If you’re like many people who ran into trouble with the law as a kid, you want to know if you can expunge a juvenile record in Chicago. The good news: In many cases, yes, you can expunge a juvenile record. And if you don’t want anyone to find out about your past record, your best bet is to try to have it expunged.

Related: Are juvenile records automatically expunged?

Expunge a Juvenile Record in Chicago

Like all expungement cases, the first thing you need to expunge juvenile offenses in Chicago is a complete copy of your criminal record. That means either asking your juvenile expungement lawyer to perform a background check for you or getting your statewide criminal history transcript through the Illinois State police.

Related: Where to get copies of your criminal records in Chicago

Aren’t Juvenile Records Already Expunged?

The Illinois State Police expunges law enforcement records for juveniles if:

• It’s been a year or more since the date of the arrest or other law enforcement action
• Nobody filed a petition for delinquency or criminal charges with the court
• It’s been at least 6 months without any additional arrests (or without filing a petition of delinquency or criminal charges)
• The record was created after January 1, 2000

(If the record was created before January 1, 2000, you’ll probably want to talk to an expungement attorney about clearing your record.)

However, not all records are expunged – and because the law requiring these juvenile records to be expunged is still new, police have until December 31, 2023 to clear some of them. If you’re like many people whose records won’t be expunged for four more years, you don’t have that kind of time – you want your record cleared now.

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Expunging a Juvenile Record in Chicago?

We may be able to help you expunge your juvenile record in Chicago or the suburbs. We’ll be able to see if it’s still on file with the police and help you find a path forward if you’re eligible, so call us right now at 847-920-4540 for a free case review.