What are the different types of criminal records? 

• Court Disposition: The final judgment or outcome in a court case. There are no court dispositions for arrests or charges that did not lead to a court case.
• Chicago RAP Sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions): List of all arrests, charges, and court case outcomes that happened in Chicago.
• Illinois State Police Statewide Criminal History Transcript: List of most arrests and convictions that happened in Illinois. 

Learn how to get copies of your criminal record. 

What do Illinois criminal records look like?

Below are sample court disposition records and sample police RAP sheet records. You can use the samples to help you find the information you will need when trying to expunge or seal your records. 

Learn more about what the abbreviations on your RAP sheets mean.

Cook county court disposition and Chicago police RAP sheet

Non-Cook county court disposition and Illinois state police RAP sheet

RAP sheet basics 

A Record of Arrests and Prosecutions (RAP) sheet contains the information about your arrests for that county or the municipality. Each RAP sheet gives the following details: 

• Arrest date: When you were arrested
• Case number: Assigned by the court to your case. Anyone tried with a felony in Cook County has two separate case numbers. The case number is given at arrest, and then a second case number with a C given when the case was transferred to the felony schedule
• Charge: Explains which law was violated when the police officer arrested you. Each charge is abbreviated. Common Abbreviations on RAP Sheets 
• CB: Central Booking Number used by the police to identify different arrests in Chicago
• Disposition or Sentence: A conclusion the court came to after your trial. Dispositions are abbreviated
• DCN: Document Control Number tracks all proceedings linked to a specific arrest
• IR: Individual Record Number associated with your fingerprint
• SID: State Identification Number for internal record keeping

What information do I need from my criminal record?

You need your criminal record to figure out which offenses on your criminal record can be expunged (erased) and which can be sealed (hidden). You will also need this information to fill out your forms. Look at each item in your criminal record and find: 

• Arrest number or case number;
• Date of arrest;
• Agency or police department that arrested you;
• Charge (or type of offense) that caused your arrest;
• Disposition (or outcome) of the case. For example, guilty or not guilty;
• Sentence (or punishment) you received; and
• Date you completed any sentence

Once you have gathered all of the information about your criminal records, you must decide which items qualify for expungement (to erase the records) and which are eligible for sealing (to hide the records from the public). Learn more about which criminal offenses can be expunged or sealed.