Minor Cannabis Offenses FAQ’s

The Criminal Identification Act, 20 ILCS 2630/1 et seq., empowers the Illinois State Police (ISP) to handle criminal identification and investigation. In furtherance of these duties, the Act requires all law enforcement entities, Clerks of the Circuit Court, State’s Attorney’s Offices, and the Illinois Department of Corrections to submit certain criminal history records to the ISP for filing. The Act also governs the expungement or sealing of records maintained by the ISP and provides for the dissemination of said records to criminal justice agencies and other authorized entities upon proper application.

The passage of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act brought significant changes to the Criminal Identification Act. Specifically, Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act was amended to allow for the expungement of certain misdemeanor and felony violations of the Cannabis Control Act. These changes require the automatic expungement of non-conviction minor cannabis offenses by specified timeframes and create mechanisms for the expungement of conviction records for misdemeanor and felony violations of the Cannabis Control Act.

ISP neither directs, nor controls compliance by other law enforcement agencies regarding expungement requirements. The purpose of the following FAQs is not to provide legal advice, but rather to aid in understanding the recent amendatory changes to the Criminal Identification Act surrounding “Minor Cannabis Offense” records. Consequently, please contact your respective legal counsel’s office for matters requiring legal interpretation of statutory language or specific direction concerning compliance with the Criminal Identification Act.

  • The ISP and all law enforcement agencies within the State are required to automatically expunge all criminal history records of an arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation for a Minor Cannabis Offense committed prior to June 25, 2019 (Eligible Records).
  • These records must be expunged by the law enforcement agency according to specific statutory timelines:
    • Eligible records created on or after January 1, 2013 through June 25, 2019 must have been expunged by January 1, 2021.
    • Eligible records created prior to January 1, 2013, but on or after January 1, 2000, must be expunged by January 1, 2023.
    • Eligible records created prior to January 1, 2000 must be expunged by January 1, 2025.

  • “Minor Cannabis Offense” means a violation of Section 4 or 5 of the Cannabis Control Act, 720 ILCS 550, concerning not more than 30 grams of any substance containing cannabis, provided the violation did not include a penalty enhancement under Section 7 of the Cannabis Control Act and is not associated with an arrest, conviction or other disposition for a violent crime as defined in subsection (c) of Section 3 of the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act.” [See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a)(1)(G-5)].
  • The following possession violations of the Cannabis Control Act involving not more than 30 grams of any substance containing cannabis potentially qualify for expungement:
    • Pre 2016 - 720 ILCS 550.0/4(a),(b),(c)
    • Post 2016 - 720 ILCS 550.0/4(a),(b)
  • The following manufacture/delivery violations of the Cannabis Control Act involving not more than 30 grams of any substance containing cannabis potentially qualify for expungement:
    • 720 ILCS 550.0/5(a),(b),(c)

“Expunge” means 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, or both…” [See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a)(1)(E)]

  • The violations of the Cannabis Control Act listed above only qualify for expungement if the violation did not include a Section 7 penalty enhancement and is not associated with an arrest, conviction or other disposition for a violent crime (see below).
  • The Cannabis Control Act citations listed above are eligible for expungement regardless if they are misdemeanor and felony violations.
  • Please note, the Criminal Identification Act provides for the expungement of non-conviction records generally so an individual could get a court order entered expunging a non-conviction CCA violation.

  • Records of Minor Cannabis Offenses that are associated with an arrest, conviction or other disposition for a violent crime, as defined the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act, 725 ILCS 120/3(c), are not eligible for automatic expungement.
  • Pursuant to that Act, violent crime means: (1) any felony in which force or threat of force was used against the victim; (2) any offense involving sexual exploitation, sexual conduct, or sexual penetration; (3) a violation of Section 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-23, or 11-23.5 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (4) domestic battery or stalking; (5) violation of an order of protection, a civil no contact order, or a stalking no contact order; (6) any misdemeanor which results in death or great bodily harm to the victim; or (7) any violation of Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, or a similar provision of a local ordinance, if the violation resulted in personal injury or death. "Violent crime" includes any action committed by a juvenile that would be a violent crime if committed by an adult. For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal injury" shall include any Type A injury as indicated on the traffic accident report completed by a law enforcement officer that requires immediate professional attention in either a doctor's office or medical facility. A type A injury shall include severely bleeding wounds, distorted extremities, and injuries that require the injured party to be carried from the scene.

Cannabis Control Act violations that resulted in a conviction are eligible for expungement following the granting of a Gubernatorial Pardon which specifically authorizes expungement. After the issuance of a pardon authorizing expungement, the Prisoner Review Board, through the Attorney General, shall file a petition for expungement with the Chief Judge of the circuit or any judge of the circuit designated by the Chief Judge where the individual had been convicted. Within 90 days of the filing of such a petition, the court shall enter an order expunging the records of arrest from the official records of the arresting authority and order that the records of the circuit court clerk and the Department of State Police be expunged and the name of the defendant obliterated from the official index requested to be kept by the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for the offense for which the individual had received a pardon but the order shall not affect any index issued by the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. After entering an order to expunge or seal records, the court must provide copies of the order to the Department, to the petitioner, to the State's Attorney or prosecutor charged with the duty of prosecuting the offense, to the arresting agency, to the chief legal officer of the unit of local government effecting the arrest, and to such other criminal justice agencies as may be ordered by the court.

  • Law enforcement agencies should automatically expunge records of a Minor Cannabis Offense pursuant to the timeframes listed in subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act. Generally, agencies will not receive court orders to expunge non-conviction “minor cannabis offense “ records, unless an individual seeks a court order to expunge such a record.
  • Agencies may receive court orders to expunge Cannabis Control Act violations that resulted in a conviction in the following situations:
    • Cannabis Control Act conviction violations receiving a Gubernatorial Pardon authorizing expungement are eligible for expungement. Consequently, agencies may receive court orders to expunge Cannabis Control Act conviction violations following the entry of court orders granting petitions to expunge the pardoned convictions.
    • The recent changes to the Criminal Identification Act permit any State’s Attorney, individual, or legal aid agency assisting an individual to file a motion to vacate and expunge a conviction for a misdemeanor or Class 4 felony violation of Section 4 or Section 5 of the Cannabis Control Act with the circuit court.

  • Records of qualifying non-conviction Cannabis Control Act violations are required to be automatically expunged according to certain timeframes listed in subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act. Generally, agencies will not receive court orders to expunge non-conviction “minor cannabis offense “ records.
  • Please note, the changes to the Criminal Identification Act concerning Minor Cannabis Offenses did not restrict or modify an individual's right to have that individual's records expunged as otherwise may be provided in the Criminal Identification Act. Consequently, agencies may receive court orders to expunge non-conviction CCA violations.

Agencies do not need to notify the ISP of the records that are expunged. Such a practice is neither contemplated, nor required by the recent changes to the Criminal Identification Act.

The amendatory changes to the Criminal Identification Act concerning the expungement of “Minor Cannabis Offense” records do not have any impact on existing juvenile expungement mandates. The expungement of juvenile law enforcement and court records is governed by Section 5-915 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Generally, the Juvenile Court Act requires the ISP and all law enforcement agencies within the State to automatically expunge juvenile records that did not result in a petition for delinquency being filed by January 1 annually.

No. The expungement of law enforcement records related to cannabis offenses is authorized pursuant to Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act. Section 7 of the Local Records Act provides, “Except as otherwise provided by law, no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission is first obtained.”

  • “Minor Cannabis Offense” records are the only records required or authorized to be expunged pursuant to the recent amendatory changes to the Criminal Identification Act. Records involving offenses that are not deemed a “Minor Cannabis Offense” should not be expunged unless otherwise authorized by law or court order.
  • Law enforcement agencies may consider using redactions for arrest events involving multiple offenses and/or multiple defendants.

  • The changes to the Criminal Identification Act only require or authorize the expungement of Minor Cannabis Offense records that meet the definition of Minor Cannabis Offense.
  • Law enforcement agencies should consult with their legal counsel as to whether they have separate legal authority or an obligation to expunge cannabis-related records of violations that do not meet the definition of a Minor Cannabis Offense.

The full text of subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act can be accessed on the Illinois General Assembly’s website via the following link:
20 ILCS 2630/ Criminal Identification Act.