How to File for Expungement in Indiana: Eligibility and Petition

To file for expungement in Indiana, you petition the circuit or superior court in the county where you were convicted under Indiana Code 35-38-9, after confirming your offense qualifies, the required waiting period has passed, and every condition in the statute is met. The petition is verified, served on the prosecutor, and filed with a $157 fee per county. One rule shapes everything else: you get a single expungement petition in your lifetime for conviction records, so the work you do before filing matters more than the filing itself.

Start With the One-Petition Rule

Indiana limits you to one expungement petition in your lifetime for conviction records under sections 2 through 5 of the statute.¹ If you have convictions in more than one county, file a separate petition in each county, but every one of those petitions has to land inside a single 365-day window to count as your one petition. Miss a conviction, forget a county, or file before you’re eligible for one of them, and you may lose your chance at the rest.

Before doing anything else, run a full criminal history check on yourself and pull certified dispositions for every case. You want to know exactly what you’re working with in every Indiana county.

Confirm You Are Eligible

Indiana sorts convictions into four tiers, each with its own waiting period.

Misdemeanors and Felonies Reduced to Misdemeanors

You can petition at least five years after the date of conviction if you were convicted of a misdemeanor, or if a Class D felony (offense before July 1, 2014) or Level 6 felony (offense after June 30, 2014) was reduced to a misdemeanor. You must also have gone the previous five years without a new conviction. The prosecutor can consent in writing to a shorter wait.²

Class D or Level 6 Felonies Not Reduced

If the felony was not reduced, the wait is eight years from the date of conviction, and you must have been conviction-free for those eight years.³

Other Felonies (Section 4)

For felonies that don’t qualify under section 3, the wait is the later of eight years from conviction or three years after your sentence is complete, with no convictions in the previous eight years. The court has discretion here and can deny the petition even if every box is checked.⁴

Serious Felonies Requiring Prosecutor Consent (Section 5)

The most serious eligible felonies require at least ten years from the date of conviction or five years after sentence completion, whichever is later, plus no convictions in the previous ten years. The prosecutor must consent in writing before the court will consider the petition.⁵

Offenses That Cannot Be Expunged

Sections 4 and 5 permanently exclude sex or violent offenders under Indiana’s registry statute, murder and related offenses under IC 35-42-1, human trafficking under IC 35-42-3.5, sex crimes under IC 35-42-4, felonies resulting in death, two or more felonies involving unlawful use of a deadly weapon that were not part of the same criminal episode, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Section 4 also excludes felonies causing serious bodily injury and elected or appointed officials convicted of official misconduct in office. Section 5 also excludes officials convicted of misconduct.⁴⁵

Conditions That Apply to Every Petitioner

Whatever tier you fall in, you must have no pending charges or criminal investigations, all fines, court costs, fees, and restitution paid in full, and no new convictions during the applicable waiting period (five, eight, or ten years). Your petition includes sworn statements confirming each of these.⁶

If You Were Arrested but Not Convicted

Arrest records that never became convictions, or convictions that were later vacated, fall under section 1 of the statute instead. There is no waiting period tied to how long ago the arrest happened, and there is no filing fee. You cannot be actively participating in a pretrial diversion program unless the prosecutor authorizes the petition. File in the county where charges were filed, or if no charges were filed, in the county where the arrest happened.⁷⁸

The rest of this article covers conviction petitions under sections 2 through 5.

Build the Petition

The petition must be verified (signed under oath) and contain:

Your full legal name, all aliases, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, and every address from the date of the offense to the date of filing.
Every conviction you’re seeking to expunge, with case numbers, dates of arrest and conviction, and any appeals or collateral actions.
Sworn statements that no charges or investigations are pending, that you have not committed another offense during the waiting period, and that the required time has elapsed. If the prosecutor consented to a shorter period, attach that consent.
A description of any prior expungement petitions you have filed under this chapter.

Section 5 petitions must include the prosecutor’s written consent as an attachment.⁶

Petition forms are available through the Indiana Judicial Branch and Indiana Legal Help. Before you fill anything out, pull certified disposition records from the clerk’s office in every court that handled a case. For arrest records, contact the arresting agency or the Indiana State Police. Certified copies usually cost between a few dollars and around $40 per document.

Where and How to File

File in the circuit or superior court in the county of conviction.⁹ Filing is available in person, by mail, or through e-filing where the county supports it. You must serve a copy of the petition on the prosecuting attorney under the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure.⁶

Consolidate every conviction from the same county into one petition. Convictions in different counties get separate petitions, all filed within a single 365-day window.¹

The filing fee is $157 per county.¹⁰ If you can’t afford it, apply for a fee waiver by showing financial need.¹¹

What Happens After You File

Once the prosecutor is served, one of two paths follows. If the prosecutor doesn’t object, or waives the right to object, the court can grant the expungement without holding a hearing.¹² Many straightforward misdemeanor and minor felony petitions end this way.

If the prosecutor objects, they file their reasons and serve you. The court then schedules a hearing at least 60 days after the prosecutor was served.¹² At the hearing, you have the burden to prove the facts in your petition by a preponderance of the evidence. Victims of the offense may submit statements for or against.

The tier of your conviction changes what the judge can do. For misdemeanors and Level 6 felonies under sections 2 and 3, the court must grant the petition if every statutory condition is met. For section 4 and section 5 felonies, the court has discretion and can weigh factors beyond the checklist, which is why a prosecutor’s objection carries more weight in those cases.⁴

After the Order Is Granted

Expungement in Indiana does not destroy records. What happens next depends on the tier.

For misdemeanors and Level 6 felonies under sections 2 and 3, the court orders records permanently sealed. The Indiana State Police seal the entries in the criminal history database, and agencies that handled the case cannot release information without a court order. Sealed records can still be disclosed to certain entities, including schools making employment decisions. Related arrest records for the same criminal episode are sealed as part of the order.¹³

For section 4 and section 5 felonies, records are not sealed. They stay public but are marked as expunged, both in the State Police database and in court records.¹⁴ The mark signals that a court reviewed the case and granted relief, but the underlying conviction remains visible.

If a felony expungement is meant to restore your firearms rights, the court order has to say so specifically, including language restoring your civil rights and confirming you are a “proper person.” Without that language, the Indiana State Police will deny a carry permit application. Ask the court to include it when you file. A domestic violence conviction is treated separately: expungement alone does not restore gun rights, and Indiana has a distinct process under IC 35-47-4-7.

Finally, private background check databases do not update automatically when a court grants an expungement. Keep a certified copy of your order. If a sealed record turns up on a background check, send the order to the reporting company and dispute the entry under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Checking your own report through a consumer reporting agency after your order is granted is the most reliable way to catch stale data before an employer sees it.

1
Indiana Judicial Branch. Expungement IC 35-38-9 Digest for Court Staff and Clerks
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-2 – Expunging Misdemeanor Convictions
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-3 – Expunging Minor Class D and Level 6 Felony Convictions
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-4 – Expunging Certain Less Serious Felony Convictions
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-5 – Expunging Certain Serious Felony Convictions
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-8 – Petition to Expunge Conviction Records
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-1 – Expunging Arrest Records
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Indy.gov. Second Chance Law
9
Indiana Public Defender Council. Indiana Code 35-38-9 – Sealing and Expunging Conviction Records
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Indiana Office of Court Services. Filing Fees and Costs – Clark County Clerk of Courts
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Indiana Legal Help. Filing Fee Frequently Asked Questions
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-9 – Duties of Court in Ruling on Expungement Petitions
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-6 – Effect of Expunging Misdemeanor and Minor Felony Conviction Records
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-7 – Effect of Expunging Serious and Less Serious Felony Conviction Records