Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Illinois

Most felony convictions can be sealed three years after the end of the person's last sentence, or immediately at the end of the sentence if the person earned a high school diploma, GED, associate's or bachelor's degree, or career or vocational certificate while serving the sentence or supervised release. Felonies with completed probation or conditional discharge can be sealed after two years. Convictions requiring arsonist, sex offender, or violent offender against youth registration cannot be sealed while registration is required, and the sealing exclusions for sex offenses, domestic battery and certain other offenses apply. Felony convictions generally cannot be expunged unless pardoned with authorization to expunge.

File a verified petition with the circuit court clerk in each county where the arrests occurred or charges were brought, listing each case number, arrest date and arresting agency (attach any Prisoner Review Board certificate of eligibility for sealing). The clerk serves the State's Attorney, the Illinois State Police, the arresting agency and, for ordinance violations, the local government's attorney. They have 60 days to object in writing; if no objection is filed, the court rules on the petition, and if one is filed, the court sets a hearing with at least 30 days' notice. At sentencing or disposition, the court must tell the person about the right to seal eligible records.

Expunged records are physically destroyed or returned and the person's name is removed from official indexes; court files are impounded rather than destroyed. Sealed records are kept but impounded, and the person's name is removed from the clerk's public index; the clerk still provides disposition information to the Illinois State Police. Agencies respond to inquiries about expunged records as they would if no record existed. Immigration authorities may treat sealed or expunged records differently.