Expungement vs. Sealing in Illinois: The Difference

An old case on your record is a paperwork problem. Paperwork problems have fixes. The two fixes Illinois offers are called expungement and sealing, and people use the words interchangeably because they sound like they should mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides which one you can actually get.

The short answer

Expungement destroys the record and takes your name off the public index. Sealing keeps the record in existence but makes it unavailable to the public without a court order. Expungement is generally limited to arrests that did not end in conviction, plus supervision and qualified probation. Sealing is the tool that reaches most convictions.

Those definitions are not our paraphrase. 20 ILCS 2630/5.2 defines “expunge” as to physically destroy the records or return them to the petitioner and to obliterate the petitioner’s name from any official index or public record. It defines “seal” as to physically and electronically maintain the records but make them unavailable without a court order.

The difference, in one table

The waiting periods for sealing in that table are the current ones. They changed on June 1, 2026, when the Illinois Clean Slate Act (Public Act 104-0459) took effect and moved most conviction records from a three year wait to a two year wait, leaving felony convictions at three. If you checked your eligibility a year ago and came up short, check again. We cover the rest of that law in our explainer on the Clean Slate Act.

The rule that decides most cases

If you take one thing from this page, take this. Expungement is for cases that did not end in a conviction. Sealing is how convictions come off public view.

Under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(b), you can petition to expunge an arrest or charge that ended in acquittal, dismissal, or release without charging; a conviction that was later vacated or reversed; a completed order of supervision; or a completed order of qualified probation. Notice what is not on that list. An ordinary conviction, even a very old misdemeanor, is not expungeable. People spend months chasing the wrong petition because nobody told them that.

Supervision is the source of most confusion, because supervision is not a conviction. Complete it, and the case can be expunged after the waiting period. That is why “I got supervision” and “I got convicted” lead to completely different answers.

What can never be cleared

Some things are off the table no matter how long you wait or how well your life has gone since.

DUI is the big one. 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a)(3)(A) bars both sealing and expungement of records resulting in an order of supervision for or a conviction of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. That bar covers DUI supervision, not just a DUI conviction. Supervision keeps a DUI off your record as a conviction, which matters, but it does not make the arrest clearable. Reckless driving is treated the same way, with one narrow exception for a misdemeanor charge under Section 11-503(a) that occurred before the person turned 25, where there is no other 11-501 or 11-503 conviction.

Sexual offenses committed against a minor are barred from both remedies. Separately, a longer list is barred from sealing specifically: most offenses under Article 11 of the Criminal Code, domestic battery under 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2, violations of stalking and civil no contact orders, Class A misdemeanor and felony animal cruelty, and anything that triggers sex offender registration. Convictions requiring registration as an arsonist, sex offender, or violent offender against youth cannot be sealed until the registration requirement itself ends.

One counterintuitive result falls out of how those lists are written. Domestic battery appears on the never sealable list, but it is not on the never expungeable list. So completed supervision for domestic battery can be expunged five years after the supervision ends, even though it could never be sealed. That is a real distinction worth checking rather than assuming.

What it costs, honestly

There is a filing fee in each county where you have a case, and the number varies by county, so ask the circuit clerk or ask us. If money is the obstacle, Illinois has a real answer: 735 ILCS 5/5-105 requires a full waiver of court fees for a person receiving means tested benefits such as SNAP, TANF, or SSI, or whose income is 125% or less of the federal poverty level. Above that, the statute steps down through partial waivers of 75%, 50%, and 25% as income rises toward 200% of poverty.

You can file this yourself. Statewide forms are free, and plenty of people get it done without a lawyer. The petitions that go wrong are the ones with cases in more than one county, a disposition nobody can locate, an offense that is categorized differently than the client assumed, or a waiting period that had not quite run. A denial is not fatal, but it costs months, and months matter when a job offer is sitting on it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between expungement and sealing in Illinois?

Expungement destroys the record and removes your name from public indexes. Sealing keeps the record but makes it unavailable without a court order. Expungement generally applies to arrests without conviction, supervision, and qualified probation. Sealing is the remedy that reaches misdemeanor and many felony convictions.

Does a sealed record show up on a background check?

Not on an ordinary employment or housing background check. Sealed records stay available to law enforcement, the courts, and a defined set of employers and licensing bodies that state or federal law authorizes to see them, such as schools, health care employers, and certain licensed positions.

Can I get a felony sealed in Illinois?

Many felony convictions can be sealed three years after your last sentence ends. The main exclusions are sex offenses, domestic battery, offenses requiring registration, and Class A misdemeanor or felony animal cruelty. Class X felonies, homicide, and other serious violent offenses are excluded from automatic sealing but may still be petitioned in some circumstances.

Can a DUI be expunged or sealed?

No. Illinois bars both expungement and sealing of records resulting in a DUI conviction, and that bar applies to court supervision for DUI as well. Supervision avoids a conviction, which still matters for your license and insurance, but the arrest remains on your public record permanently.

Do I have to wait for automatic sealing?

No, and waiting is usually the wrong move. Automatic sealing under the Clean Slate Act does not begin until January 1, 2029, and then rolls out in phases over several years. Filing a petition now puts the timing in your hands instead of the State’s.

Find out what can come off your record

Most people who qualify for relief never file, usually because nobody ever told them which of the two petitions applied to their case. If you have an old arrest or conviction in Jefferson, Marion, Franklin, Williamson, or any of the surrounding counties, the first step is simply figuring out what category your case falls into. That is a short conversation, not a project.

Olson & Reeves handles expungement and sealing petitions across southern Illinois. Read more on our Southern Illinois expungement page or our record sealing page. Call (618) 316-7322 and we will tell you what is eligible and what is not.