How to Evict Someone in Indiana: Notice, Hearing, and Writ

To evict someone in Indiana, you have to work through a court-supervised process: give the tenant written notice, file a case in the small claims court for the township where the property sits, prove your case at a hearing, and if the tenant still refuses to leave, have the sheriff enforce a writ of possession. You cannot change the locks, remove doors, or shut off utilities to force a tenant out, no matter what they’ve done.¹ How long the case takes depends on the reason for the eviction and whether the tenant contests it.

Step 1: Give the Tenant Written Notice

With rare exceptions, you have to deliver a written notice before you can file anything in court. What the notice says and how much time you give depend on why you’re evicting.

Nonpayment of Rent

When a tenant fails to pay rent, Indiana law lets you terminate the lease by giving at least ten days’ written notice. If the tenant pays the full amount owed within that ten-day window, the eviction stops. You cannot move forward on that missed payment.² The statute even provides a sample notice form that names the tenant, identifies the property, and states the pay-or-vacate deadline.³

Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy

If the tenant has no fixed-term lease, or the original lease expired and rolled over month to month, either side can end the arrangement with at least 30 days’ written notice. You don’t have to state a reason. The notice just has to give the tenant a full 30 days before the termination date.⁴

Other Lease Violations

Indiana has no general “cure or quit” statute for lease breaches other than nonpayment. If the tenant is keeping unauthorized pets, damaging the unit, or causing disturbances, your options come from the lease itself. Most leases include a clause allowing termination for material breach, often with a built-in notice period. Follow whatever the lease requires. If the tenant is on a month-to-month arrangement, you can simply use the 30-day termination notice without specifying a cause.

When You Don’t Have to Give Notice at All

Indiana law lists situations where no notice to quit is required: a fixed-term lease that has ended, a tenant at sufferance who stays past the lease, a tenant who commits waste (serious damage to the property), and a lease requiring rent in advance where the tenant refuses to pay.⁵

Federally Assisted Housing

If the property is in public housing, Section 8 project-based rental assistance, Section 202, or Section 811, a federal rule requires 30 days’ written notice before you can file an eviction for nonpayment. The notice can’t be sent until the day after rent is due, must itemize the rent owed, and must include instructions on how the tenant can recertify income. If the tenant pays in full during that 30-day window, you can’t file. The rule does not apply to Housing Choice Vouchers or project-based vouchers. A proposal to revoke this rule has been issued but had not taken effect as of early 2026.⁶

Step 2: Serve the Notice Properly

The notice has to clearly state the reason for the eviction and the deadline for the tenant to comply or leave. Personal hand-delivery to the tenant is the most reliable method Indiana courts recognize. If the tenant isn’t available, you can deliver it to another adult living at the property and explain what it is, or you can post a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises when nobody can be found. Keep a written record of the date and manner of delivery. You’ll need to prove service if the case goes to a hearing.

Step 3: File the Eviction Case

Once the notice period runs out without payment, cure, or a move-out, you can file. Landlord-tenant evictions are filed in the small claims court in the township where the rental property sits.⁷ For claims above the small claims limit, landlords file in circuit or superior court using an ejectment action under a different chapter of Indiana law. You’ll file a notice of claim (small claims) or a complaint for ejectment (higher court) together with a summons. Many courts accept electronic filing; paper filing is still available.

Filing Fees

Indiana’s statewide base filing fee for a small claims eviction is $87, which covers court costs, document storage, and statutory surcharges. Adding sheriff’s service of process brings the base to $115, plus $10 per defendant.⁸ Counties often add local fees on top. In Allen County, a small claims eviction with electronic filing runs $87, while a civil docket eviction runs $157.⁹ Marion County charges $185 for an eviction-only filing or an eviction with back rent up to $2,500, plus $17 per adult tenant for summons preparation.¹⁰ Plan for at least $87 and possibly over $200 depending on your county and the number of tenants named.

Military Status Affidavit

If the tenant doesn’t show up and you ask for a default judgment, federal law requires you to file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is on active military duty. The court cannot enter a default judgment without it. If you can’t determine the tenant’s status, you have to say so in the affidavit, and the court may require you to post a bond. If the tenant is in the service, the court must appoint an attorney for them before entering any judgment.¹¹ The Department of Defense runs a free online lookup for active-duty status.

Step 4: The Court Hearing

The court schedules a hearing after you file. For small claims evictions, the summons must be served on the tenant at least ten days before the court date.⁴ Ejectment actions filed in circuit or superior court follow a shorter minimum of five days after service.

Indiana eviction cases usually run in two parts. The first hearing is on possession: does the tenant have to move out. The second, often set for a later date, is on damages: unpaid rent, property damage, or other money claims. Some judges handle both at once in straightforward cases, but expect the split.

Bring documentation that tells a clear story: the signed lease, a copy of the notice you served with your record of delivery, a rent ledger or bank records covering at least several months, and any photographs, complaints, texts, or emails that support your claim. Both sides argue at the hearing. The tenant can raise defenses, and common ones include failure to maintain the property, retaliation, and a defective notice. If the judge rules for you, the court issues a possession judgment ordering the tenant to leave.

Step 5: Enforce the Judgment With a Writ of Possession

A possession judgment does not authorize you to change the locks. If the tenant still won’t leave, you get a writ of possession from the court clerk. That order directs the sheriff to physically remove the tenant. After you deliver the writ to the sheriff’s office, the sheriff posts a notice on the property giving the tenant at least 48 hours to vacate. If the tenant is still there when that runs out, the sheriff removes the occupants and their belongings.¹² Only law enforcement can carry out that final step.

What You Cannot Do

Indiana law flatly bans forcing a tenant out without a court order. The statute prohibits changing locks or adding devices to exclude a tenant, removing doors, windows, or appliances, and shutting off electricity, gas, water, or other essential services.¹ The narrow exception is genuine abandonment, meaning the tenant has stopped paying or offering to pay rent and the circumstances would lead a reasonable person to conclude the tenant has given up possession. You can interrupt services for real emergencies, good-faith repairs, or necessary construction, but not as pressure. Indiana also has a separate chapter on emergency possessory orders that gives a locked-out tenant a fast-track court remedy against the landlord.

Situations That Can Stop or Slow the Case

Retaliation

Indiana bars landlords from evicting a tenant in retaliation for a protected activity. A retaliatory act includes raising rent, cutting services, or filing or threatening to file an eviction because the tenant exercised a legal right.¹³ Protected activities commonly include reporting code violations, complaining about unsafe conditions, or joining a tenant organization. If the judge finds retaliation, your case fails.

Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodations

Federal fair housing law bars evictions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability, at every step of the process. A tenant with a disability may ask for a reasonable accommodation, which is a change to a rule or practice that gives them an equal opportunity to keep their housing. A request can be made orally or in writing. Denying one without analyzing whether it would cause an undue burden risks a discrimination claim.¹⁴ A common example is a tenant asking that rent be accepted a few days late each month because disability income arrives after the due date. When the disability and its link to the request are both obvious, the landlord should not ask for medical verification. When neither is apparent, the landlord may ask for documentation from a medical professional or other reliable source.

Active-Duty Servicemembers

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, you cannot evict an active-duty servicemember or their dependents from a primary residence except by court order when the monthly rent is under a threshold that Congress set in 2003 and that adjusts each year for inflation.¹⁵ If a servicemember receives notice of the case but can’t appear because of military duties, the court must grant a stay of at least 90 days. The servicemember needs to provide a letter explaining the conflict and a statement from a commanding officer confirming leave isn’t authorized. Courts can order garnishment of a portion of the servicemember’s pay as equitable relief to the landlord during a stay.

Bankruptcy

A tenant’s bankruptcy filing can complicate the end of the case. If you already have a possession judgment before the tenant files, federal law generally lets you proceed without asking the bankruptcy court for permission. If the bankruptcy is filed before you get a judgment, the automatic stay blocks you from starting or continuing the eviction, and you have to file a motion asking the bankruptcy judge to lift the stay. Separate rules apply when a tenant has endangered the property or used illegal drugs on the premises, which may let you proceed by filing a certification with the bankruptcy court.

After the Case: Money Owed and the Tenant’s Record

The three major credit bureaus stopped reporting most civil court records, including eviction judgments, on standard credit reports in 2017. Tenant screening companies can still report eviction records for up to seven years under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Even when the judgment itself doesn’t show up on a credit report, unpaid rent sent to a debt collector appears as a collection account and can stay on the tenant’s credit report for up to seven years. If you or your attorney refers unpaid rent to a collection agency, that agency becomes a debt collector under federal law and has to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which bars harassment, false statements, and unfair tactics against the tenant.¹⁶

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 5, Section 32-31-5-6 – Landlord Prohibited From Interfering With Tenant Access
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 1, Section 32-31-1-6 – Rent; Refusal or Neglect to Pay
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 1, Section 32-31-1-7 – Forms; Notice to Quit
4
Indiana Courts. Small Claims Manual 2026
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 1, Section 32-31-1-8 – Notice to Quit; When Not Necessary
6
National Low Income Housing Coalition. HUD 30-Day Notice Proposal Will Not Take Effect Until After Rule is Finalized
7
Center Township of Marion County. About the Court
8
Indiana State Board of Accounts. 2025 Court Costs and Fees by Case Type
9
Allen County Clerk of the Allen Circuit and Superior Courts. Fee and Cost Information for Civil Cases
10
Marion County Clerk of Court. What You Will Need to File an Eviction
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
12
Madison County Sheriff’s Department. Evictions
13
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 32, Article 31, Chapter 8.5, Section 32-31-8-5-4 – Retaliatory Act
14
Administration for Community Living. Using Reasonable Accommodations to Prevent the Eviction of Elderly Tenants With Disabilities
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions
16
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Your Tenant and Debt Collection Rights