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Illinois Compiled Statutes

625 ILCS 5/12-612 (2026)

False or secret compartment in a vehicle

✓ current as of May 2026
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(625 ILCS 5/12-612)
    Sec. 12-612. False or secret compartment in a vehicle.
    (a) Offenses. It is unlawful for any person:
        (1) to own or operate with criminal intent any
    
vehicle he or she knows to contain a false or secret compartment that is used or has been used to conceal a firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 or paragraph (a)(1) of Section 24-1.6 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or controlled substance as prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; or
        (2) to install, create, build, or fabricate in any
    
vehicle a false or secret compartment knowing that another person intends to use the compartment to conceal a firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or controlled substance as prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
        (1) "False or secret compartment" means an enclosure
    
integrated into a vehicle that is a modification of the vehicle as built by the original manufacturer.
        (2) "Vehicle" means any of the following vehicles
    
without regard to whether the vehicles are private or commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, buses, aircraft, and watercraft.
    (c) Forfeiture. Any vehicle containing a false or secret compartment used in violation of this Section, as well as any items within that compartment, shall be subject to seizure by the Illinois State Police or by any municipal or other local law enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction that property is found as provided in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012. The removal of the false or secret compartment from the vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to forfeiture of the motor vehicle under Section 36-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012 and shall not be the basis for the court to release the vehicle to the owner.
    (d) Sentence. A violation of this Section is a Class 4 felony. The sentence imposed for violation of this Section shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in connection with the firearm, controlled substance, or other contraband concealed in the false or secret compartment.
    (e) For purposes of this Section, a new owner is not responsible for any conduct that occurred or knowledge of conduct that occurred prior to transfer of title.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 2004–2018 · leading case: People v. Carpenter, 888 N.E.2d 105 (Ill. 2008).
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People v. Carpenter, 888 N.E.2d 105 (Ill. 2008). · cites it 7× “OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion: Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Derrick Carpenter, was found guilty of having a false or secret compartment in a motor vehicle, in violation of section 12-612 of…”
People v. Fulton, 2016 IL App (1st) 141765, 52 N.E.3d 547. “625 ILCS 5/12-612(a) (West 2004). Under that statute, a "secret compartment" was defined as "any enclosure that is intended and designed to be used to conceal, hide, and prevent discovery by law enforcement officers of the false or secret compartment, or its contents, and which…”
People v. Contreras, 2014 IL App (1st) 131889, 22 N.E.3d 368. “Following a traffic stop, police believed probable cause existed that the vehicle contained a secret compartment in violation of section 12-612 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/12-612 (West 2010)) and relocated the vehicle to a police station where the vehicle was…”
People v. Contreras, 2014 IL App (1st) 131889. “Following a traffic stop, police believed probable cause existed that the vehicle contained a secret compartment in violation of section 12-612 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/12-612 (West 2010)) and relocated the vehicle to a police station where the vehicle was…”
People v. Khan, 2018 IL App (2d) 160724, 127 N.E.3d 592. “See 625 ILCS 5/12-612 (West 2004). The court concluded that the purpose of the law was to combat the concealment of illegal or dangerous items in such a compartment, but the provision was not reasonably related to accomplishing that objective, as it criminalized much innocent…”
People v. Parker, No. 1-03-1595 Rel (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. Nov. 30, 2004). · cites it 2× “For the purpose of this Section, a person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to conceal the contents of the compartment from a law enforcement officer may be inferred from factors including but not limited to, the discovery of a person, firearm, controlled…”
People v. Carpenter, No. 1-05-0464 Rel (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. Sept. 26, 2006). “Following a bench trial, defendant Derrick Carpenter was convicted of having a false or secret compartment in a motor vehicle under section 12-612 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (625 ILCS 5/12-612 (West 2004)) (Asecret compartment statute@) and sentenced to two years=…”
625 ILCS 5/12-612(a): 3 cases
People v. Carpenter, 888 N.E.2d 105 (Ill. 2008). “OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion: Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Derrick Carpenter, was found guilty of having a false or secret compartment in a motor vehicle, in violation of section 12-612 of…”
People v. Fulton, 2016 IL App (1st) 141765, 52 N.E.3d 547. “625 ILCS 5/12-612(a) (West 2004). Under that statute, a "secret compartment" was defined as "any enclosure that is intended and designed to be used to conceal, hide, and prevent discovery by law enforcement officers of the false or secret compartment, or its contents, and which…”
People v. Parker, No. 1-03-1595 Rel (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. Nov. 30, 2004). “For the purpose of this Section, a person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to conceal the contents of the compartment from a law enforcement officer may be inferred from factors including but not limited to, the discovery of a person, firearm, controlled…”
625 ILCS 5/12-612(b): 1 case
People v. Carpenter, 888 N.E.2d 105 (Ill. 2008). “OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion: Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Derrick Carpenter, was found guilty of having a false or secret compartment in a motor vehicle, in violation of section 12-612 of…”
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