3 Types of Criminal Records in Illinois

If you’re like many people in Illinois, you have a criminal record – but what type of criminal record do you have, and do you qualify for expungement or sealing? Your best bet is to talk to a Chicago expungement lawyer

But in the meantime, here’s what you need to know.

3 Types of Criminal Records in Illinois

There are three main types of criminal records in Illinois:

  • Court dispositions
  • RAP sheets
  • Illinois State Police criminal history transcripts

Court Dispositions

A court disposition is the final judgment or outcome of your court case. If you’re found guilty, the disposition is guilty; if you’re found not guilty, the disposition says so.

If police drop your charges and you don’t go to court, or if you’re arrested and released without ever going to court, you won’t have a court disposition.

RAP Sheets

RAP is short for record of arrests and prosecutions. The term RAP sheet refers to a list of your arrests, what charges were filed against you, and the outcome of each court case.

If you were arrested in 2005 for retail theft, 2009 for battery, and 2014 for DUI, each of those arrests will be listed on your RAP sheet.

Let’s say police dropped the charges for the arrests in 2005 and 2014, but charged you with battery in 2009. In the assault case, you went to court and were found guilty. All the charges will be on the RAP sheet – the retail theft, battery and DUI – but only the case from 2009 (the battery) will have a court outcome listed with it.

Illinois State Police Criminal History Transcripts

The Illinois State Police keep records of your criminal history, even if they weren’t the agency that arrested or charged you with a crime. This list contains information on all your arrests and convictions that took place in Illinois.

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Expungement or Criminal Record Sealing?

Find out if you’re eligible for criminal record expungement now.

If you need to talk to a Chicago expungement attorney about clearing your criminal record so you can get a fresh start, we may be able to help.

Call us at 847-920-4540 for a free criminal record clearing case review right now.