Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet - Illinois

PREPARATION WORKSHEET — DO NOT FILE THIS DOCUMENT

Use this worksheet to prepare the current Illinois Supreme Court forms. The adult form suite was revised in June 2026 after Public Act 104-459 changed 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 effective June 1, 2026.

Illinois Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records — Preparation Worksheet

1. Required statewide forms

Prepare and file the current versions of:

• Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records;
• Case List for Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records;
• Order to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records; and
• Order Denying Request to Expunge and/or Seal Criminal Records.

Use the additional-arrest or additional-case pages if the available space is insufficient. Download the forms from the Illinois Courts approved-forms page. Ask the circuit clerk whether the county requires electronic filing, paper filing, certified dispositions, or local cover sheets.

2. Applicant information

Full legal name: [________________________________]

Other names used in the listed records: [________________________________]

Date of birth: [__/__/____]

Current mailing address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

County in which this request will be filed: [________________________________] County, Illinois

☐ I will promptly notify the circuit clerk if my address changes while the request is pending.

3. Record review

Before completing the official forms, compare the court dispositions with the available police records.

☐ Circuit-clerk docket sheets or certified dispositions reviewed

☐ Illinois State Police Statewide Criminal History Transcript reviewed

☐ Chicago Police RAP sheet reviewed, if any arrest occurred in Chicago

☐ Every Illinois county containing a record identified

☐ Pending criminal charges identified and reviewed with counsel

Illinois requires a separate filing in each county where an arrest occurred or a charge was brought. See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(1).

4. Case inventory

Complete one row for every arrest or charge requested for relief. Transfer the information to the official Request and Case List forms.

Additional case notes: [____________________________________________________________]

5. Expungement screening

Under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(b), the ordinary expungement routes include:

• acquittal, dismissal, or release without charging — no waiting period;
• a conviction reversed or vacated — no waiting period;
• successfully completed supervision — generally two years after satisfactory termination;
• supervision for the offenses listed in § 5.2(b)(2)(B)(i) — five years after satisfactory termination;
• qualifying reckless-driving supervision for conduct before age 25 — after the applicant reaches age 25 and only if the statutory no-other-DUI-or-reckless-driving-conviction condition is met; and
• successfully completed qualified probation — five years after satisfactory termination.

A petition anticipating successful completion of a qualifying problem-solving-court, pre-plea-diversion, or post-plea-diversion program may be filed beginning 61 days before the anticipated dismissal, but relief depends on successful completion, dismissal, and satisfaction of the applicable statute. See § 5.2(b)(2)(A-5).

Ordinary misdemeanor and felony convictions are not expunged merely because time has passed. Separate narrow routes include a pardon specifically authorizing expungement, a Prisoner Review Board certificate authorizing expungement, factual-innocence relief, and eligible cannabis relief. Those routes require their own supporting documents and legal review.

For each requested expungement:

☐ The disposition is eligible.

☐ Supervision or qualified probation was completed successfully, if applicable.

☐ The correct waiting period has elapsed.

☐ The record is not excluded by § 5.2(a)(3).

☐ Any pardon, certificate, vacation order, or other required proof is attached.

6. Sealing screening

Under the post–June 1, 2026 version of 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(c):

For waiting-period purposes, “last sentence” means the sentence, supervision, or qualified probation for a criminal offense that terminates last in any jurisdiction, whether or not that record is included in the request. An outstanding financial obligation does not keep a sentence from terminating. See § 5.2(a)(1)(F) and (M).

An applicant with an eligible felony in the three-year category may ask the court to waive that wait if the applicant earned a new qualifying diploma, degree, career certificate, vocational or technical certification, or GED during the sentence or mandatory supervised release. See § 5.2(c)(3)(E).

7. Exclusion check

Section 5.2(a)(3) excludes specified records. Obtain individualized review if any case involves:

☐ DUI or an equivalent local ordinance

☐ Reckless driving or an equivalent local ordinance

☐ A sexual offense, public-indecency offense, or registration consequence

☐ Domestic battery, violation of an order of protection, stalking no-contact order, or civil no-contact order

☐ Dog fighting or a Class A misdemeanor or felony under the Humane Care for Animals Act

☐ A minor traffic offense

☐ Multiple charges in one case, including an excluded charge

The reckless-driving exception is narrow. Do not select it unless the offense was a misdemeanor violation occurring before age 25 and the applicant satisfies the statute's criminal-history condition.

8. Same-hearing immediate sealing

Section 5.2(g) permits immediate sealing only for an acquittal or dismissal with prejudice occurring on or after January 1, 2018 when the petition is filed on the same day and during the same hearing as the disposition. The attorney may present the verified petition during that hearing. The State's Attorney is served in open court; the applicant does not serve other agencies for this same-hearing procedure. No proof of a passed drug test is required.

☐ The disposition is an acquittal or dismissal with prejudice.

☐ The disposition date is on or after January 1, 2018.

☐ Counsel is prepared to file during the same hearing.

9. Filing and clerk service

Filing method: ☐ E-file ☐ Paper filing permitted by clerk ☐ Other: [________________]

Filing date: [__/__/____]

Fee paid: $[________] ☐ Fee-waiver application filed

Do not use a petitioner certificate of service for the original statutory recipients. Under § 5.2(d)(4), the circuit clerk promptly serves the petition on the prosecutor, Illinois State Police, arresting agency, and the chief legal officer for a municipal-ordinance case. The current statewide suite includes a Certificate of Service by Circuit Clerk for clerk use.

Recipients have 60 days from service to file a specific written objection. If an objection is filed, the court sets a hearing and gives at least 30 days' notice of the hearing. See § 5.2(d)(5)-(7).

10. Hearing preparation

☐ Copies of filed Request and Case List

☐ Dispositions and sentence-completion records

☐ Pardon, Prisoner Review Board certificate, or other supporting order, if applicable

☐ Proof supporting an educational-achievement waiver, if requested

☐ Employment and educational history

☐ Specific adverse consequences if relief is denied

☐ Current proposed granting and denial orders

11. After the order

The court provides the entered order to the statutory recipients. Agencies generally have up to 60 days after service of an expungement order to implement the required action, and the Illinois State Police must send compliance notice when required by § 5.2(d)(9)(D). Keep a permanent copy of the order.

Order entered: [__/__/____]

☐ Granted in full ☐ Granted in part ☐ Denied

Illinois State Police compliance notice received: [__/__/____]

Sources and References

• 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 — current official text
• Illinois Courts — approved adult expungement and sealing forms
• How to Clear Your Criminal Record: Expungement & Sealing (approved June 2026)