Illinois Expungement/Sealing Rules Don’t Remove Traffic Offenses from Official Driving Record
In recent years, with many people interested in driving for Uber, Lyft, or Amazon, there’s been a sharp increase in the number of people expressing an interest in expunging or sealing their traffic history. And, in some cases, seeking a pardon from the governor.
Petty v. Criminal Traffic Offenses
Traffic violations fall into one of two categories: petty or criminal.
The most common traffic offenses are petty and are only punishable by a fine. They include such offenses as: speeding (5 to 25 miles over the limit), illegal turns, improper line usage, ignoring a traffic signal.
More serious traffic offenses are crimes that can result in prison or jail sentences. They include offenses such as: driving on a suspended or revoked license, reckless driving, DUI. In Illinois, a traffic violation must be a crime to be eligible to expunge or seal.
Why Driving Records Stored By Secretary of State Aren’t Subject to Expungement/Sealing Rules
When the Illinois legislature drafted the expungement and sealing law, it did not include traffic records maintained by the Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) -- the agency responsible for collecting and maintaining this information.
Because the law is silent with respect to these records, when a judge orders criminal records be expunged or sealed, the SOS is not ordered to do anything even if the order includes traffic cases.
At this point you may be wondering: Is there any benefit to expunging or sealing a traffic violation in Illinois? Not really, especially if you were hoping to remove a misdemeanor or felony offense from your official driving record.
The only benefit to expunging or sealing a traffic record is that court information regarding the case is removed from the circuit court clerk’s public traffic and/or criminal case index(es).
I rarely see a benefit in doing this. Why? If you apply for a job where it is incumbent that you have a “clean” driving record, a potential employer will check your driving history by going to the SOS, not the courthouse.
Even a Governor’s Pardon Won’t Remove SOS Traffic Records
A few years ago, I attended a clemency hearing where I listened to an argument being made on behalf of a petitioner who’d racked up several DUI convictions. Although the petitioner’s driver’s license had been reinstated, his vehicle wouldn’t start until he used the breathalyzer interlock device he’d been required to install to verify his sobriety.
The petitioner sought clemency on one of his DUI convictions. The attorney explained that if one of his client’s DUI convictions could be eliminated from his traffic record, his client would no longer have to use the installed breathalyzer device to drive.
Recently, I asked the SOS’s office whether it would remove a DUI conviction from someone’s official driving record if that individual had received a pardon and permission to expunge that record. I was told it didn’t.
Obtaining a pardon does not override the general rule that the SOS is not required to comply with an expungement or sealing order. The only rules that dictate whether (or if) a traffic infraction comes off a driver’s official record are the SOS’s record retention rules.
Record Retention Rules That Rule
Some people will not be happy to learn that, in accordance with the SOS’s record retention rules, some traffic violations remain on someone’s driving record for life (e.g., convictions for DUI, reckless homicide, leaving scene of an accident).
Less serious traffic infractions are removed 4½ year from date of conviction. More serious infractions (i.e., violations resulting in license suspension/revocation) are removed 10 years after the license suspension/revocation has been terminated.
The agency’s retention rules are complicated and not readily available to the public. That said, if you want more information on how these rules operate, read the accompanying blog posting.