James Scalzitti
james.scalzitti@cookcountyil.gov

For Immediate Release: May 4, 2020

Clerk Yarbrough’s Leadership Gives Cook County Residents
One of the First Online Marriage Portals in the Nation
Encourages those who can wait to allow her office to first serve those facing an emergency

Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough on Monday announced that on April 3 rd, 2020, her office
successfully launched one of the first online portals in the nation to allow residents to obtain a marriage
license via video conference, and in light of the Governor’s Executive Order providing clarity on virtual
weddings, is asking Cook County residents to help her prioritize true emergency cases.
“Once we stabilized our ability to continue processing new birth and death certificates remotely, we
knew that we had to launch an online method for couples facing dire circumstances to get their
marriage documents via a video chat,” Yarbrough said. “Even though this isn’t how we normally provide
this service, in times of crisis, it is important that elected officials step up and serve the people.”
The need to be legally married has proven to be especially important in the wake of the COVID 19
pandemic for couples where, for example, one partner is in hospice or critically ill, immigration issues
necessitate marriage before one is deported, or where one partner has lost their employer-provided
insurance.
As soon as the Clerk’s Office, like all offices of Cook County government, had to close all in-person
business in compliance with state and county COVID 19 executive orders, Yarbrough directed staff to set
up ways to continue to serve those most vulnerable and most in need of Office services, which resulted
in one of the first online portals in the country to serve constituents remotely. The biggest challenge was
the provision of state law requiring couples to “appear before” the Count Clerk before completion of
marriage licenses. Clerk Yarbrough recognized that “appear before” did not specifically state “appear
physically in a government office,” and deemed that an appearance by video where the office can

 confirm via identification cards with photos who they are speaking with, meets the requirements of the
law. This innovative thinking is noted in Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order on Virtual Marriages, where
the absence of permitting language acknowledges that there is no need for the Governor to “authorize”
this process.
Soon after the March 19th closure and Clerk Yarbrough’s decision on video appearances, staff from
multiple departments within the Clerk’s Office – Vital Records (BVR), IT and Communications – worked
to create a newly-designed online site where couples in urgent need of a marriage license can begin the
marriage application process. The pre-application is completed on the Clerk’s website and is received
and reviewed by BVR staff, who then schedule online video meetings with the couple to complete the
marriage license application process.
Since the Clerk’s Office – operating with a greatly reduced staff in accordance with COVID 19 protocols –
began offering this option, approximately 500 couples have applied online to get marriage licenses. BVR
staff have scheduled through mid-May virtual appointments with about half of those couples to
complete the process, as couples who reach out may be in various states of planning for their wedding.
Approximately 100 couples have gone through this process already and gotten their marriage licenses
from the Clerk's Office.
BVR staff will continue to work with couples who have applied for marriage licenses through the Urgent
Needs portal to complete the process via video conference. Staff is encouraging residents to reach out
to an Officiant before contacting the Clerk’s Office to start the process, as this will help prioritize efforts
towards marriages where plans have been put in place, and an Officiant has agreed to these new
procedures.
“It is so satisfying to see, that even in this very difficult time, government can find ways to provide
services of vital importance to those who are in need,” Yarbrough said. “To all other couples whose
marriage plans may be delayed by this pandemic, I appreciate your patience and understanding as we
help those facing hardship to find their way to the front of our virtual line, as we all would do if we were
together in person.”