Indiana Expungement

An old arrest or conviction can follow you for years. It can show up on background checks for jobs, apartments, professional licenses and school admissions long after the case is over. Indiana's expungement law gives many people a way to seal those records or have them marked as expunged, and it generally makes it illegal to hold an expunged record against you.

As a prosecutor, I reviewed expungement petitions and decided whether my office would object or consent. I know what prosecutors and judges look for in these petitions, and what causes them to be delayed or denied. I now use that experience to help people clear their records.

What does expungement do in Indiana?

It depends on the record:

• Arrests and charges that did not lead to a conviction, misdemeanors, and qualifying Level 6 felonies are sealed. Agencies are ordered not to release them without a court order, subject to statutory access exceptions.
• More serious felonies are not sealed. The records remain public, but they are clearly marked as expunged.

Either way, once a conviction is expunged, you are treated as if you had never been convicted of that offense, with limited exceptions.

How long do I have to wait?

The waiting period depends on the type of record. These are general rules, and each has additional requirements:

• Arrests or charges without a conviction: a petition is generally available one year after the arrest or filing of charges, whichever is later, subject to eligibility requirements. Written prosecutor agreement may permit an earlier petition. A separate provision applies to qualifying arrests after June 30, 2022 when one year has passed and no charges are pending.
• Eligible misdemeanors, including qualifying Class D or Level 6 felonies reduced to misdemeanors: five years after conviction.
• Eligible Class D or Level 6 felonies under section 3: eight years after conviction.
• Eligible felonies under section 4, potentially including a Level 6 felony resulting in bodily injury: the later of eight years after conviction or three years after completion of the sentence.
• Eligible felonies under section 5, potentially including felonies resulting in serious bodily injury: the later of ten years after conviction or five years after completion of the sentence, with written prosecutor consent to expungement.

In each conviction category, the prosecutor can agree in writing to an earlier filing date. Eligibility depends on the offense, the person's record, and the applicable statutory exclusions. A prosecutor's consent to an earlier filing does not eliminate other eligibility requirements. For the serious felony category, written consent to expungement is required even after the ordinary waiting period has passed.

Are some records expunged automatically?

For people charged after June 30, 2022, the law requires court-ordered expungement in specified circumstances, including dismissal of all pending criminal charges or acquittal of all charges. The order generally cannot take effect earlier than 60 days after dismissal or acquittal, and implementation may be delayed for specified reasons. Do not assume the records have disappeared without checking the order and its implementation.

Participation in pretrial diversion generally prevents relief under this section unless the prosecutor authorizes the petition.

What else do I have to show?

For a conviction, you generally must show that:

• the waiting period has passed;
• no criminal charges are pending against you;
• you have paid all fines, fees, court costs and restitution from the sentence; and
• you have not been convicted of a new crime during the required look-back period, which is generally five years for misdemeanors, eight years for the eight-year felony categories, and ten years for serious felonies, unless the prosecutor agrees to a shorter period.

Outstanding fines, fees, court costs or restitution can prevent a conviction from qualifying. Review the court's payment records before filing.

Preparing the petition requires more than checking conviction dates. The verified petition must also address pending criminal investigations and whether the person committed another felony or misdemeanor during the applicable period. These statements must be reviewed carefully before signing.

Is expungement automatic, or can the judge say no?

For eligible misdemeanors and qualifying Class D and Level 6 felonies under section 3, if you prove the requirements, the court must grant the expungement. The prosecutor's opposition does not give the prosecutor a veto over that relief. For more serious felonies under sections 4 and 5, the court has discretion and may grant or deny the petition. For the section 5 category, the prosecutor must also consent in writing.

That is why the petition itself matters. In a discretionary case, the judge will look at what you have done since the conviction: work, family, education, treatment, community involvement, and how long you have stayed out of trouble.

Who cannot get an expungement?

Some people and offenses are excluded. Depending on the section, these include:

• people who are sex or violent offenders under Indiana's registry law;
• offenses within the specified homicide, human trafficking and sex offense chapters, including attempted murder and specified attempts to commit human trafficking or sex offenses;
• people with two or more felony convictions involving unlawful use of a deadly weapon that were not part of the same episode;
• felonies that resulted in death;
• unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon; and
• specified official misconduct convictions involving elected officials and elected or appointed judicial officers.

These are not identical exclusions in every category. For example, a Class D or Level 6 felony resulting in bodily injury cannot qualify under section 3, but may qualify under another section if no other exclusion applies. Perjury, official misconduct, and offenses committed by certain public officials also require careful category-specific review.

Can I only do this once?

Generally, conviction expungement under sections 2 through 5 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, subject to limited exceptions. Petitions in different counties count as one petition if filed within the same 365-day period. Convictions you want expunged from the same county must be consolidated into one petition. This restriction does not apply to non-conviction petitions.

A court may allow a supplemental petition for an omitted conviction if it finds good-faith intent to comply, excusable neglect or circumstances beyond the person's control, and that allowing the petition serves the interests of justice. This relief is discretionary and should not be assumed. Reviewing the complete record before filing remains essential.

What if my petition is denied?

You may be able to refile for the convictions in the original petition that were not expunged. If the denial was a discretionary decision under section 4 or 5, you generally must wait three years before refiling. A refiled petition generally cannot add convictions that were not in the original petition, unless the supplemental petition exception applies.

A denial can also be appealed.

What does the process look like?

• Gather the records. Every arrest and conviction, in every county, including old cases and cases you may have forgotten.
• Confirm eligibility and payments. Check waiting periods, exclusions, and that all fines, costs and restitution are paid.
• File a verified petition in each county where a conviction was entered, and serve the prosecutor. Conviction petitions require the civil filing fee, which the court may reduce or waive for a person who cannot afford it. Petitions for arrests and charges without a conviction have no filing fee.
• The prosecutor responds. The prosecutor must reply within 30 days. Failing to reply waives any objection, but it does not automatically establish eligibility. Victims are notified where the court has discretion to deny the petition.
• Hearing, if needed. If the prosecutor objects, the court sets a hearing no sooner than 60 days after the prosecutor is served. If there is no objection, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.
• Follow up with every agency. The order goes to the court, the State Police, the BMV and other agencies that hold the records. It is worth following up to confirm compliance. An order does not automatically erase every copy held by private background check companies.

The expungement proceeding and filed documents generally become confidential when the order issues. Before that, filed documents are not confidential and hearings are open, subject to applicable protections for confidential information.

Do I have to tell employers about an expunged record?

For most ordinary employment and licensing applications governed by Indiana law, questions must exclude expunged arrests and convictions, for example: "Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been expunged by a court?" Indiana law also generally prohibits discrimination because of a record expunged or sealed under the expungement chapter.

Important exceptions apply. These include certain law enforcement, probation, community corrections, school-related, bar admission and federally regulated licensing situations. Do not assume that every application permits the same answer. Review the particular question and applicable exception before responding.

Will expungement restore my rights?

Expungement generally restores the civil rights specified by Indiana law, including the right to vote, to hold public office, and to serve on a jury.

It does not, by itself, restore firearm possession rights following a domestic violence conviction. Indiana provides a separate restoration process, generally available for petitioning five years after conviction, and restoration is not automatic. Federal firearm restrictions require separate review. See my page on Indiana domestic battery charges.

Can an expunged conviction ever be used against me?

In limited ways. If you are later arrested or convicted for a new, unrelated offense, the expunged conviction can be considered at sentencing, can count as a prior conviction for habitual offender and other enhancements, and can be admitted as evidence in the new case as if it had not been expunged.

Expungement of a conviction does not end an existing or pending driver's license suspension. This applies both to convictions that are sealed and to those marked as expunged. Additional restrictions apply to BMV records for certain traffic convictions committed while the person held a commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit.

What about juvenile records and very old convictions?

Juvenile records follow separate rules. Some qualifying adjudications are subject to automatic expungement, while others require a juvenile court petition. Adult conviction waiting periods should not simply be applied to a juvenile adjudication.

Very old convictions under Indiana's former sentencing laws may require a separate analysis of the offense's current classification and statutory exclusions.

Can a plea agreement take away my right to expungement?

No. A waiver of the right to expungement in a plea agreement is invalid and unenforceable.

Every case depends on its own facts. This page is general information, not legal advice, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.