Circuit Clerk's Office

Expungements

When a record gets "expunged," it is as if the crime never occurred. Each law enforcement agency expunges, or destroys, their records. Not all cases qualify to be expunged. Please be advised that multiple convictions, supervisions or arrests may affect your eligibility to have your record expunged or sealed. An Expungement is different than a "Sealed" record. When a record gets "Sealed, " the file remains intact. It is labeled as "sealed" and can only be released to other law enforcement agencies. Employers and the general public will not have access to these records.

Your criminal record can cause many problems in obtaining employment, professional licensing or funding for college. Effective January 1, 2004, people with qualifying arrests, misdemeanor supervision and misdemeanor convictions may petition the court of their sentencing county for an expungement or a sealing of their records. Only criminal records prosecuted and maintained by the State of Illinois are affected. Federal and out-of-state convictions do not fall under the new law.

This information is current as of January 1, 2004. Please be advised that the laws may change without notice. Check the website of the Office of the State Appellate Defender at http://state.il.us/defender/exp.html for updates. Or contact them at:

Office of the State Appellate Defender
P. O. Box 5780
Springfield, IL 62705-5780

Toll Free Number: 1 (866) 431-4907 or to Email the Office of the State Appellate Defender.

Adult Expungements

The first step to an Expungement is to decide whether or not you qualify. Not everyone is eligible to have their case expunged. The State Appellate Defender has provided an Instruction Guide on their website which will give you step by step instructions of the process.

The next step is to gather the paperwork needed to begin the process. All of the forms are available on State Appellate Defender website.

Once you have all of your paperwork gathered bring those forms into us and we will process the paperwork for you. There are fees required to file an expungement. You must bring cash, check or money order at the time you file your forms. If your expungement is approved, you will need to bring the certification fee in the form of cash or money order at that time. A fee of $60.00 will also need to be paid to the Illinois State Police in the form of check or money order made payable to them. For faster service, Wednesdays and Fridays are the best days to file your paperwork.

If you have any questions, please contact our Expungements Department.

Juvenile Expungements

There are 2 categories that your case must fall into in order to qualify for an expungment. Please refer to the State Appellate Defender website on Juvenile cases for a complete list of the requirements.

After you decide you qualify for an expungement and you have gathered the appropriate forms, bring those forms into us and we will process the paperwork for you. There are fees required to file an expungement. You must bring cash, check or money order at the time you file your pleadings. You must also schedule a hearing on Wednesday or Thursday at 8:45 AM. This time must be confirmed and can be done at the time you file your paperwork with us.

If your expungement is approved, you will need to bring the certification fee in the form of cash or money order at that time. A fee of $60.00 will also need to be paid to the Illinois State Police in the form of check or money order to them. For faster service, Wednesdays and Fridays are the best days to file your paperwork.

If you have any questions, please contact our Expungements Department.