Crime & Traffic

A program to help you complete the forms to ask a court to expunge or seal your adult criminal record. Depending on your answers, the program gives you the forms you need to file.

Learn about sealing and expunging criminal records in Illinois, including eligibility, the process, and available resources for help.

The first step in clearing your criminal record is finding out what is on it. Learn how to collect the documents you need to clear your record.

Find answers to common questions about sealing or expunging a criminal record, like who qualifies, how long it takes, and what offenses can be cleared.

A step-by-step guide for filing a request to expunge or seal your criminal record in Illinois.

Describes a person's eligibility for a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, gun ownership and use based upon prior criminal convictions.

Describes the process of getting access to criminal records. If your case was filed in Cook County, you cannot find these records online.

Explains the common shortening of words on a RAP sheet so that you can understand your arrest record. Includes abbreviations of charges, sentences, dispositions, court terms, police terms, and convictions.

Find out how to get a Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card in Illinois, what to do if your application is denied or your card is revoked, and important updates about new gun laws and concealed carry licenses.

Find answers to common questions about criminal records in Illinois, including how they’re created, who can see them, how to fix mistakes, and ways to clear them.

Use this form to gather all of the information about your criminal records and identify which items qualify for expungement and which qualify for sealing.

Explains sex offender registration requirements, the difference between an offender and a predator, and if a sex offender can appeal registration.

Discusses health care waivers, which can remove barriers to employment for people with criminal convictions.

Find out how to request juvenile arrest records in Cook County. Learn where to go, what to bring, and how long it takes to get your records.

Find out how criminal records are created in Illinois, what they include, how to request copies, and your options for clearing or sealing your record.

Learn how executive clemency works, including pardons, sentence commutations, and expungement. Find out who qualifies and what a pardon does or doesn't do.

Learn about the different types of background checks employers can use and what they do with the information.

Steps to file a petition with the Prison Review Board from how to write the petition to how your hearing will work.

Steps to file a petition after appealing your case from where to file the petition for your evidentiary hearing. If the issue could have been raised in the appellate court and was not, you typically cannot raise the issue in a post-conviction petition. Details about time limitations covered.

An FBI background check, known as an Identity History Summary, may be required if you’ve been arrested out of state.

Explains what to include in your request for a pardon.

Explains how hiding or erasing your criminal or juvenile record might affect your immigration status.

Provides examples of court disposition records and sample police RAP sheet records and information so you can understand your criminal record.

A program to help you create forms to clear cannabis-related convictions from your criminal record.

Steps to appeal a criminal conviction from the necessary forms to writing a brief.

Use the form to ask for executive clemency from the Illinois Governor.

Explains an option for helping people with criminal records who are not eligible for expungement or sealing.

Provides information on withdrawing your plea.

A pardon, or "executive clemency," is possible in Illinois. But the Governor only grants a very small number of pardon requests. The process starts by filing with the Prisoner Review Board.

Explains whether or not you have to tell an employer about your criminal record, and when an employer can use this information to make decisions.

Explains how much it costs to ask the Governor to pardon a crime.

Learn about your options if you don’t qualify for expungement or sealing, including certificates and waivers.

Get answers to common questions about the expungement and sealing court process, including where to file your forms, what to expect after you file, and how to prepare for a successful hearing.

Get answers about what happens after the court decides your expungement or sealing request, including what to do next and who may still see your record.

Explains how long you should wait after you finish your punishment before asking the Governor for a pardon.

Explains how to expunge a juvenile record in Illinois, including how to gather your records, which ones qualify, the forms you need, and where to file them.

Explains how to correct or seal a criminal record that was created because someone used your name or ID during an arrest or conviction.

A guide for lawyers on expungement and sealing in Illinois, including juvenile records, Cook County practice, identity theft, job and housing impacts, pardons, and recent reforms.

A resource for lawyers on Illinois criminal defense, covering arrest, search and seizure, confessions, discovery, pretrial motions, cybercrimes, defenses, plea bargaining, and trial preparation.

Learn who qualifies for TASC probation and how to vacate a conviction after successfully completing it.

Learn about drug court and how to expunge your record after completing the program.