In Indiana, an eviction stays on your record for different lengths of time depending on where that record lives. The court case itself stays on the public docket forever unless a judge seals it. Tenant screening companies can report it for up to seven years. And since 2022, Indiana law lets many tenants wipe the court record clean, sometimes automatically.
The Court Record Is Permanent Until Sealed
Indiana’s trial courts post eviction filings and judgments to mycase.in.gov, a free public database. Once a landlord files, the case is searchable by your name and stays searchable indefinitely. A case dismissed within days and a judgment from fifteen years ago both show up the same way. There is no automatic expiration, no built-in cutoff after you move, and no rule that drops old cases off the system. The only way the record disappears from public view is a court order sealing it.
That permanence is why Indiana’s sealing statute exists, and why it matters even after the seven-year screening window closes. A landlord who skips the screening service and types your name into mycase.in.gov will find the case regardless of its age.
Tenant Screening Reports: Seven Years
Most landlords don’t search court dockets directly. They order a tenant screening report, and those reports are governed by federal law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act bars consumer reporting agencies from including civil judgments and civil suits older than seven years from the date they were entered.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Eviction actions fall within that limit whether you won or lost.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can Information Like Eviction Actions and Lawsuits Stay on My Tenant Screening Record
So the practical rule for screening reports is seven years from the judgment or filing date. After that, a commercial screening company shouldn’t be reporting the case. If one does, you can dispute it.
What Shows Up on Your Credit Report
The eviction case itself generally no longer appears on credit reports from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Since 2017, the three major bureaus have required stricter identifying information for civil judgments, and most evictions don’t meet that bar.
Unpaid rent or damages are a different story. If your former landlord sends the balance to collections, that debt can sit on your credit report as a collection account for up to seven years from the date it first became delinquent.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports If the debt was discharged in bankruptcy, the bankruptcy itself can stay on your report for ten years.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can Information Like Eviction Actions and Lawsuits Stay on My Tenant Screening Record
Sealing an Indiana Eviction Record
Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 11 lets tenants have eviction records sealed through what the statute calls a nondisclosure order. The law reaches eviction actions regardless of when they were originally filed.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32 Article 31 Chapter 11 Section 32-31-11-1 – Applicability Once the order is issued, the clerk and any case management system operator must stop displaying the record, and the court directs its own files to be redacted or permanently sealed. Indiana calls this a nondisclosure order rather than an expungement, but the practical effect is the same: the case stops appearing in public searches.
When the Court Seals the Record on Its Own
If the eviction ended in your favor, the court is required to issue the nondisclosure order itself, without a motion from you. Automatic sealing applies when the case was dismissed, when the court entered judgment for you, or when an appellate court reversed or vacated a judgment against you. The order is entered alongside the dismissal, judgment, or appellate decision, with no additional hearing.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 32-31-11-3 – Property
When You Have to Ask
If the landlord won, sealing is still possible, but you need to file a motion. Under Section 32-31-11-3(b), you can ask the court to seal the record in two situations. The first is when the court ordered you to pay a money judgment and you’ve paid it in full. The second is when the judgment was for possession only, with no money award, and seven years have passed since the judgment date. In either case, the court can grant the order without holding a hearing.
Older Cases Decided Before the Law Took Effect
The sealing statute took effect July 1, 2022, and many Indiana evictions predate it. The law includes a petition process for those older records. If your case was resolved before July 1, 2022, and would have qualified for automatic sealing under current rules — a dismissal, a tenant judgment, or an overturned judgment — you can petition the court where it was filed for a nondisclosure order.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32 Article 31 Chapter 11 Section 32-31-11-4 – Eviction Actions Resolved Before July 1, 2022
The same petition route is open if your case was filed before July 1, 2025, and involved a money judgment you’ve since paid off, or a possession-only judgment where seven years have gone by.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32 Article 31 Chapter 11 Section 32-31-11-4 – Eviction Actions Resolved Before July 1, 2022 The petition needs your full name, date of birth, and current address; the case number; a description of why you qualify, with supporting documentation; and a sworn statement that no money judgment to the landlord remains unpaid. A complete petition can be granted without a hearing. If the court has questions, it will schedule one, and you’ll carry the burden of proving eligibility.
Fixing Errors on a Screening Report
Even after a court seals a case, it can keep showing up on screening reports until the reporting company updates its data. The same goes for cases that were dismissed but still appear as live evictions, or records that belong to someone with a similar name. You can dispute inaccurate information directly with the screening company. Under the FCRA, the company generally has 30 days to investigate and report back, with the deadline sometimes extending to 45 days.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report
If a landlord denies your application based on a screening report, they have to tell you which company produced the report and let you request a free copy.7Consumer Advice. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights When you dispute, include a copy of any nondisclosure order the court has issued. The screening company is required to investigate and remove information a court has ordered sealed, and if it fails to correct the error after your dispute, you may have a claim under the FCRA.