Indiana Criminal Code: Offenses, Penalties, and Defenses

The Indiana criminal code lives in Title 35 of the Indiana Code, which defines offenses, sorts them into six felony levels and three misdemeanor classes, and sets the penalties and defenses that go with each. Fines range from $500 for the lowest misdemeanor to $10,000 for any felony, and prison exposure runs from no jail time up to 40 years or more for the most serious offenses. A 2014 overhaul replaced the old letter-based felony classes (A through D) with the current numbered levels and shifted lower-level offenders toward probation and treatment while keeping severe sentences for violent crime.

How Title 35 Is Put Together

Title 35 is divided into articles, chapters, and sections, with each article handling a broad category of law. Article 42 covers offenses against persons, including homicide, battery, kidnapping, human trafficking, and robbery.¹ Article 43 covers property offenses such as arson, burglary, theft, and forgery.² Article 45 addresses public health, order, and decency, including disorderly conduct and rioting.³ Article 50 sets the sentencing ranges for every offense level.

Every offense also has a required mental state. Indiana separates intentional, knowing, reckless, and negligent conduct, so a person who deliberately starts a fire faces a different charge than someone whose carelessness causes the same damage. The mental-state requirement runs through the code and affects both the charge filed and the sentence available.

Misdemeanor Classes and Penalties

Indiana groups misdemeanors into three classes, with Class A the most serious:

Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Class C misdemeanor: up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

For all three classes, the minimum penalty is no jail and no fine, though the court still assesses court costs. Judges can order up to one year of probation, community service, or other alternative sentences instead of jail.

Felony Levels and Penalties

Since the 2014 reform, felonies run from Level 1 (most serious) through Level 6 (least serious). Every level carries a sentencing range, an advisory sentence that acts as the starting point, and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Level 1 felony: 20 to 40 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of 30 years.⁴
Level 6 felony: six months to two and a half years in prison, with an advisory sentence of one year.⁵

Levels 2 through 5 fill in the range between those two, with progressively shorter sentence exposure as the level number rises. Murder is charged above this scale entirely, and when prosecutors allege at least one aggravating circumstance, the state can seek the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.⁶

One provision catches many defendants off guard. A Level 6 felony conviction can be entered as a Class A misdemeanor at the court’s discretion, but only if the defendant has no prior felony that received the same treatment within the previous three years.⁵ The difference matters well beyond the sentence itself, because it changes how the conviction shows up on background checks and whether a federal firearms prohibition attaches.

Restitution

Beyond jail time and fines, Indiana courts can order restitution requiring the defendant to compensate the victim for financial losses. Restitution is part of the criminal sentence and separate from any civil lawsuit the victim might file. A victim who receives restitution can still sue civilly for damages, and a private settlement between the victim and defendant does not stop the court from ordering restitution as part of the sentence.

Categories of Offenses

Crimes Against Persons

Article 42 offenses are the ones Indiana treats most severely. Battery charges range widely depending on whether the conduct caused bodily injury, serious bodily injury, or injury to a protected person such as a child or law enforcement officer. Homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking, and robbery all sit in this article as well.¹

Property Crimes

Article 43 covers theft, burglary, arson, forgery, and fraud.² Where a property offense lands on the severity scale often depends on the dollar value involved and the specific circumstances. Theft of a small amount is usually a misdemeanor; theft of a higher-value item or theft involving a weapon jumps to a felony. Burglary charges turn on whether the person entered a dwelling versus another type of structure and whether anyone was inside.

Public Order Offenses

Article 45, Chapter 1 covers rioting and disorderly conduct among other offenses.³ Disorderly conduct is usually a Class B misdemeanor, though related offenses like intimidation can be charged at the felony level depending on the specific threats.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

Indiana sets deadlines that vary with offense severity. Missing the window ends the case regardless of the evidence.

Murder and Level 1 and 2 felonies: no time limit.⁷
Level 3 through Level 6 felonies: five years from the offense date.⁷
Misdemeanors: two years from the offense date.⁷

Crimes against children have separate rules. Prosecution for child molesting, child solicitation, sexual misconduct with a minor, and incest can be brought until the alleged victim turns 31.⁷ Other sex offenses against children that don’t fall into those specific categories have a ten-year window, or four years after the child is no longer a dependent of the accused, whichever is later. DNA evidence, the discovery of a recording, or a confession can extend the deadline by up to five years past the standard cutoff.

Defenses the Code Recognizes

Indiana law provides several affirmative defenses. Raising one shifts some burden to the defendant to present supporting evidence, but the prosecution still has to prove the underlying charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Self-Defense

Indiana is a stand-your-ground state, so there is no general duty to retreat before using force. Under IC 35-41-3-2, a person can use reasonable force to protect themselves or another from what they reasonably believe is an imminent threat of unlawful force.⁸ Deadly force is justified only when the person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death. Courts look at whether the belief was reasonable given the circumstances, including the immediacy of the threat and whether the force used was proportional.

Insanity

A defendant can argue they should not be held criminally responsible because a severe mental disease or defect prevented them from appreciating the wrongfulness of their conduct at the time of the offense. Indiana uses a test that focuses on whether the defendant could understand that what they were doing was wrong. Psychiatric evaluations and expert testimony do most of the work, and the defendant carries the burden of proof. Courts set a high bar for what qualifies as a mental disease or defect sufficient to excuse criminal conduct.

Entrapment

Entrapment applies when law enforcement, or someone working with law enforcement, used tactics likely to cause a person to commit a crime they were not already inclined to commit. Indiana’s entrapment statute uses a subjective test focused on the defendant’s own predisposition. If the defendant was already willing and the officer merely provided an opportunity, entrapment does not apply.⁹

Duress

Under IC 35-41-3-8, a person who committed a crime because someone threatened them with imminent serious bodily injury can raise duress. The threat must be immediate and serious enough that a reasonable person in the same position would have committed the crime. Duress is generally not available as a defense to murder, and it cannot be used by someone who was at fault for getting into the threatening situation.¹⁰

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

Firearms

Under federal law, anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison cannot possess firearms or ammunition.¹¹ Every Indiana felony level carries a potential sentence exceeding one year, so any felony conviction triggers the federal ban. It is permanent unless rights are specifically restored. Misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence trigger the same firearms prohibition.

Immigration

Non-citizens face steep consequences. A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude or any controlled substance offense can make a person deportable or ineligible for a visa, regardless of whether Indiana treats the crime as a misdemeanor or a felony. Moral turpitude is a federal concept that includes fraud, theft, and crimes involving intent to harm. A governor’s pardon does not remove immigration ineligibility, and judicial expungements based on rehabilitative statutes are generally not recognized for immigration purposes either.¹²

Expungement

Indiana allows people to petition for expungement under IC 35-38-9, but eligibility and waiting periods depend on what the record shows.¹³ An expunged record makes it illegal for most employers and landlords to hold the offense against you.

Arrests without a conviction: eligible one year after the arrest date, and the prosecutor can agree to a shorter wait.¹⁴
Misdemeanor convictions, including Level 6 felonies reduced to misdemeanors: eligible five years after conviction.¹⁴
Level 6 felony convictions without bodily injury: eligible eight years after conviction.¹⁴
More serious felonies without serious bodily injury or death: eligible eight years after conviction or three years after sentence completion, whichever is later.¹⁴
Serious felonies excluding those involving death: eligible ten years after conviction or five years after sentence completion, whichever is later, and prosecutor consent is required.¹⁴

Some convictions cannot be expunged at all, including offenses involving the death of another person. Elected officials convicted of crimes while in office or while running for office, people required to register as sex or violent offenders, and people with two or more unrelated felonies involving a deadly weapon are also excluded. Discriminating against someone whose record has been expunged is a separate offense, and any plea agreement provision requiring a defendant to waive their future right to expungement is void.¹³

Recent Legislative Changes

The biggest change to Indiana’s criminal code in recent decades was House Enrolled Act 1006, effective July 1, 2014. It replaced the old letter-based felony system (Class A through Class D) with the current Level 1 through Level 6 framework. Beyond relabeling, HEA 1006 reserved prison beds for violent and serious offenders and steered lower-level offenders toward community-based alternatives, probation, and treatment programs.

Drug policy has also shifted. Senate Enrolled Act 33 (2019) expanded treatment options for people with substance use disorders and created pathways for comprehensive addiction recovery centers, part of a broader move to treat addiction as a public health matter alongside a criminal one.

House Enrolled Act 1228 updated Indiana’s approach to juvenile offenders by establishing statutory requirements for evaluating juvenile competency. Courts now assess whether a young defendant can meaningfully participate in their own defense before proceedings move forward, with timelines and services tailored to younger defendants.

1
Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 42 – Offenses Against the Person
2
Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 43 – Offenses Against Property
3
Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 45, Chapter 1 – Offenses Against Public Order
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-4 – Level 1 Felony
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-9
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-4-2 – Periods of Limitation
8
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-2 – Use of Force to Protect Person or Property
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-9 – Entrapment
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-8 – Duress
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
12
U.S. Department of State. Ineligibility Based on Criminal Activity – INA 212(a)(2)
13
Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 38, Chapter 9 – Sealing and Expunging Conviction Records
14
Indiana Courts. Detailed Information on Criminal Case Expungement