Crime & Traffic

If your Expungement or Sealing Request is denied, you can:

• Ask for reconsideration: File a Motion for Reconsideration with the circuit clerk within 30 days of receiving the denial order. You must send a copy of your Motion and Notice of Motion forms to the State's Attorney, Arresting Agencies, Chief Legal Officer of the Unit of Local Government, and Illinois State Police. Learn more about filing a motion.
• Appeal: File a Notice of Appeal with the circuit clerk within 30 days of the denial order. If you filed a Motion for Reconsideration and it was denied, file a Notice of Appeal within 30 days of that denial. Learn more about appealing a court case.

Some criminal records cannot be expunged or sealed. If your record isn’t eligible, there may still be other ways to move forward. Learn about other options.

If a judge approves your Expungement or Sealing Request, the circuit clerk will send a copy of the expungement Order to the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors listed in your Notice of Filing for Expungement or Sealing. These agencies have 60 days from the date they receive the Order to expunge or seal your records. You should receive a compliance letter from the arresting agency and the Illinois State Police, but you may also check with the agencies to ensure your records have been cleared after 60 days.

Agencies have 60 days from the date they receive the order from the court to expunge or seal the records. If an agency appeals, your record may stay public until the appeal is resolved.

The Illinois State Police will send you a letter stating that they have expunged or sealed your records. Until you receive this letter from the Illinois State Police, your records there have not yet been expunged or sealed. If you do not receive a letter from the Illinois State Police within 120 days of the court entering the Order for Expungement or Sealing, you can email the Illinois State Police expungement unit at [email protected] to ask about the status.

No, you do not have to tell employers about expunged or sealed criminal records.

If you’ve applied for expungement or sealing and the court hasn’t made a decision yet, you are still required to disclose your criminal record to a potential employer after an interview or conditional job offer, if asked.

Learn when an employer may consider a record.

In Illinois, employers cannot ask about expunged records. It is also illegal for employers to use expunged records when making hiring decisions.

For sealed records, most employers cannot ask about them or consider them in hiring. However, certain employers that require fingerprint background checks, like law enforcement agencies, schools, and healthcare providers, may ask about and access sealed records. Some professional licensing agencies may also see sealed records.

If an employment application asks if you have ever been convicted, you may answer “no” if the following is true:

• Your entire Illinois criminal record was expunged or sealed, or all convictions were sealed,
• You have only arrests now, and
• You do not have convictions in any other state.

Learn when an employer may consider a record.

What an employer can see depends on the job type, the record type, and whether the record was expunged or sealed. Expunged records do not appear in background checks. Sealed felony records are hidden from most employers but can be seen by employers required by law to conduct fingerprint background checks. These include, but are not limited to, financial institutions, fire departments, private courier companies, schools, park districts, healthcare organizations, and childcare providers.

In Illinois, landlords can ask about criminal convictions but cannot ask about:

• Arrests that didn’t lead to convictions
• Juvenile records
• Sealed or expunged records

In Cook County, the Just Housing Amendment (JHA) provides additional protections. It prevents landlords from considering criminal history during initial screening. They can only run a background check after prequalification and must provide a copy, allowing applicants five days to dispute errors or show rehabilitation.

To learn more about what to expect when applying for housing, see Applying for housing basics.

Some agencies will be able to find out that you expunged a criminal record and see your sealed records:

• Law enforcement agencies (including police departments, prosecutors, correctional institutions, military, and court services), and the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) can see all sealed records, expunged pardoned convictions, and some five-year waiting-period expunged records, for limited purposes.
• Any employer required by law to conduct fingerprint background checks can see sealed felony conviction records. These employers include, but are not limited to, financial institutions, fire departments, private courier companies, schools, park districts, healthcare organizations, and childcare organizations.

Most employers not listed above, and members of the public, can’t see expunged or sealed records or find out that you have had a record expunged or sealed.

In Illinois, an expunged record is erased or destroyed by law enforcement agencies, and their records cannot be reopened. Courts do not destroy records; instead, the law requires courts to “impound” expunged records. This means the records cannot be accessed without a court order.

A sealed record is hidden from the public but still exists. Law enforcement and courts can access it, and a judge may order it unsealed if there is a strong reason, such as a pending legal matter.

Keep in mind that federal agencies, like immigration authorities, may still have access to expunged or sealed records, as state orders do not apply to federal databases. For example, in immigration cases, the federal government may still see records even if they were expunged.

If a record was expunged but is still available, it may be a mistake. In Illinois, police must remove expunged records from their systems.

What you can do:

1. Check your expungement order: Make sure the court approved it and agencies were notified.
2. Contact the police department: Give them a copy of the order and ask them to remove the record.
3. File a complaint: If they don’t fix it, file a complaint with the police or another agency.
4. Get Legal help: A lawyer can help if the record isn’t removed.

Note: Sealed records are hidden from the public but still accessible to law enforcement, courts, and certain employers. However, if a sealed record is shared publicly or with unauthorized parties, you can request its removal.

Expungement and sealing can remove criminal records from official databases, but they don’t automatically erase information from the internet. News articles, criminal histories, mugshots, and other online content may still be available even after a record is cleared.

If you want to remove this information, you may need to contact the website directly or ask Google to remove the link from search results. For more information, refer to common questions about criminal records.

In Illinois, there are no specific legal penalties for individuals, such as family or friends, who share information about someone's expunged or sealed record. However, employers, landlords, and certain organizations may be prohibited from asking about or using expunged or sealed records when making decisions like hiring or housing. Learn more about disputing inaccurate information on your credit report or background check.