Crime & Traffic

The Clean Slate Act is an Illinois law that changes some of the rules for sealing criminal records. One of the biggest changes is that some eligible records may eventually be sealed automatically by the Illinois State Police and the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk without having to file a petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court or go to court.

The law does not create automatic expungement, and it does not change your eligibility to file a petition for relief such as expungement or vacatur. Expungement and sealing are different. Learn about the difference between expungement and sealing.

The Clean Slate Act also makes other changes to the law. For example, it removes the requirement to complete a drug test before sealing or expunging certain drug-related records.

Automatic sealing will happen in stages and will take several years to fully start working. It is important not to rely only on automatic sealing because it will be limited and may not give you all of the relief you could qualify for under the law.

If you are thinking about expungement or sealing, it is a good idea to talk to a lawyer. New laws can be complicated, and a lawyer who works with criminal records can help you understand whether your record will qualify for automatic sealing and whether it makes sense to wait. Filing a petition may help you clear your record sooner or give you more relief than automatic sealing. Even if you decide to file on your own, speaking with a lawyer first can help you avoid mistakes and better understand your options.

Learn how to ask the court to seal or expunge your records.

Some parts of the law take effect on June 1, 2026. These changes include:

• No drug test required for sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement or expunging any eligible record.
• The waiting periods to seal some records have changed:
  • 2 year wait period: Applies to cases that resulted in successful supervision, qualified probation A criminal court sentence which releases a person into the community. They are under supervision and given certain conditions. such as Second Chance Probation, conditional discharge or probation completed without revocation, misdemeanor A lesser crime punishable by a fine or confinement in county jail for up to one year. convictions, and municipal ordinance A law or regulation of a city or local government violations.
  • 3 year wait period: Applies to felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison cases that did not result in one of the outcomes listed above, such as cases that resulted in jail or prison time.
  • Important: The rules about waiving the waiting period have also changed. Previously, if you earned an academic degree or career certificate while serving your last sentence or while on parole, A release from prison. It allows someone to serve time outside of prison as long as they follow certain conditions. that certificate could waive To give up a legal right or pardon a fee the waiting period to seal. This now applies only to the 3 year waiting period. You cannot waive the 2 year waiting period.
• No more required notice to chief legal officers in many cases.
• You will no longer be automatically disqualified from sealing a felony because of another felony conviction. When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court

Note: The Clean Slate Act does not change which offenses are generally eligible for sealing or expungement. When a criminal record is destroyed If a record was not eligible for relief before, it is still not eligible now. This includes, for example, convictions for domestic battery, violations of orders of protection, DUI and reckless driving convictions, and offenses that require registration.

Remember, automatic sealing does not begin right away. It will happen in stages and may take several years to fully roll out. Some automatic sealing is expected to begin in 2028 and 2029, but records will not all be sealed at the same time. How long it takes may depend on the type of case, how old the record is, and whether the state can locate accurate case information. Older records may take several more years to be identified and sealed.

If you have questions about whether your specific record will qualify for automatic sealing, when it might happen, or whether you should wait, it is a good idea to talk to a lawyer. Filing a petition may help you clear your record sooner or give you more relief than automatic sealing.

What this means for you: For now, you still need to file a petition if you want to seal or expunge your record.

In general, criminal records that are currently eligible for sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement under Illinois law will qualify for automatic sealing once the automatic sealing process begins. To qualify, you must:

• Have completed your sentence,
• Have no pending criminal charges, and
• Wait until the required waiting period has passed.

The following records may qualify for automatic sealing:

• Cases without a conviction, When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court including arrests that did not lead to a conviction, dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. cases, and cases where you were found not guilty
• Completed supervision or probation A criminal court sentence which releases a person into the community. They are under supervision and given certain conditions.
• Most misdemeanor A lesser crime punishable by a fine or confinement in county jail for up to one year. convictions
• Most non-violent felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison convictions

Your case must qualify based on both the type of charge and how the case ended. For example, DUI charges do not qualify for automatic sealing, even if the case was dismissed.

Most misdemeanor A lesser crime punishable by a fine or confinement in county jail for up to one year. and non-violent felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison convictions may qualify for automatic sealing. When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement However, some offenses are excluded.

Some convictions cannot be sealed under Illinois law, even if you file a petition. (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court These offenses also do not qualify for automatic sealing. They include:

• Domestic battery
• Violating an order of protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties or no contact order
• Certain sex offenses Any sexual act without the consent of the victim, including when the victim cannot give consent. Includes sexual assault with or without an object, sexual abuse, sodomy, and fondling that require sex offender registration
• DUI and reckless driving convictions and supervision sentences
• Violations of the Humane Care for Animals Act

Other convictions do not qualify for automatic sealing, but you may still be able to ask the court to seal them by filing a petition. These include:

• Class X felonies
• Homicide The killing of one human being by another; includes willful murder and negligent homicide. offenses (Article 9 of the Criminal Code)
• Armed robbery To take or attempt to take anything from another person by force or intimidation and robbery
• Residential burglary The entry or attempted entry of any fixed structure, vehicle, or vessel used for regular residence, industry, or business, with or without force, with intent to commit a felony or larceny
• Home invasion
• Class 1 and Class 2 burglary offenses
• Vehicular hijacking and aggravated vehicular hijacking
• Human trafficking, Involves the use of force or coercion to make someone participate in forced labor or a commercial sex act, or luring them into participating if they are under 18. involuntary servitude, To coerce a person to participate in forced labor (not commercial sex acts) through coercion or if the victim is under 18 years of age. and indentured servitude
• Organized retail crime
• Arson and aggravated arson
• Kidnapping Secretly taking and confining a person against their will and aggravated kidnapping
• Aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning.
• Aggravated domestic battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability
• Stalking When a person follows someone, watches them outside their home or office, or tells them things they observed them doing and aggravated stalking
• Any offense involving the discharge of a firearm

Automatic sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement under the Clean Slate Act will not happen right away. The law requires the Illinois State Police (ISP) and circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerks to create a process to identify and seal eligible records. A Clean Slate Task Force will begin meeting in fall 2026 to help guide that process. Until the system is up and running, records will not be sealed automatically. Automatic sealing is expected to begin in 2029.

Once automatic sealing begins, when your record is sealed will depend on:

• The type of case you have
• How much time has passed since your case ended or you finished your sentence
• For older cases, where the record falls in the state’s phased implementation schedule
• Whether the state has accurate information about the final outcome of your case

Records can be automatically sealed only after a waiting period has passed:

• Dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. cases or acquittals: Immediately after the case ends. This will happen in court when the case is dismissed or you are found not guilty. Remember, sealing is not the same as expungement. When a criminal record is destroyed If you want to expunge these types of records, you will need to file a petition with the court.
• Supervision or qualified probation: A criminal court sentence which releases a person into the community. They are under supervision and given certain conditions. 2 years after completing the sentence
• Misdemeanor A lesser crime punishable by a fine or confinement in county jail for up to one year. convictions and ordinance A law or rule made by a local government like a town or city violations: 2 years after completing the sentence
• Felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison convictions: 3 years after completing your last felony sentence

For felony convictions, a new conviction When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court during the waiting period for automatic sealing may delay when your record can be automatically sealed. If you have multiple felony convictions, none of them will be automatically sealed until all felony convictions meet the required waiting period. This means they may be sealed 3 years after you complete your last felony sentence or after you are removed from a required registry, if applicable.

Implementation schedule for older cases

If your waiting period ends before automatic sealing begins in 2029, your record may not be sealed immediately. Once the automatic system is running, records will be sealed according to the state’s phased timeline. Older records will be sealed in stages based on how old they are:

• Records from July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2028 may be sealed by January 1, 2031
• Records from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 2005 may be sealed by January 1, 2032
• Records from July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1990 may be sealed by January 1, 2034

If you want your record sealed sooner, you can still file a petition under current law.

No. Once the automatic sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement system is in place, you will not need to file anything for eligible records to be sealed automatically. However, automatic sealing will not begin until at least 2029, and even after it starts, the process will not be immediate or perfect. It may take time for the system to identify and process eligible records. Until then, you must file a petition if you want to seal or expunge your record sooner.

While the law does not require a notification process, there will be a way to check whether your records were automatically sealed through the Illinois State Police (ISP).

If you want to confirm that your record has been sealed, you can request verification through the ISP Record Access and Review Process . ISP must provide written confirmation if your eligible records were sealed under this law.

You can also challenge your ISP record if you believe something on your record should have been automatically sealed. To do this, you can submit a record challenge directly to ISP. If ISP determines that the record is eligible, it should automatically seal the record and notify the court where the case was filed during its next electronic notification period.

You can also check your court record , request a background check , or contact the clerk of the court where your case was handled.

If you need a copy of your sealed records, for example, for immigration or a licensing application, you can ask the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk for it. You do not need to file a Motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something to Unseal the record. You or your lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice can request a copy, and the clerk must provide it within 7 days.