Expungement in Illinois: which records can be cleared
What Illinois law lets you clear, record by record.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.
Short answer
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).
- Main remedy
- Expungement
- What it covers
- 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.
- Ways to clear a record
- 4
- Automatic relief
- Yes
Ways to clear a record 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
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)
What changes afterwards
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
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)
In nearby states
Your next steps in Illinois
Get your own record
Your record lists each case; you need it to see which remedy fits. Illinois Courts: Approved Statewide Forms - Expungement and Sealing and Office of the State Appellate Defender: Adult Expungement & Sealing Information.
Count the waiting period
Waiting periods differ by case and remedy. Waiting periods.
Ask the court
You file the request in the court that handled the case. How to file.
Get help
Ask for free help: Office of the State Appellate Defender, Expungement Unit and Illinois Legal Aid Online (free expungement Easy Form).
Where to get free help in Illinois
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.
Which records can 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.
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.
Does Illinois clear cannabis records?
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.
What happens to 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.
What changes after a 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.