.
Ongoing case docket subscription	Clericus Magnus	This is a subscription feature, not a requirement for an ordinary one-time public lookup.
Plain or certified copy	Circuit Clerk Copy Requests / Records Department	The current request form asks for case identifiers, exact document names/file dates, and whether certification is needed.
Illinois appeal	Fifth District / reviewing-court resources	Eligible appellate documents may be available through re:SearchIL.
Federal case	PACER / Southern District of Illinois	Federal cases are not St. Clair County Circuit Court cases.
Birth, death, or marriage record	St. Clair County Clerk	Vital records are separate from the Circuit Clerk’s court files.
Deed or recorded real-estate document	St. Clair County Recorder of Deeds	Recorded land documents are not the same as circuit-court case records.

St. Clair Court Record Route Finder

Select your goal

This helper does not search names or collect personal information. It only identifies the appropriate official route.

Use the Circuit Clerk’s Criminal Records Search.

The current county form allows defendant-name search using Last Name, First Name, and Date of Birth. Begin with the minimum identifying information necessary and verify every possible match before relying on it.

Open Official Criminal Records Search

Search by Year + Case Type + Sequence.

The current criminal interface separates these components. Use the actual case number from a notice, docket, or prior court record rather than guessing a case-type code.

Use Search By Ticket Number.

The current criminal-search page provides Ticket Number and Agency fields. Do not submit ticket identifiers to Public-Court-Records.us.

Use the Circuit Clerk’s separate Civil Records route.

Civil, family, divorce, probate, eviction, foreclosure, guardianship, and similar matters should not be forced through the criminal-record interface.

Open Official Court Tools

Check the current court docket or live case information.

The Circuit Clerk warns that cases may be continued or reset. Recheck the official system close to the hearing date instead of relying on an old screenshot or article.

Use Circuit Clerk Copy Requests.

Identify the Year, Type, Number, case style/participant names, exact document name/file date, and whether certification is needed.

Open Official Copy Request

Use Illinois Fifth District reviewing-court resources.

The appeal has a separate appellate record. Eligible newer appellate documents can also be available through re:SearchIL.

Use PACER / Southern District of Illinois.

Federal court records are separate from the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk’s system.

Open Official PACER

Three different St. Clair services are easy to confuse

St. Clair County currently offers a free public case-search service, Clericus Magnus docket subscriptions, and official Circuit Clerk records/copies. They are not the same product.

Service	Purpose	Cost / status
Public Court Records Search	General online case-status and history lookup.	Current Terms of Use say the online service is offered without charge.
Clericus Magnus Case Docket Subscription	Subscription access to case docket information.	Separate registration/subscription service. Not required for a basic public lookup.
Official Circuit Clerk file	The authoritative court record maintained by the Clerk.	Copy, certification, or clerk-performed search fees can apply.

The county’s online database is not the official court record. St. Clair County’s Terms of Use expressly describe the internet data as a general case-history/disposition summary. Important information should be independently verified against the official court file maintained by the Circuit Clerk.

Exact current St. Clair County criminal-search fields

The county’s current criminal-record page provides three distinct ways to search.

Search by Defendant Name

Last Name
First Name
Date of Birth

Search by Case Number

Year
Case Type
Sequence

Search by Ticket Number

Ticket Number
Agency

Current criminal case-type options shown by the search form

The current criminal portal includes the following case-type values in its case-number search:

CFCriminal Felony

CMCriminal Misdemeanor

DTDUI

TRMinor Traffic

MTMajor Traffic

OVOrdinance Violation

CVConservation Violation

QCQuasi-Criminal

The current dropdown also displays CC, CL, and DV. Use the case type exactly as it appears on the official record instead of inferring it from a person’s name or alleged offense.

How to search St. Clair County criminal court records by name

Open the official Criminal Records Search.
Locate “Search By Defendant Name.”
Enter the Last Name.
Add First Name if it helps narrow a common name.
Use Date of Birth only when appropriate and lawfully known. Enter sensitive information only on the official county system.
Submit the search once.
Review all plausible results. Current result columns include Last Name, First Name, and Date of Birth.
Open the correct case.
Compare case number, filing information, charges, court dates, and other lawful details.
Check the latest disposition. Do not publish the original charge as though it were automatically the final outcome.

St. Clair County has a 20-second search limit. The current criminal-search page requires users to wait approximately 20 seconds between searches as an anti-automation measure designed to prevent automated systems from overloading county servers. Do not attempt to bypass that limitation.

This is important for responsible research: the county itself deliberately limits repetitive automated requests. A useful guide should teach people how to search accurately—not create a scraper or mimic a bulk people-search database.

Searching by St. Clair County case number

The current county interface splits the case number into Year + Case Type + Sequence.

The Circuit Clerk’s reminder system shows an official example in the format 20TR000123.

20Year component

TRCase type

000123Sequence

20TR000123Complete example

Do not invent formatting rules. If a court notice displays a particular case number, enter its components according to the current county form. Do not assume that hyphens, leading zeros, or abbreviations can be dropped unless the official interface says so.

The 2025 ICJ → Clericus Magnus transition can explain unusual 2025 case numbers

St. Clair County published an official case-number transition sheet dated April 28, 2025. It identifies the last number assigned in the prior ICJ system and the first number assigned in Clericus Magnus for multiple case categories.

Case type	Last number in ICJ	First number in Clericus Magnus
CF	25CF755	25CF756
CM	25CM817	25CM818
DT	25DT222	25DT223
TR	25TR3456	25TR3457
CC	N/A	25CC001

Do not misread this transition sheet as an online coverage cutoff. April 28, 2025 marks a case-management numbering transition. It does not mean older St. Clair County cases disappeared, nor does it prove that every historical document is available online.

St. Clair County case categories are broader than the criminal dropdown

The Circuit Clerk fee book lists many Illinois case designations. Knowing the code helps distinguish civil, family, probate, criminal, and traffic matters.

Code	St. Clair case category	Common research use
CF	Criminal Felony	Felony criminal court file.
CM	Criminal Misdemeanor	Misdemeanor criminal matter.
DT	DUI	Driving-under-the-influence case.
TR	Minor Traffic	Traffic case or ticket-related matter.
MT	Major Traffic	More serious traffic-category case.
OV	Ordinance Violation	Local ordinance case.
LA	Law	Higher-value civil law action.
LM	Law Magistrate	Lower-value civil law/magistrate matters.
SC	Small Claims	Small-claim litigation.
EV	Eviction	Eviction proceedings.
FC	Foreclosure	Foreclosure litigation.
DC	Dissolution With Children	Divorce/dissolution involving minor children.
DN	Dissolution No Children	Divorce/dissolution without minor children.
FA	Family	Other designated family matters.
PR	Probate	Estate/probate matter.
GR	Guardianship	Guardianship proceeding; privacy restrictions can apply.
OP	Order of Protection	Protective-order proceeding; sensitive information may be restricted.
MH	Mental Health	Highly sensitive proceedings with access restrictions.
JA / JD / JV	Juvenile categories	Juvenile matters; do not assume ordinary public access.

How to search civil, divorce, probate, eviction, and family records

St. Clair County’s Court Tools page separates criminal and civil case searching. Do not force a family, probate, eviction, or civil lawsuit into the criminal defendant-name interface merely because both are Circuit Court matters.

Open the Circuit Clerk’s Court Tools page.
Select the civil-record search route.
Use the search fields displayed by the current county system.
If you know the case number, prefer it over a broad common-name search.
Identify the category—such as DC, DN, FA, PR, GR, EV, FC, LA, LM, or SC.
Open the correct result.
Review docket activity and current case status.
Identify whether the specific document you need is available online.
If you need the actual decree, judgment, order, or certified file, use the Copy Request process.

Official St. Clair Court Tools

Divorce search: case index, docket, decree, and certified decree are different

Case search

Helps determine that a dissolution case exists and locate its court-file number.

Docket / case history

Shows procedural activity. It does not necessarily provide every underlying filing as a downloadable image.

Dissolution judgment

The actual court order ending the marriage where entered.

Certified dissolution judgment

A certified copy issued through the Circuit Clerk when an agency or legal process requires official proof.

Protect family privacy. Do not republish children’s names, school information, home addresses, medical information, financial-account information, or confidential family-court material merely because fragments appear in a public source.

Probate and guardianship records

The Circuit Clerk fee book identifies PR as Probate and GR as Guardianship. These case types should be researched differently from a criminal defendant search.

Probate — PR

Confirm the decedent, estate, case number, filing year, personal representative, and docket. A person listed in an estate case is not automatically an heir or beneficiary.

Guardianship — GR

Guardianship can involve minors or persons with disabilities. Public indexing and document access can be more restricted than ordinary civil litigation.

The online case summary is not the official file

St. Clair County’s Terms and Conditions make an unusually clear distinction: online information is provided to help users understand the general status and history of a case, but it is not the official court record.

The official record is maintained by the Circuit Clerk in court files and other official repositories.

Record layer	What it tells you	Do not assume
Online search result	General status / indexed case information.	That every recent entry has already appeared.
Online case history	Summary of recorded docket activity.	That it reproduces every pleading, order, half sheet, or file-jacket detail.
Official Circuit Clerk file	Authoritative maintained court record subject to applicable access rules.	That every portion is public or remotely accessible.
Certified copy	Clerk-certified reproduction of the requested court document.	That an online screenshot substitutes for certification.

Docket decoder: read the latest entry, not just the filing

Entry	General meaning	Responsible interpretation
Complaint	Initiating pleading in many civil cases.	It contains allegations, not proof that those allegations are true.
Petition	Request asking the court for relief.	The requested relief may later be denied, modified, dismissed, or granted.
Charge	Criminal accusation.	A charge is not a conviction.
Motion	Request made during a case.	Look for the later order resolving it.
Order	Direction or ruling entered by the court.	Check for later amendment, vacation, reconsideration, or appeal.
Judgment	Court judgment entered in the case.	A money judgment does not prove the amount remains unpaid today.
Dismissal	Dismissal of a claim, count, or case as reflected by the record.	Read the scope and later activity before saying the entire matter ended.
Sentence	Sentence imposed after a qualifying criminal disposition.	Do not confuse sentence with the original charge.

Arrest ≠ charge ≠ conviction. Arrest, booking, filing, criminal charge, plea, conviction, acquittal, dismissal, and sentence are different events. A court-record guide must preserve those distinctions.

How to find a current St. Clair County court date

The Circuit Clerk provides court-date information through its case tools and docket resources. The Clerk explicitly warns users that cases can be continued or reset.

Locate the correct case using the county’s case-search tool.
Confirm the complete case number.
Review the current court-date information.
Check whether the date, time, courtroom, or judge has changed.
If the hearing is imminent, recheck the official docket rather than relying on an old saved result.
Follow any current in-person or remote-appearance instruction issued for that case.

Court-date reminders are a courtesy, not legal notice

St. Clair County also offers a reminder service that can send text or email notifications using the case’s Year, Type, and Sequence information.

A reminder does not control the court date. The Circuit Clerk states that the reminder system is a courtesy service. Stopping notifications does not cancel a hearing, and litigants remain responsible for knowing when they must appear.

Search and eFiling are separate systems

A common mistake is treating Illinois eFileIL as a public record-search database. It is not.

System	Use
St. Clair Court Records Search	Look up public case information.
Clericus Magnus	County case-management / docket-subscription functions.
Odyssey eFileIL	Electronically submit court filings where permitted or required.

The current Circuit Clerk eFiling page directs filers to Odyssey eFileIL. It also states a St. Clair-specific filing rule: exhibits submitted through Odyssey must be attached to a pleading rather than eFiled independently as separate exhibits.

Requesting an actual St. Clair County court document

The county provides a dedicated online Copy Request form. It is more useful than sending an open-ended email because it asks for the exact identifiers the Records Department needs.

Information requested by the current form

Requester name
Email
Address
Phone
Case Year
Case Type
Case Number / sequence
Style of Case or participant names
Whether certification is required
Specific document name(s)
Document filing date(s), when known

How to request a certified St. Clair County court copy

Locate the case first.
Write down the Year, Type, and Number.
Identify the exact document. Examples include a judgment, sentencing order, dissolution judgment, probate order, or other specific filing.
Record the document’s filing date when available.
Open the official Copy Requests page.
Enter the case style or participant names.
Select Yes for “Need Certified?” only when certification is actually required.
Describe the requested document precisely.
Submit the request and wait for the Clerk to determine the applicable cost.
Use an accepted payment method.
Keep the case number and copy-request confirmation until the request is completed.

Official St. Clair Copy Request

Current court-record search and copy fees

St. Clair County’s published Circuit Clerk Fee Book is marked Revised August 21, 2023. The following items are especially relevant to record researchers.

Service	Current published fee	Important distinction
Public online case search	No charge	The county Terms of Use currently describe the public internet service as offered without charge.
Clerk-performed record search	$6 per year searched, for each individual	This is not the same as performing your own free online search.
First copy page	$2.00	Ordinary copy charge.
Additional pages 2–20	$0.50 each	Current fee-book schedule.
Pages after page 20	$0.25 each	Current fee-book schedule.
Certification / authentication with seal	$6 each	Certification is separate from the ordinary per-page copying charge.
Certified Letters of Office	$2 each	Specific probate-related item listed separately in the fee book.

Fees should be rechecked before ordering. The county’s copy request system tells the requester the cost before completion, and fee schedules can change. Do not calculate a large certified-copy order solely from an old article.

Current payment rules for copy requests

The Circuit Clerk’s current Copy Request page lists:

Business check
Money order
Cash

It specifically says personal checks are not accepted for that copy-request process and that copies can now be sent by email where the requested service allows electronic delivery.

Records Department contact

St. Clair County Circuit Clerk — Records Department

Phone: 618-825-2303

Email: circuitclerkcopyrequest@co.st-clair.il.us

Use the Records Department for copy-related questions after you have identified the specific court case and document needed.

Public access inside the courthouse

The Circuit Clerk’s Fee Book says computerized information terminals are available to the public in the third-floor Circuit Clerk’s Office.

The same published fee material states that court records are generally open to the public during normal business hours except where records are impounded or restricted by statute or court order.

St. Clair County Courthouse / County Building

Address:
10 Public Square
Belleville, IL 62220

Circuit Clerk general phone: 618-277-6600

Circuit Clerk email: CircuitClerk@co.st-clair.il.us

Circuit Clerk posted office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Criminal Cashier’s Booth: Monday–Friday, 8:15 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Illinois Courts separately lists courthouse hours as 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. If arriving near opening time, verify the particular office you need rather than assuming the entire building opens on the same schedule.

Useful courthouse resources beyond the records counter

Public eFiling kiosks

Illinois Courts currently lists three public eFiling kiosks in the Circuit Clerk’s office.

Legal Self-Help Center

The courthouse Law Library includes a Legal Self-Help Center. Illinois Courts currently lists six internet stations with printer/copy capability.

Accessibility assistance

The Illinois Courts directory lists a Court Disability Coordinator and courthouse accommodation resources for users who need access assistance.

Older St. Clair County court records: do not invent an online starting year

The county does not provide a simple statement that “all cases since year X are online.” Do not manufacture one.

Instead, use this workflow when an older known file does not appear through the current public search:

Confirm the approximate filing year.
Determine the case category.
Search the appropriate civil or criminal county tool.
If you know the court file number, use it instead of relying only on a name.
Remember the April 2025 ICJ → Clericus Magnus transition applies to case-management numbering, not necessarily historical coverage.
Contact the Circuit Clerk Records Department.
Provide the case number if known.
Ask whether the record is electronic, paper, archived, impounded, or otherwise unavailable remotely.
Identify the exact document needed.
Ask for the applicable copy and certification cost.

Information-quality rule: when the official source does not publish a clear historical coverage start date, saying “coverage date not stated” is better than inventing a year for SEO purposes.

Current court-record data can lag behind courthouse activity

The Circuit Clerk’s Terms of Use cautions that electronic information should not replace verification of the official file. Recent additions or changes may not always be immediately reflected in an online summary.

This matters after:

a same-day hearing;
a dismissal;
a new sentencing order;
a payment;
a continuance;
a corrected entry;
an amended filing;
an appeal-related change.

If the timing matters, verify the official file or contact the Clerk rather than relying on a cached screenshot.

How to verify a name match before identifying a person

Compare full first and last name.
Check middle name or initial where lawfully visible.
Compare date of birth only where lawful and appropriate.
Confirm the complete case number.
Confirm filing year.
Confirm case category.
Check whether the person is plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, or another party.
Review associated attorney information when useful.
Check the current disposition rather than only the first filing.
If meaningful uncertainty remains, do not claim the record belongs to that person.

Name collision warning: several people can share the same name and even similar identifying information. A name match alone is not enough to establish that a St. Clair County court case belongs to a particular private person.

Court records are not jail records

Need	Correct source type
Current jail custody	Sheriff / detention facility
Booking information	Sheriff / jail
Criminal court case	St. Clair County Circuit Clerk
Court date	Circuit Clerk / current court docket
Disposition	Court record / Circuit Clerk
Illinois prison custody	Illinois Department of Corrections

Court records are not County Clerk vital records

The St. Clair County Clerk handles vital-record functions such as birth, death, and marriage records. Those records should not be searched through the Circuit Clerk criminal/civil court tools.

A divorce case is a Circuit Court record. A birth or death certificate is not.

Court records are not Recorder of Deeds records

Deeds, mortgages, releases, plats, and other recorded real-property documents are maintained through the St. Clair County Recorder of Deeds rather than the Circuit Clerk’s civil or criminal case search.

A foreclosure lawsuit can be a Circuit Court case, but the land-title documents related to the property are a separate records system.

Illinois appeals from St. Clair County go to the Fifth District

St. Clair County’s 20th Judicial Circuit is currently within the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District.

Illinois Appellate Court — Fifth District

Address: 14th & Main Street, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864

Phone: 618-242-3120

Current clerk: Cortney Kuntze

Current posted office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Trial case and appellate case are separate records

If a St. Clair County case is appealed:

the original circuit-court file remains a St. Clair County trial-court record;
the appeal receives appellate docket information;
appellate briefs, orders, opinions, and other reviewing-court documents can follow separate access rules;
the trial-court public search should not be treated as a complete appellate docket.

re:SearchIL and St. Clair County: when it is relevant

Illinois expanded free remote access to eligible reviewing-court documents through re:SearchIL. It is particularly relevant when researching Illinois Supreme Court or appellate material.

Do not replace the St. Clair County trial-court search with re:SearchIL. For this article’s primary intent—st clair county court records—the Circuit Clerk remains the first source for county trial cases.

Federal court records for St. Clair County

Federal cases are separate from Illinois Circuit Court records. Federal matters in this part of Illinois are handled through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and searched through PACER.

Melvin Price U.S. Courthouse

Address: 750 Missouri Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62201

Main phone: 618-482-9371

Current public office hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays.

The courthouse requires security screening and current federal court guidance should be checked before visiting.

PACER workflow

Open PACER.
Sign in or register if necessary.
If you already know the federal court, search the Southern District of Illinois directly.
If you do not know the federal court, use PACER Case Locator.
Verify the court and case number.
Open the federal docket.
Review later entries before describing the current case status.
Check the PACER charge before opening large reports or many documents.

PACER item	Verified August 30, 2026
Electronic access	$0.10 per billable page.
Typical single-document cap	Generally $3, subject to stated PACER exceptions.
Quarterly waiver	Quarterly charges of $30 or less are currently waived.
Audio file	$2.40 per audio file.
Announced Jan. 1, 2027 change	$0.12 per page and a $40 quarterly exemption threshold during the announced temporary adjustment.

PACER pricing is time-sensitive. Recheck after January 1, 2027 or before conducting a large federal-record search.

Bankruptcy records are federal

Bankruptcy cases are not filed in the St. Clair County Circuit Court civil database. Use the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Illinois and PACER for bankruptcy dockets and documents.

What to do when the St. Clair County search returns nothing

Confirm that this is actually a St. Clair County Circuit Court case.
Check whether you used criminal search for a civil/family/probate matter.
Review the spelling of the name.
Use the known case number whenever available.
For traffic, try Ticket Number + Agency.
Wait for the county’s required 20-second interval before running another criminal search.
Consider whether the case was recently changed and the online summary has not yet caught up.
Consider confidentiality, sealing, expungement, juvenile, mental-health, or protective-order restrictions.
If the case is an Illinois appeal, move to Fifth District/reviewing-court resources.
If federal, move to PACER.
If an older known file is still missing, contact the Circuit Clerk Records Department.

Do not bypass sealed, expunged, or restricted records

If a record is unavailable because it is sealed, expunged, impounded, juvenile, confidential, or otherwise legally restricted, respect that restriction.

Do not:

search leaked copies to reconstruct the record;
rebuild redacted information from other sources;
publish Social Security numbers;
publish bank-account numbers;
publish driver’s-license numbers;
publish minor identities unnecessarily;
publish victim addresses;
publish confidential medical information.

FCRA and background-screening limitation

Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and does not provide FCRA consumer reports.

This guide and information reached through it should not be represented as an FCRA-compliant product for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance underwriting, or another eligibility decision regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Official sources reviewed for this St. Clair County guide

Research reviewed: August 30, 2026. Court portals, fees, docket information, courthouse hours, judicial assignments, and access rules can change. Verify time-sensitive information directly with the applicable court.

Frequently asked questions about St. Clair County IL court records

1. Where can I search St. Clair County Illinois court records online?

The St. Clair County Circuit Clerk provides official county tools for criminal and civil court-record searches. Criminal search currently supports defendant-name, case-number, and ticket-number routes. The county’s online data is a public information service and is not the official court file.

2. Can I search St. Clair County criminal records by defendant name?

Yes. The current criminal-record search provides Last Name, First Name, and Date of Birth fields. Verify every possible result using the case number, filing information, case type, disposition, and other lawful identifying details before assuming a record belongs to a particular person.

3. Why do I have to wait 20 seconds between St. Clair County searches?

The current county criminal-search page imposes an approximately 20-second interval between searches to prevent automated systems from overloading county servers. Users should respect the limit rather than attempting to automate or bypass it.

4. What is Clericus Magnus in St. Clair County?

Clericus Magnus is part of St. Clair County’s current case-management environment and is also used for Case Docket Subscriptions. An official April 28, 2025 transition sheet identifies the change from ICJ numbering to Clericus Magnus by case type. A subscription is not required merely to begin a normal free public case lookup.

5. Are St. Clair County online court records official court records?

No. The Circuit Clerk’s Terms of Use state that online information is not the official court record and is intended to provide a general understanding of case history and disposition. Important information should be verified against the official record maintained by the Circuit Clerk.

6. How much does St. Clair County charge for court-record copies?

The published Circuit Clerk fee book lists $2 for the first copy page, $0.50 for each additional page from pages 2 through 20, and $0.25 for each additional page after page 20. Certification or authentication with seal is listed at $6 each. Fees should be rechecked before ordering.

7. How do I request a certified St. Clair County court document?

Use the Circuit Clerk’s Copy Request form. Provide the case Year, Type, Number, style or participant names, identify the exact document and filing date when known, and indicate that certification is needed. The Clerk notifies the requester of the cost before completing the request.

8. Where can I access St. Clair County court records in person?

The Circuit Clerk is located at 10 Public Square in Belleville. The published fee book states that computerized public-information terminals are available in the third-floor Circuit Clerk’s Office. Verify current office hours before visiting.

9. Which appellate court handles St. Clair County appeals?

St. Clair County’s 20th Judicial Circuit is currently within the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District. An appellate case is separate from the original St. Clair County trial-court record, and eligible reviewing-court documents may also be available through re:SearchIL.

10. Where do I search federal court cases from St. Clair County?

Federal cases are not searched through the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk. Use PACER and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Federal bankruptcy records are also maintained through the federal bankruptcy court rather than the county civil-record system.