Illinois Criminal Records

The law in the state of Illinois requires that every criminal record must be accessible to the general public. This is in accordance with the Uniform Conviction Information Act or UCIA, which was effected in January of 1991. It is important to note, however, that if criminal records are being accessed for employment or for screening new tenants, the individual concerned should be notified and provide his/her consent.

There are two options by which an individual is able to gain access to criminal records in Illinois. One option involves contacing the Bureau of Identification Office for a Conviction Information Request Form. These forms are accompanied by a processing control number that is unique so that its duplication is prevented. The forms come in two types. One is the Fingerprint Conviction Information Request or the ISP6-404B, and the other is the Non-fingerprint Conviction Information Request or the ISP6-405B. The processing fee for the Fingerprint Conviction Information Request form is $20.00. For the Non-fingerprint Conviction Information, the fee is $16.00. The final outcome of these forms is a search conducted through the criminal records database of the Illinois State Police. To conduct the search, the key identifiers used are the individual's name, sex, birth date, and race. For fingerprint forms, fingerprints are matched to those that are in the fingerprint database of the Illinois Police. Forms can be acquired from the Illinois State Police, Department of Identification. The service is available on weekdays, Monday-Friday, from 8 am to 4 pm.

The procedure for accessing Illinois criminal records is as follows:

• The first step is to obtain an ISP6-405B form or the Non-fingerprint conviction form from either from the website of the Illinois State Police, or get in touch with the Bureau of Investigation of the state police to request for a form. The number to call is 815-740-5160.
• The form requested must be completely filled out. This will include pertinent data of the individual who you are performing a background check on, such as the complete name, birth date, race, and sex. Should this individual have any aliases, this must be included in the search request as well. If you are conducting a search on a female, the unmarried name must be added if applicable.
• The completed form must then be submitted to the Illinois State Police Bureau of Investigation. The Address is 260 North Chicago Street, Joliet, Illinois 60431-1060. A processing fee of $16.00 must be included with the request for non-fingerprint based background checks.
• If the non-fingerprint check comes up with poor results, or if your identification data is incomplete, obtain and then submit the ISP6-404B or the Fingerprint Conviction Information Request form. This will give you the most complete search and come up with the best results. This form can be requested from the website of the Illinois State police or via the phone. Fill out the form completely.
• Aside from the general identification information, add in official copies of the person's fingerprints as well. It is recommended by the state police that these fingerprints are taken either at the sheriff's office or the state's police department. The form must then be submitted to the Bureau of Investigation together with a processing fee of $20.00.

Illinois Criminal Certificates