How to Expunge a Criminal Record in Illinois

Nowadays, it is easy for anyone – an employer, a family looking for a babysitter, or a landlord -- to find out if you have a criminal record. It doesn’t matter that you beat the charges. Even when a case is dismissed in your favor, you are still left with a public record of an arrest.

What Criminal Records can be Expunged?

The only way to get rid of an arrest record is to petition for expungement. There are several ways a case can be dismissed in Illinois: non-suit, finding no probable cause, stricken with leave to reinstate (“SOL”), nolle pros (“NP”).

With a few exceptions, expungement cannot be used to remove a public record of a conviction, a finding of guilt.    

Thus, if you don’t want someone to find out that you were once arrested for retail theft, petition to expunge it.  

The Process of Expunging a Criminal Record

Only a judge has the authority to expunge a criminal record. Paperwork seeking expungement must be filed at the same courthouse where your case was heard. There is a filing fee set by each county (usually between $120 and $220). The filing fee may be waived by a judge if you are unemployed or a low-wage earner.

The right to expunge a record is not guaranteed. Local prosecutors can object to anyone’s petition to expunge. A judge then decides whether the record should be expunged. Even when a petition to expunge is denied, the individual is not prohibited from filing another petition in the future.

Expunging a record takes anywhere from five months to a year to complete. There is no way to shorten or short circuit the process. If an attorney tells you he can get it done faster, call another attorney.

An arrest record can be just as harmful as a conviction record. People have lost job offers due to a single arrest record.

If you haven’t gotten around to expunging your arrest record(s) yet, go do it now.