I would use [Selenium Builder][1] instead of Selenium IDE. If your script was exported as Java, then you just do this: WebElement checkbox = driver.findElement( By,id('the_id' ) ); if ( checkbox.isSelected() ) { System.out.println("Checkbox was already selected: " + checkbox.toString() ); } else { checkbox.click(); } I use [this project template][2] to run my Builder scripts. [1]: http://sebuilder.github.io/se-builder/ [2]: http://djangofan.github.io/maven-selenium-builder/