Individuals and businesses that have not paid their taxes may have a certificate of lien filed with the recorder of deeds and the circuit court in the county where the individual resides or the business is located. The certificate of lien filed with the recorder of deeds attaches to the taxpayer's real and personal property. The certificate of lien filed with the circuit court is treated like a judgement of the court.

The Department of Revenue does not report lien information directly to the credit bureau agencies. However, the tax lien and the cancellation of the lien are considered public information once filed with the recorder of deeds or the circuit court. The Department of Revenue does not govern the credit bureau agency's policy regarding the length of time or the accuracy of the information they keep on a credit bureau report. When a lien is cancelled, the Department of Revenue sends the taxpayer a Lien Release Notice. The taxpayer can send a copy of this notice to the credit bureau(s) and ask them to modify or to remove a lien from a credit bureau report.

To search for a certificate of tax lien, you may search by case number or debtor name. With the case number search, you may use either the number assigned by the recorder of deeds or the number assigned by the circuit clerk.

NOTE: The information provided by this search is updated on a weekly basis. Please contact the circuit clerk or the recorder of deeds in the county in which the lien was filed to receive official information concerning the lien.