Clearing a criminal record in Illinois
In Illinois it is called expungement and sealing: expungement erases arrests, dismissed charges, completed court supervision and qualified probation from police and state records. Some misdemeanor and felony convictions may be cleared, and Illinois also clears some records automatically (Clean Slate Act).
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓
Can my record be cleared in Illinois?
Expungement and sealing — Expungement erases arrests, dismissed charges, completed court supervision and qualified probation from police and state records, and the court file is impounded, so it is treated as if it never happened. Sealing keeps conviction records but hides them from the public; police, prosecutors and employers required by law to run fingerprint checks can still see sealed felony convictions.
Illinois has 4 ways to clear a record. Each covers different records and has its own waiting period.
Expungement
Arrests and charges that ended in release without charging, acquittal, dismissal, or a conviction that was reversed or vacated; successfully completed court supervision; successfully completed qualified (first-offender/drug) probation. Convictions can be expunged only after a governor's pardon authorizing expungement, a Prisoner Review Board certificate of eligibility for expungement, or under the cannabis vacate-and-expunge process.
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Arrest without charges, acquittal, dismissal, reversed or vacated conviction | No waiting period You can file right away. | The end of the case |
Court supervision, completed (most offenses) | 2 years You must wait 2 years after you successfully finish supervision. | Satisfactory termination of the supervision |
Court supervision for domestic battery, criminal sexual abuse, uninsured or false-insurance vehicle offenses, scrap-record offense | 5 years For these offenses you must wait 5 years after you successfully finish supervision. | Satisfactory termination of the supervision |
Qualified probation (e.g. first-offender drug probation), completed | 5 years You must wait 5 years after you successfully finish the probation. | Satisfactory termination of the probation |
Misdemeanor reckless driving supervision before age 25 | See the rule You can expunge it once you turn 25, if you have no other DUI or reckless driving conviction. | Your 25th birthday |
- Not eligible
- Convictions (unless pardoned, certified by the Prisoner Review Board, or eligible cannabis); supervision for DUI; supervision for sexual offenses against a minor; reckless driving supervision (except the under-25 rule); minor traffic offenses unless you were released without charging; supervision or qualified probation that was not completed successfully.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a), (b), (d)
Source: Official text
Sealing
Arrests and non-conviction cases; completed supervision and qualified probation; misdemeanor convictions (including municipal ordinance violations); most felony convictions.
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Arrest without charges, acquittal, dismissal, reversed or vacated conviction | No waiting period You can file at any time. | The end of the case |
Misdemeanor conviction | 2 years You can seal a misdemeanor conviction 2 years after your last sentence ends. | Termination of your last sentence in any case |
Conviction with probation or conditional discharge completed without revocation (misdemeanor or felony) | 2 years You can seal it 2 years after your last sentence ends. | Termination of your last sentence |
Other felony conviction | 3 years You can seal most other felony convictions 3 years after your last sentence ends. | Termination of your last sentence |
Felony conviction, education goal reached during sentence | No waiting period If you earned a diploma, GED, degree or career certificate during your sentence, you can ask to seal a felony as soon as your sentence ends. | Termination of your last sentence |
Completed supervision or qualified probation | 2 years You can seal it 2 years after your last sentence ends. | Termination of your last sentence |
- Not eligible
- DUI; reckless driving (except a misdemeanor before age 25 with no other DUI/reckless driving conviction, sealable at 25); domestic battery and battery of an unborn child; violation of an order of protection, civil no contact or stalking no contact order; most sex offenses in Article 11 (misdemeanor public indecency and prostitution are allowed); dog fighting; Class A misdemeanor or felony animal cruelty; offenses requiring sex offender registration; minor traffic offenses unless released without charging. Arsonist or violent-offender-against-youth registrants must wait until registration ends.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a)(3), (c), (d)
Source: Official text
Immediate Sealing
Acquittals and dismissals with prejudice in cases on or after January 1, 2018.
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Acquittal or dismissal with prejudice | No waiting period Your lawyer can file a sealing petition at the same hearing where your case is dismissed or you are acquitted. | The hearing where the case ends |
- Not eligible
- Minor traffic offenses.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(g)
Source: Official text
Motion to Vacate and Expunge Cannabis Convictions
Misdemeanor or Class 4 felony convictions for possession (Section 4) or manufacture/delivery (Section 5) under the Cannabis Control Act.
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Eligible cannabis conviction | No waiting period You can file once you have finished the non-financial parts of your sentence; unpaid fines do not block you. | Completion of all non-financial parts of the sentence |
- Not eligible
- Convictions above Class 4 felony; other drug laws.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(i)(3)
Source: Official text
When can I file? Waiting periods in Illinois
Pick your kind of case and the date the waiting period runs from. We add the waiting period from the law; nothing else.
How to file in Illinois
Expungement
File a Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records with the circuit clerk in each county where you were arrested or charged. The clerk sends it to the State's Attorney, the Illinois State Police and the arresting agency, who have 60 days to object. If anyone objects, the court sets a hearing; otherwise the judge decides on the papers.
- Cost
- The Illinois State Police charges $60 to process each court order to expunge or seal (ISP fee schedule). The circuit clerk's filing fee is set by each county (for example, McLean County charges $136 in total: $60 filing, $60 State Police, $16 certified copies).
- If you can't pay
- If you cannot afford the fees, file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees (ilcourts.info/fee-waiver-forms). No fee is charged to expunge a record that was already sealed.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(10)
Sealing
Same Request form and process as expungement: file with the circuit clerk in each county, the agencies have 60 days to object, and a judge decides (with a hearing if there is an objection). A court may not deny sealing only because you still owe fines or fees.
- Cost
- $60 Illinois State Police processing fee per order (ISP fee schedule) plus the county clerk's filing fee, which varies by county.
- If you can't pay
- Application for Waiver of Court Fees.
Immediate Sealing
Your attorney files the petition and serves the State's Attorney in open court; the judge rules at the same hearing. If it is not filed then, you can still file a regular sealing request at any time.
- Cost
- Same clerk and State Police fees as regular sealing.
- If you can't pay
- Application for Waiver of Court Fees.
Motion to Vacate and Expunge Cannabis Convictions
File the motion with the circuit court. The State's Attorney has 60 days to object. The judge considers the reasons to keep the record, your age then and now, time since the conviction and the harm if denied. Legal aid groups and State's Attorneys can also file these motions.
- Cost
- The circuit clerk may charge a filing fee and a fee for certified dispositions; ask your county clerk.
- If you can't pay
- Application for Waiver of Court Fees.
Court self-help
Free help in Illinois
- Office of the State Appellate Defender, Expungement Unit · (866) 787-1776
- Illinois Legal Aid Online (free expungement Easy Form)
- Illinois Court Help (call or text) · 833-411-1121
- Find free legal aid at LawHelp.org
National help
Free letter and checklist
Letter: ask for a copy of your own record
A request to the state records office (Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification) with your name, date of birth and mailing address.
Checklist: what to gather before you file
Case numbers, court papers, proof you finished your sentence, forms and fees for Illinois.
Clearing a record in Illinois by topic
Expungement in Illinois
Which records each remedy covers, who is not eligible and what changes afterwards.
Waiting periods in Illinois
How long you wait for each kind of case, and a date helper.
How to file in Illinois
The steps, the cost, fee waivers, the forms and court self-help.
Automatic relief in Illinois
- Law
- Clean Slate Act
- What is cleared
- Without any petition, the Illinois State Police will automatically seal eligible records: non-conviction records right away, completed supervision and qualified probation after 2 years, misdemeanor convictions 2 years and felony convictions 3 years after the sentence ends. Excluded: convictions for homicide and other Article 9 offenses, most sex offenses, Class X felonies, crimes of violence, robbery, vehicular hijacking, residential and Class 1-2 burglary, trafficking, organized retail crime, sex-offender-registration offenses, DUI and the other petition-sealing exclusions. Nothing is sealed while you are serving a sentence or have pending charges. Separately, from January 1, 2028 clerks seal municipal ordinance violations and Class C misdemeanors one year after the case closes.
- Started
- Act effective June 1, 2026; automatic sealing begins January 1, 2029. Older records are sealed in phases: 2005-2028 records by January 1, 2030, 1990-2005 by January 1, 2031, 1970-1990 by January 1, 2032 (clerks follow within one to two years). Ordinance violations and Class C misdemeanors from January 1, 2028.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(k), (l), added by P.A. 104-0459 (HB1836)
Marijuana records in Illinois
Illinois automatically expunged police records of minor cannabis arrests (not more than 60 grams) made before June 25, 2019 that did not lead to charges or ended in dismissal, and the Governor issued pardons authorizing expungement for eligible minor cannabis convictions. You can also file a motion to vacate and expunge a misdemeanor or Class 4 felony cannabis conviction once the non-financial parts of the sentence are done.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(i)
Juvenile records in Illinois
Most juvenile police records are expunged automatically after one year if no charges were filed, and juvenile court records are expunged automatically after dismissal, a not-delinquent finding, completed supervision, or 2 years after an adjudication for most offenses. Other juvenile records can be expunged by petition at any time at no cost.
Law: 705 ILCS 405/5-915
Pardons in Illinois
- Who decides
- The Governor, after a hearing and confidential recommendation by the Prisoner Review Board
- How
- File a written clemency petition with the Prisoner Review Board and send copies to the sentencing judge and the State's Attorney. The Board holds public or private hearings on a quarterly schedule. If the pardon specifically authorizes expungement, you can then petition the court to expunge, and no objection may be filed.
Law: 730 ILCS 5/3-3-13; 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(e)
After your record is cleared in Illinois
Once records are expunged or sealed, the court, the State Police and agencies answer inquiries from unauthorized people as if no record exists, and it is a civil rights violation for most employers to ask about or use an expunged, sealed or impounded record. Exceptions: police and prosecutors can see sealed records, and government agencies, school districts and private organizations that must run criminal background checks under state or federal law can still get and use sealed felony convictions from the State Police.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(9); 775 ILCS 5/1-103(B-5), 5/2-103
Get your own record in Illinois
Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification · (815) 740-5160
Ask for your Statewide Criminal History Transcript through the State Police Access and Review process, using your fingerprints at a local police agency or a licensed LiveScan vendor. The State Police charges no fee for Access and Review; the fingerprinting agency or vendor may charge. If you were arrested in Chicago, also get your RAP sheet from Chicago Police Headquarters (fee).
Letter: ask the state records office for a copy of your record
Good to know in Illinois
- Clean Slate Act (P.A. 104-0459) makes Illinois one of the broadest automatic-sealing states, but automatic sealing does not start until January 1, 2029.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(k)
- Felony convictions can be sealed with no wait if you earned a diploma, GED, degree or career certificate during your sentence.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(c)(3)(E)
- A court may not deny sealing because you still owe court fines or fees, other than restitution.
Law: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(6)(C)
Changes in 2024–2026
The Clean Slate Act (P.A. 104-0459, HB1836, effective June 1, 2026) added automatic sealing of eligible arrest, supervision and conviction records starting January 1, 2029 (older records cleared in phases, with circuit clerks finishing by January 1, 2034), automatic sealing by circuit clerks of municipal ordinance violations and Class C misdemeanors starting January 1, 2028, an Illinois Clean Slate Task Force, and changes to juvenile court record confidentiality. Statewide court forms and instructions were revised in 2026.
Law: 705 ILCS 405/1-8 and 5-901
Source: instructions dated 09/26
Questions about clearing a record in Illinois
What is clearing a record called in Illinois?
Expungement and sealing. Expungement erases arrests, dismissed charges, completed court supervision and qualified probation from police and state records, and the court file is impounded, so it is treated as if it never happened. Sealing keeps conviction records but hides them from the public; police, prosecutors and employers required by law to run fingerprint checks can still see sealed felony convictions.
Can convictions be cleared in Illinois?
Expungement: Arrests and charges that ended in release without charging, acquittal, dismissal, or a conviction that was reversed or vacated; successfully completed court supervision; successfully completed qualified (first-offender/drug) probation. Convictions can be expunged only after a governor's pardon authorizing expungement, a Prisoner Review Board certificate of eligibility for expungement, or under the cannabis vacate-and-expunge process. Sealing: Arrests and non-conviction cases; completed supervision and qualified probation; misdemeanor convictions (including municipal ordinance violations); most felony convictions. Immediate Sealing: Acquittals and dismissals with prejudice in cases on or after January 1, 2018. Motion to Vacate and Expunge Cannabis Convictions: Misdemeanor or Class 4 felony convictions for possession (Section 4) or manufacture/delivery (Section 5) under the Cannabis Control Act.
How long do I have to wait in Illinois?
Arrest without charges, acquittal, dismissal, reversed or vacated conviction: No waiting period, counted from the end of the case; Court supervision, completed (most offenses): 2 years, counted from satisfactory termination of the supervision; Court supervision for domestic battery, criminal sexual abuse, uninsured or false-insurance vehicle offenses, scrap-record offense: 5 years, counted from satisfactory termination of the supervision; Qualified probation (e.g. first-offender drug probation), completed: 5 years, counted from satisfactory termination of the probation.
Does Illinois clear records automatically?
Without any petition, the Illinois State Police will automatically seal eligible records: non-conviction records right away, completed supervision and qualified probation after 2 years, misdemeanor convictions 2 years and felony convictions 3 years after the sentence ends. Excluded: convictions for homicide and other Article 9 offenses, most sex offenses, Class X felonies, crimes of violence, robbery, vehicular hijacking, residential and Class 1-2 burglary, trafficking, organized retail crime, sex-offender-registration offenses, DUI and the other petition-sealing exclusions. Nothing is sealed while you are serving a sentence or have pending charges. Separately, from January 1, 2028 clerks seal municipal ordinance violations and Class C misdemeanors one year after the case closes.
How much does it cost to clear a record in Illinois?
Expungement: The Illinois State Police charges $60 to process each court order to expunge or seal (ISP fee schedule). The circuit clerk's filing fee is set by each county (for example, McLean County charges $136 in total: $60 filing, $60 State Police, $16 certified copies). Sealing: $60 Illinois State Police processing fee per order (ISP fee schedule) plus the county clerk's filing fee, which varies by county. Immediate Sealing: Same clerk and State Police fees as regular sealing. Motion to Vacate and Expunge Cannabis Convictions: The circuit clerk may charge a filing fee and a fee for certified dispositions; ask your county clerk.
Can a marijuana record be cleared in Illinois?
Illinois automatically expunged police records of minor cannabis arrests (not more than 60 grams) made before June 25, 2019 that did not lead to charges or ended in dismissal, and the Governor issued pardons authorizing expungement for eligible minor cannabis convictions. You can also file a motion to vacate and expunge a misdemeanor or Class 4 felony cannabis conviction once the non-financial parts of the sentence are done.
Can juvenile records be cleared in Illinois?
Most juvenile police records are expunged automatically after one year if no charges were filed, and juvenile court records are expunged automatically after dismissal, a not-delinquent finding, completed supervision, or 2 years after an adjudication for most offenses. Other juvenile records can be expunged by petition at any time at no cost.
What can I say after my record is cleared in Illinois?
Once records are expunged or sealed, the court, the State Police and agencies answer inquiries from unauthorized people as if no record exists, and it is a civil rights violation for most employers to ask about or use an expunged, sealed or impounded record. Exceptions: police and prosecutors can see sealed records, and government agencies, school districts and private organizations that must run criminal background checks under state or federal law can still get and use sealed felony convictions from the State Police.
How do I get a copy of my criminal record in Illinois?
Ask for your Statewide Criminal History Transcript through the State Police Access and Review process, using your fingerprints at a local police agency or a licensed LiveScan vendor. The State Police charges no fee for Access and Review; the fingerprinting agency or vendor may charge. If you were arrested in Chicago, also get your RAP sheet from Chicago Police Headquarters (fee).
Where can I get free help in Illinois?
Office of the State Appellate Defender, Expungement Unit, Illinois Legal Aid Online (free expungement Easy Form) and Illinois Court Help (call or text).