To get a DUI expunged in Illinois, the arrest has to have ended in your favor. State law bars expungement or sealing of any DUI that resulted in a conviction or court supervision, so only arrests dismissed, acquitted, or later vacated qualify. If yours does, you file a petition in the circuit court where the arrest happened, the state police and prosecutor get 60 days to object, and a judge decides.
Which DUI Outcomes Can Be Expunged
Under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2, courts cannot order the expungement or sealing of any arrest that resulted in supervision for or conviction of a violation of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 That closes the door on the two most common DUI outcomes.
This surprises many people. Court supervision for most other Illinois offenses becomes expungeable after a waiting period, so people assume DUI supervision works the same way. It doesn’t. The legislature carved DUI supervision out as a specific exception.
You can pursue expungement of a DUI arrest only if one of the following is true:
- Charges were dismissed or never filed after your arrest.
- Your case went to trial and you were acquitted.
- A court later vacated your conviction.
If any of those apply, the arrest record and related court records are eligible. If you completed DUI supervision or were convicted, no petition will work. The only remaining option is executive clemency, covered at the end of this article.
Waiting Periods
For DUI arrests that ended in dismissal, acquittal, or release without charging, there is no waiting period. You can file immediately.2Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. A Guide to Expungement and Sealing The same is true if a court vacates your conviction: once the vacatur order is entered, you can file right away.
If you are also cleaning up non-DUI records in the same petition, those entries carry their own timing. Non-DUI supervision generally requires a two-year wait after the term ends, and eligible non-DUI convictions require a three-year wait after completion of the sentence.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 20 ILCS 2630/5.2
Filing the Petition
The form is the “Request to Expunge & Impound and/or Seal Criminal Records,” approved by the Illinois Supreme Court and accepted in every circuit court in the state.3Illinois Courts. Request to Expunge and Impound and/or Seal Criminal Records It’s free from the Illinois Courts website. If you have multiple arrests or cases, use the supplemental “Additional Arrests or Cases for Expungement” form.
Before you fill anything out, pull your records. You will need the exact dates, case numbers, and dispositions for each arrest. A certified court disposition showing dismissal or acquittal is the single most important document, because it proves your eligibility. The circuit clerk’s office in the county where your case was handled can produce certified copies. It’s also worth requesting your Illinois State Police criminal history through the Bureau of Identification. Your petition needs to match what the state’s records show, and mismatches slow things down or draw a denial.
File the completed petition and supporting documents with the circuit clerk in the county where the arrest occurred. Records in different counties need separate petitions in each county.
Filing fees vary. McLean County charges $136, broken into a $60 filing fee, a $60 Illinois State Police processing fee, and $16 for certified copies of the court order.4McLean County, IL – Official Website. Expungement / Sealing of Records McHenry County charges $215, covering filing, copy fees, mailing, postage, and the State Police fee.5McHenry County Circuit Court Clerk. How to Clear Your Criminal Record If you can’t afford the fee, ask the court for a fee waiver and a judge will decide.
What Happens After You File
The clerk’s office sends copies of your petition to the Illinois State Police, the arresting agency, and the State’s Attorney.6Circuit Court of Cook County. Expungements for Adults Each agency has 60 days from service to review and file an objection.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 20 ILCS 2630/5.2
If an objection comes in, the court sets a hearing. You’ll need to appear, and an attorney is worth considering if the objection disputes your eligibility on the facts.
If no one objects, the statute directs the court to enter an order granting or denying the petition.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 Some counties handle unopposed petitions on paper; others still set a brief court date. Ask the clerk’s office what to expect locally.
When the judge grants expungement, the order goes to the Illinois State Police and the arresting agency, which then have 60 days to remove the records from their databases.
What Expungement Does and Doesn’t Clear
Expungement legally erases the arrest and related court records. On job applications and standard background checks, you can truthfully answer that you were not arrested for or charged with that DUI. The records come out of public databases.
Limits apply. Certain law enforcement and government entities keep limited access to expunged records for specific purposes. And criminal record expungement does not touch your Illinois Secretary of State driving abstract, which is a separate system. If a statutory summary suspension was entered against your license as part of the DUI arrest, that entry can persist on your driving record even after the criminal record is expunged. Where the charges were dismissed or you were acquitted, you may have grounds to petition for rescission of the summary suspension, but that runs through the Secretary of State’s office or court proceedings as a distinct process.
Private Background Check Companies
Consumer reporting agencies sometimes keep outdated records in their databases. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they are expected to maintain reasonable procedures to keep expunged or sealed records out of background reports, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued guidance that reporting expunged records violates FCRA accuracy requirements. If an expunged DUI shows up on a background check, dispute it directly with the reporting agency, which must investigate and correct the inaccuracy.
If You Were Convicted or Got Supervision
If your DUI ended in a conviction or court supervision, expungement is unavailable. The only route to clearing the record is a pardon from the Governor of Illinois through the executive clemency process, which runs through the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
You write a typewritten narrative petition addressed to the Governor and file it with the Prisoner Review Board. It has to cover the offense and case details, your complete criminal history in any jurisdiction (minor traffic aside), a personal biography, your reasons for seeking clemency and what relief you want, and documentation supporting the petition.7Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Guidelines for Executive Clemency The Board holds a hearing (public or non-public at your request), sends a confidential recommendation to the Governor typically within 60 days, and then the decision sits with the Governor, who has no deadline and may grant, deny, or never respond.8Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Executive Clemency A denial means waiting at least a year before refiling unless there is compelling new information.
Clemency can take months or years and rarely succeeds, but for a DUI conviction or supervision it is the only legal option Illinois offers.