Start with the 18th Judicial Circuit when you need the actual criminal case
DuPage County criminal information is split among several agencies. The Clerk of the 18th Judicial Circuit maintains the county's court files and public case lookup; the DuPage County Sheriff's Office maintains county-jail booking files and reports generated by Sheriff's deputies; Illinois State Police maintains statewide conviction history; and the Illinois Department of Corrections maintains state correctional records. Choosing the right system first is much faster than searching the same name on several unrelated websites.
Different DuPage County criminal records live in different systems
A criminal case, jail booking, Sheriff's incident report and statewide Illinois criminal-history response are not interchangeable. Each answers a different question.
Criminal court case
Filed charges, case status, upcoming court dates, docket entries, disposition and court-file documents.
Jail / booking file
Current county custody and booking information maintained by the DuPage County Jail.
Incident or arrest report
A law-enforcement report should normally be requested from the agency that created it.
State criminal history
Public conviction-history checks and fingerprint-based access to an individual's own record.
State corrections record
Illinois Department of Corrections information for people within the state correctional system.
Federal prosecution
Federal criminal cases involving DuPage County are separate from the 18th Judicial Circuit.
How to search DuPage County criminal court cases online
The Clerk of the 18th Judicial Circuit provides a public Pay Online and Case Lookup application. It can be used to review case status, the next court date and docket entries.
Open official DuPage case lookupOpen the Circuit Clerk's public application
Complete the site's human-verification step, then choose the case-search option rather than a payment option if you only want to locate a record.
Use the case number when you already know it
A case-number search is usually the fastest and least ambiguous route. It also avoids confusing people who share the same name.
If the case number is unknown, search by name
Enter the person's full last name, first name and middle name when known. The public application also provides a birth-date field that can help narrow possible matches.
Open the case summary
Review the case status, next court date and docket entries. If a docket entry refers to a document you need, move to the Clerk's copy-request system.
Check the outcome rather than stopping at the charge
A filed charge can later be dismissed, amended, resolved through a plea, result in conviction, or have another disposition.
Search by case number, complaint number or defendant name
DuPage's public application supports several practical ways to reach a case. Use the most specific identifier you have.
| Search method | Information to enter | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Full DuPage case number | Fastest way to reach a known court case. |
| Case name | Last name, first name, middle name and DOB when known | When you know the defendant but not the case number. |
| Ticket / complaint number | Complaint number and arresting agency | Useful for qualifying traffic or complaint-based cases. |
How to interpret a DuPage criminal docket correctly
Court-search results can contain many entries. The safest approach is to separate the allegation from the final outcome.
| Entry | What it generally tells you | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Charge | The offense alleged in court. | Do not treat an allegation as a conviction. |
| Court date | A scheduled or completed appearance. | Check later entries for what happened at the hearing. |
| Docket entry | A chronological event in the file. | Some entries summarize rather than reproduce the underlying document. |
| Plea | The defendant's response to the charge. | A plea entry may not be the final disposition. |
| Disposition | How the count or case was resolved. | Read each count separately when several charges appear. |
| Sentence | Court-ordered consequences after a qualifying disposition. | Confirm which count the sentence belongs to. |
When a DuPage County record is not available online
The Circuit Clerk states that court records are open to the public during business hours unless they have been impounded or sealed by statute or court order. The Clerk also provides computerized public-access terminals at its Wheaton office.
A courthouse visit is worth considering when:
- the online search does not return an older case
- you need a document rather than a docket summary
- the case exists but an image is not available remotely
- you need a certified disposition
- you know the defendant but cannot confidently identify the correct online match
- you need help determining whether a file has been sealed or otherwise restricted
How to get court-document copies and certified dispositions
The Circuit Clerk provides document-copy ordering through its official court-copy page. The Clerk currently uses i2File for public online copy requests.
Open DuPage court-copy instructionsCurrent DuPage copy charges
| Service | Current Clerk fee | When useful |
|---|---|---|
| First page | $2.00 | Beginning charge for an ordinary court-document copy. |
| Pages 2–20 | $0.50 each | Additional document pages. |
| Page 21 and after | $0.25 each | Longer court records. |
| Certification | $6.00 extra per stamp/seal | When an authenticated court copy is required. |
| Exemplification | $8.00 extra per stamp/seal | When a higher level of authentication is specifically requested. |
| Record search | $6.00 | When Clerk staff must perform a record search. |
| Certified Statement of Charge and Disposition | $6.00 | Particularly useful for criminal/traffic disposition verification. |
Fees can change. Confirm the current fee schedule with the Circuit Clerk before sending payment or requesting a large record.
In-person criminal court record access in Wheaton
DuPage County Judicial Center
Office of the Circuit Court Clerk505 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL 60187-0707
Public hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., except court holidays.
Criminal/Traffic: (630) 407-8600
Search Circuit Court records on site
The Clerk provides computerized information terminals for public viewing of Circuit Court records at the Wheaton office.
Court records that are sealed or impounded by law or court order are not ordinary public-access records.
Find the DuPage County Judicial Center
The Circuit Clerk and county courthouse are located on County Farm Road in Wheaton. The Sheriff's Office is immediately nearby at 501 N. County Farm Road, which is convenient when a task requires both court and Sheriff's records.
How to check current DuPage County jail custody
The DuPage County Sheriff's Office provides an official Inmate Search. Use this system when the immediate question is whether someone is currently in county custody.
Open DuPage County Inmate SearchThe Sheriff's Corrections/Booking Division can also be reached at (630) 407-2255 for booking-related questions.
DuPage County Sheriff's arrest, incident and booking records
The Sheriff's Records Division maintains copies of incident and traffic-crash reports generated by Sheriff's deputies, along with booking files from the DuPage County Jail.
Public counter
DuPage County Sheriff's Office501 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL 60187
Records phone: (630) 407-2270
Public access hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Current Sheriff's charges
Incident reports under 50 pages are currently listed at no charge. Reports over 50 pages are listed at $0.15 per page.
An accident report for an involved party is listed at no charge; a redacted third-party accident report is currently $5.
How to make a DuPage County Sheriff FOIA request
The Sheriff's Records Division is responsible for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Start with the official DuPage County Sheriff's FOIA page.
The Sheriff's Records contact email is: FOIA@dupagesheriff.org.
Confirm that the Sheriff's Office created the record
Identify the arresting or investigating agency before submitting the request. This prevents a common delay caused by sending a city-police request to the county Sheriff.
Describe the record specifically
Provide the incident or report number when known, plus names, approximate date, location and the type of document requested.
Ask for the format you actually need
State whether you want to inspect the record, receive electronic records when available, or obtain paper copies.
Expect legally protected material to be withheld or redacted
FOIA does not make every investigative, juvenile, victim, medical or otherwise confidential record publicly releasable.
Know whether the Sheriff or a city police department handled the event
The DuPage County Sheriff's Office directly serves unincorporated areas and performs several countywide functions, but many incorporated municipalities operate their own police departments.
For an arrest or incident report, look for the agency name on:
- citation or ticket
- booking paperwork
- incident number
- court complaint
- bond/release documents
- police-report reference
Where to ask about DuPage County warrants
The DuPage County Sheriff's Office has a dedicated Warrants Division. Its current contact number is: (630) 407-2290.
The Sheriff also publishes a Most Wanted page, but that should not be treated as a complete list of every outstanding warrant in DuPage County.
Illinois State Police criminal-history checks are a separate statewide search
Illinois State Police's Bureau of Identification maintains the state's criminal-history repository. Under the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act, conviction information maintained by ISP is available to the public.
ISP's public criminal-history rules are important because a statewide conviction check is not the same thing as searching every DuPage County court docket.
| Search | What it is for | Current ISP processing fee |
|---|---|---|
| Name-based UCIA inquiry | Public Illinois conviction-information inquiry | $10 electronic / $16 manual-paper |
| Fingerprint UCIA inquiry | Fingerprint-supported public conviction inquiry | $15 electronic / $20 paper |
| Access & Review | Your own Illinois criminal-history transcript | No ISP processing fee; fingerprint vendor may charge |
ISP identifies its name-based process as the Criminal History Information Response Process (CHIRP). Access and registration requirements apply to CHIRP users.
Illinois ISP name-based background checks Check current ISP feesHow to obtain your own complete Illinois criminal-history transcript
If you want to know what Illinois State Police has associated with your own fingerprints, use the ISP Access and Review process rather than relying on a public name search.
Visit a participating fingerprint provider
ISP says an individual can approach an Illinois law-enforcement or correctional facility or licensed fingerprint vendor that provides this service.
Submit fingerprints and identifying information
Fingerprints allow ISP to search using identity evidence rather than only a name and date of birth.
Receive the criminal-history transcript
ISP sends the transcript—or a written statement that no criminal history was found—to the address designated in the process.
Use the included challenge process if something is wrong
The Access and Review packet includes the Record Challenge procedure for disputing inaccurate or incomplete information.
What to do if your Illinois criminal record is wrong
A court case can be correct while the state criminal-history record is incomplete—or the other way around. If your ISP transcript contains an error, use the Record Challenge process included with Access and Review.
Useful documents to collect before challenging a record include:
- DuPage court case number
- certified disposition
- arresting agency
- arrest date
- charge information
- expungement or sealing order when applicable
Search Illinois prison records separately through IDOC
The Illinois Department of Corrections Offender Search is the appropriate state resource when the question concerns Illinois prison or correctional custody.
Open IDOC Offender SearchIDOC also publishes information concerning wanted fugitives, parolee sex registrants and certain correctional-release notifications.
DuPage County sex-offender records use a specialized registry
The Sheriff's Office maintains a local registered sex-offender information page and links to statewide/national registry resources.
The Sheriff notes that registry information is updated regularly but should still be verified with the Sheriff's Office or the local law-enforcement agency where the registrant resides.
Illinois expungement and sealing can change public access
Illinois uses different forms of criminal-record relief, principally expungement and sealing. Eligibility depends on the arrest, disposition, conviction history and applicable statute.
The Illinois Courts currently publishes statewide approved forms for adult expungement and sealing, including updated 2026 instructions, request forms and case-list forms.
Illinois expungement & sealing formsDuPage filing costs
The DuPage Circuit Clerk's current published fee schedule lists $180 for several adult expungement or sealing petition categories, including an existing criminal case and an adult arrest record where no criminal case was filed. Certain categories, such as qualifying juvenile requests or a Governor's pardon, can