How to File for Expungement in Illinois

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.

The petitioner pays the applicable filing fee, which the circuit clerk sets to cover its costs; the Illinois State Police may also charge a fee equal to its processing cost. No fee is required if the petitioner gets a court order waiving fees under Supreme Court Rule 298 or the fee is otherwise waived.

Arrests and charges that ended in acquittal, dismissal, release without charging, or a conviction that was reversed or vacated can be expunged with no waiting period, and can also be sealed at any time. A petition may be filed 61 days before the expected dismissal at the end of a problem-solving court or diversion program. Minor traffic offenses cannot be expunged or sealed unless the person was released without charging.

The Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification provides your own Illinois criminal history through the Access and Review process: go during business hours to any Illinois law enforcement or correctional facility or a licensed fingerprint vendor, which takes your fingerprints and identification and sends them to ISP. ISP mails your transcript (or a no-record statement) to you or to the facility (documents not picked up within 45 days are destroyed), together with a Record Challenge form for disputing errors; ISP responds to challenges in writing. ISP charges no fee for Access and Review or Record Challenge, but the fingerprinting agency may charge a processing fee. ISP lists FBI requests separately.