Mugshots are public records in Illinois. The Freedom of Information Act requires law enforcement agencies to release basic arrest information, including the booking photograph when one exists, within 72 hours of an arrest. A handful of exceptions apply — juvenile arrests, expunged or sealed records, and certain low-level offenses that police are barred from posting to social media — but for an adult arrested on an ordinary charge, the mugshot is a document anyone can request.
The 72-Hour Release Rule
The Illinois Freedom of Information Act treats records held by a public body as open to inspection unless a specific exemption applies.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 140 – Freedom of Information Act Booking photographs taken at a county jail or police station fit within the Act’s broad definition of public records.
Section 2.15 goes further than passive availability. Criminal justice agencies must make arrest report information public no later than 72 hours after an arrest, whether or not anyone has filed a request. That information specifically includes the arrested person’s name, age, address, and photograph when available.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 140/2.15 – Arrest Reports If you request the record through the ordinary FOIA process, the agency has five business days to respond or to extend the deadline.
When Police Can Withhold a Mugshot
Section 7 of the FOIA lists exemptions, and one in particular touches on booking photos: an agency may withhold personal information if releasing it would amount to a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” meaning the person’s privacy interest outweighs the public interest in the information.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 140/7 – Exemptions Agencies rarely invoke this exemption for a standard adult mugshot, because courts tend to find a strong public interest in arrest records. The exemption exists, but it is not an everyday block.
Section 2.15(c) also allows agencies to withhold specific parts of an arrest report when disclosure would interfere with a pending investigation, endanger someone’s life or safety, or compromise the security of a correctional facility.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 5 ILCS 140/2.15 – Arrest Reports The photograph itself is not among the fields the subsection lets agencies withhold, so this provision rarely stops a mugshot release on its own.
Juvenile Arrests Are Confidential
Juvenile records follow a different rule. Under the Juvenile Court Act, all law enforcement records involving a minor are confidential and may not be disclosed to the general public.4Justia Law. Illinois Code 705 ILCS 405 Article I – General Provisions Police generally cannot send a minor’s fingerprints or photographs to the Illinois State Police or the FBI without a court order, and juvenile arrest records must be kept separate from adult records.
Improper disclosure is a Class C misdemeanor carrying a $1,000 fine. The person whose records were released can also sue for $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater.4Justia Law. Illinois Code 705 ILCS 405 Article I – General Provisions
What Police Cannot Post on Social Media
A 2018 amendment to the FOIA, in Section 2.15(e), prohibits law enforcement agencies from posting booking photographs on their social media accounts when the arrest involves a civil offense, petty offense, business offense, or a Class B or Class C misdemeanor.5Illinois General Assembly. Public Act 100-0927 Minor traffic violations, disorderly conduct, and certain trespassing offenses fall in that range.
Two exceptions remain: police can still post a mugshot to help locate a missing person, or to find a fugitive or person of interest connected to a more serious crime.5Illinois General Assembly. Public Act 100-0927 The restriction applies only to the department’s own social media pages. If someone files a FOIA request for the same photo, the agency can still release it.
Taking a Mugshot Out of the Public Record
The surest way to stop a mugshot from being a public record is a court order expunging or sealing the underlying arrest. Expungement destroys the records and removes the person’s name from official indexes. Sealing keeps the records intact but limits access to law enforcement and other authorized entities.6Illinois State Police. Illinois State Police Directive ADM-007 – Orders to Expunge or Seal Once the order is in effect, FOIA no longer reaches the record.
Under the Criminal Identification Act, arrests that ended in acquittal, dismissal, or release without charges can be expunged with no waiting period. Records from completed court supervision usually require a two-year wait, with a five-year wait for offenses like domestic battery and retail theft. Qualified drug probation requires a five-year wait after successful completion.7FindLaw. Illinois Code 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 – Expungement and Sealing Sealing reaches more categories of records, including many misdemeanor and felony convictions, generally after a three-year wait from the end of the sentence.
Once a judge signs the order, send a certified copy to the arresting agency. The agency has 60 days to carry it out, which includes pulling the mugshot from any public-facing website or social media page it maintains.6Illinois State Police. Illinois State Police Directive ADM-007 – Orders to Expunge or Seal If the agency doesn’t comply, the court that issued the order can enforce it.
Dealing With Commercial Mugshot Websites
Illinois law directly targets sites that scrape mugshots and charge people to take them down. Section 2QQQ of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act makes it an unlawful practice for any publisher of criminal record information to solicit or accept payment to remove, correct, or modify that information.8Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 505/2QQQ – Criminal Record Information The pay-for-removal model is illegal here. If a site asks for a fee, you can file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
The same statute gives you a tool when the listing is inaccurate. If a for-profit site shows the wrong charge, misses a dismissal, or lists an incorrect disposition, send a certified letter to the publisher identifying the error and attaching documentation. The publisher has five business days to correct it. Missing that deadline exposes them to $100 per day in damages, plus attorney’s fees.8Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 505/2QQQ – Criminal Record Information
One thing the statute does not do: it does not force a commercial site to delete an accurate arrest listing simply because the charges were later dropped. The leverage comes from the fee ban and the error-correction rule. If your record has been expunged or sealed, the underlying arrest is no longer a public record at all, which gives you a stronger basis to demand removal. For sites operating outside Illinois, enforcement can be harder in practice, though the law reaches any entity publishing an Illinois resident’s criminal record information.