How it works in Illinois

The steps

1. Get fingerprinted

   Visit your local police or sheriff's station, or a licensed fingerprint vendor, and have your fingerprints taken. You can send the Illinois State Police a paper fingerprint card or a Live Scan submission; the State Police charges less for Live Scan, so ask the provider for it.

   Fingerprint fee: $16.00

2. Request your record

   Complete and submit your application to request an official copy of your criminal history record from the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification.

   Record request fee: $15.00

3. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

4. Request certified documents

   Collect certified copies of relevant documents. These include a copy of the disposition of the case from the clerk of court that handled the original case and the arrest record from the arresting agency. If you had probation or parole, had to take classes, had to pay fees, or had any other obligations, you also need certified proof that you completed those requirements. Illinois certified-copy fees are set by each clerk and agency, so the amount you pay depends on which clerk or department issues the copy.

5. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

6. Prepare your petition

   Complete the petition based on the type of charge and outcome you are seeking. The statewide form is the Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records, approved by the Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice; every Illinois court must accept it. The petition must be verified and must list your name, date of birth and current address and, for each arrest or charge, the case number, the arrest date and the arresting agency. Note the waiting periods under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2. To expunge: no wait when the case ended in acquittal, dismissal, release without charging, or a reversed or vacated conviction; two years after a completed supervision ends — five years for a supervision under Section 3-707, 3-708, 3-710 or 5-401.3 of the Illinois Vehicle Code or Section 11-1.50, 12-3.2 or 12-15 of the state's criminal-offenses code, and age 25 for a misdemeanor Section 11-503(a) supervision from before you turned 25; and five years after a completed qualified probation ends. To seal: at any time for a case that ended in acquittal, dismissal, release without charging, or a reversed or vacated conviction; two years after your last sentence ends for a completed supervision or qualified probation, a conviction with probation or conditional discharge, or a misdemeanor conviction; three years after your last sentence ends for a felony conviction — or as soon as that sentence ends if you earned a high school diploma, an associate's or bachelor's degree, a career certificate or a vocational technical certification, or passed the GED test, during the sentence or mandatory supervised release and had not already reached that goal. A conviction that requires registration under the Arsonist Registry Act, the Sex Offender Registration Act or the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act cannot be sealed until you no longer have to register. Your 'last sentence' is the sentence, supervision or qualified probation that ended last, in any state, whether or not it is in your petition; it counts as ended even if you still owe money on it.

7. Finalize your petition

   Take the completed petition from Step 6, the documents collected in Step 4, and the background check from Step 2, and put them together in a complete package. Double-check every file in the package is the original and ensure you have a copy of the complete package for your personal file.

8. File your expungement petition

   File the petition with the clerk of the court where you were arrested or where the charges were brought — if that happened in more than one county, file a petition in each. Pay the filing fee unless the court has waived it under Supreme Court Rule 298 or it is otherwise waived; the fee includes the State Police's charge for processing the order, and the fee for expunging a record already sealed under this section is waived. Illinois circuit-clerk filing fees vary by county, so the amount you pay depends on where you file — the figure cited here is the Lake County Circuit Clerk schedule as a baseline.

   Filing fee: $152.00

9. Work with the court

   After you file, the circuit clerk serves your petition on the State's Attorney or prosecutor, the Illinois State Police, the arresting agency and, for a municipal ordinance violation, the chief legal officer of the city or village. Each has 60 days from service to file a written objection stating its basis. If no one objects in time, the court enters an order granting or denying the petition. If an objection is filed, the court sets a hearing and notifies you and every party at least 30 days ahead; the State's Attorney consults the State Police before it, and the court decides on the evidence — it may weigh the strength of the case against you, the State's reasons to keep the records, your age, record and work history, the time since the arrest, and the harm you would face if denied. The court may not deny sealing because you owe court fines, fees or costs; restitution to a victim is different. Tell the clerk right away if your address changes. Respond promptly to anything the court asks for.

10. Receive the court's order

    Once the court rules on your petition, it issues a written order either granting or denying the expungement or sealing. The order becomes final for appeal 30 days after it is served; you or any served party can ask the court to vacate, modify or reconsider it within 60 days of service. Review the order's terms carefully — they spell out which records are covered and which agencies must act on it. Keep a certified copy for your own files.

11. Verify the record update

    Under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2, the arresting agency, the Illinois State Police and any other agency the order names must expunge or seal the records within 60 days of being served with the order, and the circuit clerk impounds the court file and removes your name from its public index. For an expungement of a completed supervision or qualified probation, the State Police impounds its records instead of destroying them and may share them only as the law requires, or with the arresting agency, the State's Attorney and the court on a later arrest for the same or a similar offense, for sentencing on a later felony, or with the Department of Corrections on a later conviction. The State Police must send you written notice that it has complied within 60 days of being served, or later if a motion to reconsider or an appeal is pending. After that, the court, the State Police and the agencies answer anyone not allowed by law to see the records as if no record ever existed. If a background-check provider later produces an outdated report, your certified copy of the court's order is your authoritative reference. Confirm with the original arresting agency that its records reflect the order as well.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.