Expungement Information

  • To file an expungement you will need to go to the website www.illinoiscourts.gov/Forms/approved and make sure that you qualify, especially if you have more than one. Fill out and send in the Petition to Expunge AND the Order for Expungement.

  • You will file those with the McDonough County Circuit Clerk, the filing fee is $140.00
  • You will need to know your case number, what you were charged with and what your sentence was. You can obtain copies of that information from the Circuit Clerk's Office.
  • We set it for Court approximately 6-8 weeks out. You do not need to be present, most people do not come.
  • If the expungement is granted, you will be notified by mail.
  • The case will be taken out of our system within 1 or 2 days. It can take the State Police 6-10 weeks to remove it from their system.
  • Once the case is expunged, the case will be gone from your record like it never happened. You can then answer the employment question of have you ever been convicted or charged with a misdemeanor or felony with NO.
  • If you tell someone (a potential employer, etc.) about this AFTER it has been expunged and they require documentation or more information, we CAN NOT give any information out about it. We do not acknowledge expunged cases. We dispose of them - they no longer exist. So, if you do not have copies of your paperwork to prove that it was expunged, you will have a problem.
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