Crime & Traffic

A juvenile For misdemeanor offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 17 or younger.For felony offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 16 or younger. record is created every time a person under 18 is arrested or goes to juvenile court. Any court that has jurisdiction over matters involving juveniles. To prepare for juvenile expungement, When a criminal record is destroyed you will need to list all your juvenile arrests.

Think about where you were when the arrest or incident happened. Start by contacting the police department or sheriff’s A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. office in that area. Under Illinois law, 705 ILCS 405/1-7, every arresting agency must give you basic information about your arrest:

• The date of the arrest
• The charge or reason for arrest
• The outcome, such as whether you went to court or the case was dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated.

You may need to show identification and fill out a short request form to get this information.

• If your arrest was in Chicago or suburban Cook County, there are two main places to get your juvenile For misdemeanor offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 17 or younger.For felony offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 16 or younger. arrest record, also called your RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions).

Cook County Juvenile Court Any court that has jurisdiction over matters involving juveniles.
Legal Aid Chicago’s Juvenile Expungement When a criminal record is destroyed Help Desk
1100 S. Hamilton, 1st Floor
Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: (312) 229-6072

• Walk-ins only
  • Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on court holidays.
  • Call ahead to confirm hours during the December holiday season.
• Be ready to sign a Release of Information form.
• Staff can help you get copies of your Cook County juvenile records, check if you are eligible, prepare the paperwork, and represent you in court for free if you qualify for Legal Aid Chicago services.
• If your arrests occurred in suburban Cook County, you might need to be fingerprinted.
  • Fingerprinting results are usually available in 14 business days.
  • The staff will contact you when your results are ready; they are not mailed automatically.
• All services are free.

City of Chicago Public Safety Headquarters
Access and Review Dept.
3510 S. Michigan Ave., 1st Floor 
Chicago, IL 60653
Phone: (312) 745-5508

• Open Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Get fingerprinted to verify your identity before the Chicago Police Department releases your juvenile RAP sheet.
• Contact the Youth Division at (312) 745-6004 for questions and further information.
• This office provides arrest records only and does not have court case files.
• There is no fee for juvenile RAP sheets.

If you have juvenile For misdemeanor offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 17 or younger.For felony offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 16 or younger. arrests that occurred outside of Cook County, take these steps to get your juvenile records.

If you were arrested by only one agency:

• Contact the police department or sheriff’s A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. office that arrested you to request your arrest record.
• The arresting agency must release information to you regarding your juvenile arrests, no matter what your age is.
• The arresting agency must provide you with the date of arrest, the charge, and the outcome of the arrest.

If you were arrested in more than one county:

• Request your statewide criminal history from the Illinois State Police through the Access and Review Process.
• The ISP will provide a list of both your juvenile and adult Any person 18 years old or over arrests and court cases in Illinois. If your ISP report does not include all your arrests, contact the agency that arrested you and the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk to access those records.
• You can also get a “Statewide Criminal History Transcript” from any licensed Livescan vendor listed on the Illinois State Police website. There will be a fee associated with this service.

If your case went to court:

• Contact the circuit court clerk in that county and ask how to access your juvenile case record or disposition. A court’s final decision in a criminal case

If you are getting your juvenile records because you plan to file for expungement, the next step is to fill out the juvenile records expungement worksheet. This worksheet helps you decide which records can or should be expunged and helps you organize the information you need to fill out the expungement forms.

Not every juvenile record in Illinois needs to be expunged through a court process. Some records may qualify for automatic expungement after a waiting period. Other records, like certain serious offenses, cannot be expunged. For more information, read the juvenile records and expungement common questions.

Once you complete the worksheet, you are ready to start your expungement forms. You can use our Expunge juvenile records program to make the forms you need. You can also download PDF versions of the forms from the Illinois Courts website. To learn more about the process, read our step-by-step guide to expunging a juvenile record.