Crime & Traffic

What are the different types of criminal records? 

• Court Disposition A court’s final decision in a criminal case : The final judgment An official decision by a court that ends the dispute between parties or outcome in a court case, available in the circuit clerk The office that takes care of files and documents for circuit court cases ’s records for each county. There are no court dispositions for arrests or charges that did not lead to a court case.
• Chicago RAP Sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions): List of all arrests, charges, and court case outcomes that happened in Chicago.
• Illinois State Police Statewide Criminal History Transcript: List of most arrests and convictions that happened in Illinois. 

Learn how to get copies of your criminal record. 

What do Illinois criminal records look like?

Below are sample court disposition records and sample police RAP sheet records. You can use the samples to help you find the information you will need when trying to expunge To physically remove someone's name from a legal record. or seal your records. 

Learn more about what the abbreviations on your RAP sheets mean.

Cook county court disposition and Chicago police RAP sheet

Note: Cook County now uses a form called a "Case Summary" instead of the Court Disposition. It looks different from the sample below, but still includes the same information, just in a different layout. We're working on getting an updated sample.

Non-Cook county court disposition and Illinois state police RAP sheet

RAP sheet basics 

A Record of Arrests and Prosecutions (RAP) sheet contains the information about your arrests for that county or the municipality. Each RAP sheet gives the following details: 

• Arrest date: When you were arrested.
• Case number A number assigned to a case that is on every paper filed in the case : Assigned by the court to your case. Anyone tried with a felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison in Cook County that started with an arrest has two separate case numbers. The case number is given at arrest, and then a second case number that has the letters "C" or "CR" is given when the case is transferred to the felony court. Outside of Cook County, cases are assigned a "CM" number for misdemeanors and "CF" number for felonies.  
• Charge: Explains which law the police officer believes was violated when you were arrested. Each charge is abbreviated. See Common Abbreviations on RAP Sheets.
• CB: Central Booking Number used by the police to identify different arrests in Chicago.
• Disposition A court’s final decision in a criminal case or Sentence: A conclusion the court came to after your trial When the issues of a case are heard in court and decided by a judge or jury . Dispositions are abbreviated.
• DCN: Document Control Number tracks all proceedings linked to a specific arrest.
• IR: Individual Record Number associated with your fingerprint.
• SID: State Identification Number for internal record keeping

What information do I need from my criminal record?

You need your criminal record to figure out which offenses on your criminal record can be expunged (erased) and which can be sealed (hidden). You will also need this information to fill out your forms. Look at each item in your criminal record and find: 

• Arrest number or case number;
• Date of arrest;
• Agency or police department that arrested you;
• Charge (or type of offense) that caused your arrest;
• Disposition (or outcome) of the case;
• Sentence (or punishment) you received; and
• Date you completed any sentence

You must check court records to find the dispositions for any arrests that resulted in cases that were heard in court. 

Once you have gathered all of the information about your criminal records, you must decide which items qualify for expungement When a criminal record is destroyed (to erase the records) and which are eligible for sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement (to hide the records from the public). Learn more about which criminal offenses can be expunged or sealed.