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Certificate of Good Conduct, Relief from Disabilities, and Governor’s Pardon in Illinois
Last Reviewed & Updated: October 26, 2026
By: W. Scott Hanken | Former Sangamon County Prosecutor | Springfield Criminal Defense & Expungement & Record Sealing Attorney | Voted “Best Attorney” — Illinois Times Best of Springfield & State Journal-Register Reader’s Choice | Springfield, IL | Sangamon County | (217) 544-4057 | hankenlaw.com
Bottom Line: Some Illinois criminal records can’t be expunged or sealed. Three remedies can still remove the specific legal barrier in your way: a Certificate of Good Conduct, a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities, and a Governor’s pardon.
A Certificate of Good Conduct can lift employment, occupational licensing, or housing bars created by a conviction. You can ask for one after one year of good conduct for a misdemeanor, or two years for a felony.
A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities targets professional licensing. It can be granted at sentencing or any time after.
Neither certificate hides, seals, or erases the record. A Governor’s pardon is discretionary executive clemency. It is also the main way an Illinois conviction can ever be expunged, and only when the pardon expressly authorizes expungement.
Key Takeaways:
- Certificate of Good Conduct:
- Removes employment, occupational licensing, or housing bars.
- Requires 1 year of good conduct for a misdemeanor or 2 years for a felony.
- Limits an employer’s liability for hiring you.
- Certificate of Relief from Disabilities:
- Aimed at state professional licenses.
- Can only be issued by the court that sentenced you.
- Creates a presumption of rehabilitation that the licensing agency must weigh.
- Neither certificate hides the record. Employers, landlords, and licensing boards can still see the conviction, and they keep their discretion.
- Some convictions rule out both certificates, including:
- offenses that require sex offender, arsonist, or violent-offender-against-youth registration
- arson
- kidnapping
- aggravated DUI
- aggravated domestic battery
- A Governor’s pardon starts with a petition to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. There’s no fee and no waiting period, but the Governor has no deadline to decide.
- Illinois’ Clean Slate Act automates sealing starting in 2029, but it doesn’t expand which convictions can be sealed. These remedies still matter.
Not every criminal record qualifies for expungement or sealing under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2. For a lot of people, that’s where the conversation stops. It shouldn’t.
Illinois created a separate set of remedies for people whose record blocks a job, a license, or housing but doesn’t qualify for expungement or sealing. These tools won’t make the record disappear. They can remove the specific legal wall standing between you and the next step in your life.
Comparing Certificate of Good Conduct, Relief from Disabilities, and Governor’s Pardon in Illinois
| Remedy | Who Decides | Earliest Timing | What It Does | What It Doesn’t Do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Good Conduct | Circuit court in the judicial circuit where you were convicted | After 1 year of good conduct (misdemeanor) or 2 years (felony) | Lifts employment, occupational licensing, or housing bars; limits employer liability | Hide, seal, or expunge the record; force a landlord or licensing board to approve you |
| Certificate of Relief from Disabilities | The circuit court that imposed your sentence | At sentencing or any time after | Relieves licensing disabilities; creates a presumption of rehabilitation; limits employer liability | Guarantee a license or hide the record |
| Governor’s Pardon | The Governor, after a confidential Prisoner Review Board recommendation | No waiting period after conviction | Forgives the conviction; can authorize a later expungement petition | Expunge the record by itself unless the pardon expressly authorizes it |
Who Qualifies for an Illinois Certificate?
Both certificates are limited to an “eligible offender” as defined in 730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-5. You are not eligible if you were convicted of:
- An offense or attempted offense that requires registration under the Sex Offender Registration Act, the Arsonist Registration Act, or the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act
- Arson or aggravated arson
- Kidnapping or aggravated kidnapping
- Aggravated DUI
- Aggravated domestic battery
That list is narrower than many people assume. Many violent felonies are not on it. Aggravated DUI, which most people don’t think of as a violent offense, is.
A Certificate of Good Conduct is also available for a conviction from another state or from federal court. To get one, you have to show that a specific Illinois law is hurting you here.
What a Certificate of Good Conduct Can (and Cannot) Do
What barriers can it remove?
A Certificate of Good Conduct is a court order. It reflects the judge’s finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that you have been a law-abiding citizen and are fully rehabilitated.
Since a 2019 amendment, the certificate can relieve any employment, occupational licensing, or housing bar created by your conviction. The court can limit it to one or more specific bars, or it can cover all of them.
Common examples are employment restrictions in:
- the Illinois School Code
- the Park District Code
- the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act
The certificate also protects your employer. An employer is not civilly or criminally liable for something you do on the job, unless the decision to hire you was willful or wanton. That is a strong point to raise with a hesitant hiring manager.
The certificate has firm limits:
- It does not lift bars on working for the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or any law enforcement agency.
- Courts, licensing boards, and other agencies can still consider the conviction.
- Your conviction can still be used to impeach you as a witness where the rules of evidence allow it.
- Landlords and licensing bodies keep full discretion to approve or deny you.
- It does not hide, alter, or expunge the record.
The certificate also works well alongside Illinois’ fair-chance employment law. Under 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1, most employers can’t use a conviction against you unless it is substantially related to the job or creates a public safety risk. Evidence of rehabilitation is one of the factors they must consider. A court’s formal finding that you are rehabilitated is about the strongest evidence of that you can hand them.
When can you apply?
Under 730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-30, the court must find that you have behaved well for a minimum period:
- One year if your most serious conviction was a misdemeanor.
- Two years if it was a felony.
The clock runs from whichever applies to you:
- the date you paid any fine, or
- the date you were released from custody by parole, mandatory supervised release, commutation, or the end of your sentence.
If you’re still on parole or mandatory supervised release when the certificate is issued, it is temporary until you’re discharged. The court can revoke a temporary certificate for a violation. Any certificate can be revoked after a new conviction.
Where and how do you file?
You file in the circuit court of the judicial circuit where you were convicted. The court holds a rehabilitation review in the manner the chief judge of that circuit sets.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Access to Justice has approved statewide Certificate of Good Conduct forms. Every Illinois circuit court must accept them. The set includes:
- the request itself
- a notice of court date
- the order
- a letter you can give an employer
How a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities Helps with Professional Licensing
A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities targets a narrower problem: a licensing barrier between you and a specific regulated profession.
Under 730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-15, only the circuit court that imposed your sentence can issue it. It can be granted at sentencing, or later on a verified application.
The judge must be satisfied, by clear and convincing evidence, of three things:
- you are an eligible offender
- the relief is consistent with your rehabilitation
- the relief is consistent with the public interest
The court may ask the probation department to investigate you first.
The certificate applies to licenses under roughly two dozen Illinois licensing Acts. Examples include:
- barber, cosmetology, esthetics, and nail technology
- funeral directors and embalmers
- athletic trainers
- marriage and family therapists
- professional counselors
- real estate
- roofing contractors
A licensing agency must treat the certificate as creating a presumption that you are rehabilitated. It still keeps the discretion to deny a license.
Like the Certificate of Good Conduct, this certificate also shields an employer from liability for your on-the-job conduct, except for willful or wanton hiring.
Before you file, ask the circuit clerk in the county where you were sentenced which petition form that court uses.
Governor’s Pardon and Expungement Authorization in Illinois
A pardon is an act of executive clemency, not a court order. It starts with a petition to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, not the circuit court.
How do you apply for a pardon in Illinois?
- What can be pardoned. Any Illinois conviction qualifies. There is no waiting period after conviction and no filing fee, according to the Prisoner Review Board’s FAQ. The Governor cannot pardon federal or out-of-state convictions.
- What the petition must contain. It must be a typed narrative addressed to the Governor. It covers:
- the facts of the offense
- your complete criminal history
- your life history
- the type of clemency you’re asking for, including expungement
- Who must get a copy. Send copies to the sentencing judge (or the chief judge, if that judge has left the bench) and to the current State’s Attorney in the county of conviction. Include proof that you did.
- Filing deadline. Hearings are held quarterly. A complete petition must reach the Board at least 75 days before the first hearing date of the docket you want.
- Public or non-public hearing. You can request a public hearing, where you and supporters speak to the Board. Or you can choose a non-public review, where the Board decides on the written petition alone.
What happens after the hearing?
The Board sends the Governor a recommendation that is confidential by law, typically within 60 days after the hearing, according to the Board’s Executive Clemency page. The Governor is not under any deadline to respond. In practice, the full process commonly runs many months.
If clemency is denied, you generally must wait one year from the denial before filing again. The Board’s Chairman can allow an exception for compelling reasons.
Set realistic expectations. Prisoner Review Board data obtained through public records requests and compiled by the Collateral Consequences Resource Center shows Governor Pritzker had granted 463 clemency requests and denied 2,258 as of March 2026. That is about 17%, or roughly 1 in 6. A thorough, well-documented petition matters.
What does a pardon actually do?
A pardon forgives the conviction and can restore rights you lost because of it. For many people, that includes the path back to lawful gun ownership; see Can a Convicted Felon Ever Legally Own a Firearm Again?.
A pardon does not expunge your record on its own. Only a pardon that expressly authorizes expungement lets you petition the circuit court to expunge that conviction under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(e). Even then, the Illinois State Police keep the record sealed for limited law enforcement uses rather than destroying it.
Minor cannabis convictions followed their own pardon-and-expungement track. See Cannabis Conviction Expungement in Illinois.
A Lesser-Known Option for Veterans
Illinois has a separate route for military veterans with certain felony convictions. Under 730 ILCS 5/3-3-2, the Prisoner Review Board can issue a certificate of eligibility for expungement.
Who can apply: someone convicted of a Class 3 or Class 4 felony who later served in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard, and either:
- received an honorable discharge, or
- is currently enlisted and has completed one tour of duty.
Who can’t: anyone convicted of a sex offense, a firearm offense, or a crime of violence.
How it’s decided: a three-member panel must vote unanimously. If the Board grants the certificate, you then petition the circuit court for an expungement order.
If you’re denied: you generally must wait four years before refiling, unless the Board waives the wait.
Timing with clemency: you can’t have this petition and a clemency petition pending at the same time, according to the Board’s Certificate of Expungement for Military page.
How the Clean Slate Act Changes the Picture
Illinois’ Clean Slate Act, Public Act 104-0459, was signed on January 16, 2026. It changes record sealing in two stages.
- Changes in effect since June 1, 2026. Some petition-based rules changed, including removal of the drug-test requirement and shorter waiting periods for some records. Illinois Legal Aid Online’s Clean Slate Act guide summarizes them.
- Automatic sealing begins January 1, 2029. Eligible misdemeanor records are sealed automatically two years after the sentence ends. Eligible felony records are sealed three years after the last felony sentence ends. Older records are phased in through 2034.
- What it doesn’t change. The Act does not expand which offenses can be sealed. Some sealable convictions are excluded from automatic sealing and still require a petition, including:
- Class X felonies
- crimes of violence
- robbery
- vehicular hijacking
- certain burglaries
That’s why certificates and pardons still matter:
- DUI and some other convictions can never be sealed.
- You may need relief now, not in 2029.
- Sealed felony records remain visible to employers that are required by law to run certain background checks.
- A pardon is still the main route to expunging a conviction rather than sealing it.
Which Remedy Fits Your Situation?
- A statute blocks a specific job, and your offense isn’t excluded: start with a Certificate of Good Conduct.
- You’re applying for a state professional license: ask the court that sentenced you for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities, sometimes alongside a Certificate of Good Conduct.
- You want the conviction itself gone: consider a pardon petition that expressly requests expungement authorization.
- You’re a veteran with a qualifying Class 3 or 4 felony: look at the Board’s military expungement certificate.
- Your record is already eligible for sealing: sealing is usually the faster path. See the Sangamon County Expungement Process Guide.
Scott Hanken has 37+ years of experience, including service as a former Sangamon County prosecutor. He knows how judges, State’s Attorneys, and the Prisoner Review Board weigh evidence of rehabilitation, and he can help you decide which of these remedies is the right next step.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A Certificate of Good Conduct is an Illinois court order under 730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-25 finding that a person with a conviction has been law-abiding and is rehabilitated. The certificate can relieve employment, occupational licensing, or housing bars created by the conviction, and it limits an employer’s liability for hiring the holder. A Certificate of Good Conduct does not expunge, seal, or hide the criminal record.
A Certificate of Good Conduct does not hide, seal, or expunge a criminal record in Illinois. The conviction stays fully visible, and employers, landlords, and licensing boards can still consider it. The certificate only removes specific legal barriers that the conviction would otherwise create.
A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities is an Illinois certificate under 730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-15 that helps a person with a conviction obtain certain state professional licenses, such as barber, cosmetology, funeral director, or athletic trainer licenses. Only the court that imposed the sentence can issue it. A licensing agency must treat the certificate as creating a presumption of rehabilitation, but the agency can still deny the license.
A Certificate of Good Conduct targets employment, occupational licensing, and housing bars. It requires one year of good conduct for a misdemeanor or two years for a felony, and it is issued by the circuit court where the person was convicted. A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities targets professional licensing, can be issued at sentencing or any time afterward, and can only come from the court that imposed the sentence. Both certificates limit an employer’s liability for hiring the holder.
An Illinois court can issue a Certificate of Good Conduct to a person on parole or mandatory supervised release if the minimum period of good conduct has been met. That certificate is temporary until the person is discharged, and the court can revoke it for a violation of release conditions.
A Governor’s pardon does not automatically expunge a criminal record in Illinois. Only a pardon that expressly authorizes expungement allows the person to petition the circuit court to expunge that conviction under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(e).
The Illinois pardon process has no fixed timeline, and the Governor is under no deadline to decide a clemency petition. A complete petition is placed on the next available quarterly Prisoner Review Board docket. The Board typically sends its confidential recommendation to the Governor within about 60 days after the hearing, and the Governor’s decision can take much longer.
The Illinois Clean Slate Act does not make Certificates of Good Conduct, Certificates of Relief from Disabilities, or pardons unnecessary. The Act automates sealing beginning in 2029 but does not expand which offenses can be sealed. These remedies still matter for convictions that can never be sealed, for people who need relief before 2029, and for anyone who wants a conviction expunged rather than sealed.
Further Reading
Practice Area
Related Articles
- Sangamon County Expungement Process Guide — check first whether your record can be sealed or expunged, which is usually faster than any of these remedies.
- Is Your Record Really Clean? Understanding the Illinois “Clean Slate” Act (HB1836) in Springfield — find out whether automatic sealing will eventually reach your record.
- Can a Convicted Felon Ever Legally Own a Firearm Again? — if gun rights are why you’re considering a pardon, this covers the other paths too.
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About the Author: W. Scott Hanken, Attorney at Law
Scott Hanken is a Springfield, Illinois criminal defense attorney with over 37 years of experience, including service as a former Sangamon County prosecutor. He has been voted Best Attorney by the Illinois Times and State Journal-Register, holds an Avvo 10.0 “Superb” rating, and has earned over 270 five-star Google reviews. He serves clients throughout Sangamon County and Central Illinois.
📍 1100 S 5th St, Springfield, IL 62703 | ☎ (217) 544-4057 | 🌐 hankenlaw.com
This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique — contact an experienced Springfield criminal defense attorney for guidance on your specific situation.
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