Invasion of Privacy in Indiana: Penalties, Firearm Ban, and Defenses

Invasion of privacy in Indiana is a specific criminal offense: knowingly or intentionally violating a protective order, no-contact order, or similar court order that was issued to keep another person safe.¹ Despite the name, it is not a general law against snooping or intruding into someone’s personal affairs. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. A second offense is a Level 6 felony, with prison time on the table.

What the Statute Actually Covers

The offense is defined by Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1. To convict, the prosecution has to prove two things: that a qualifying court order was in place, and that you knowingly or intentionally violated it. Accidental contact does not meet the standard. A defendant who genuinely did not know about the order, or who ran into the protected person by chance, has not committed the crime as the statute defines it.

There is one situation outside the order-violation framework. A registered sex offender who knowingly establishes a new residence within one mile of the victim’s home also commits invasion of privacy under the same statute.¹

Which Orders Trigger the Charge

People sometimes assume only a domestic violence protective order counts. The statute is broader than that. Violating any of the following can support the charge:¹

Domestic violence protective orders under IC 34-26-5, including emergency ex parte orders issued before a full hearing.
Workplace violence restraining orders under IC 34-26-6.
No-contact orders in juvenile cases involving children in need of services or delinquency proceedings.
No-contact orders imposed as a condition of bail, personal recognizance, or pretrial diversion.
No-contact orders imposed as a condition of probation.
Protective orders issued in divorce cases (IC 31-15-5) or paternity cases (IC 31-14-16-1).
Orders from other states or federally recognized tribes that are substantially similar to the Indiana orders above.

Two order types often get confused. A civil protective order is one the protected person requests by filing paperwork at the county clerk’s office; it can last up to two years. A criminal no-contact order is imposed by a judge during a criminal case and lasts until that case ends.² Violating either one is the same offense under IC 35-46-1-15.1.

One procedural note that catches some petitioners off guard: when a protective order petition rests solely on harassment, rather than on domestic violence, stalking, or a sex offense, the court cannot issue it ex parte on an emergency basis. A hearing must be scheduled within 30 days, and the respondent must get notice.²

Penalties

A first violation is a Class A misdemeanor. Maximum penalties are one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.³

The stakes climb sharply with a prior conviction. If you already have an unrelated conviction for invasion of privacy, or a prior conviction for stalking under IC 35-45-10-5, the new charge is a Level 6 felony.¹ Level 6 felonies carry six months to two and a half years in prison, with an advisory sentence of one year, and a possible fine up to $10,000.⁴ That escalation is where many defendants end up in serious trouble. The first violation may draw probation and a short jail term. The second turns the same conduct into a felony.

The Firearm Consequence People Miss

Federal law bars anyone subject to a qualifying protective order from possessing, receiving, or transporting firearms or ammunition.⁵ To qualify, the order must meet three conditions: the respondent had notice and an opportunity to be heard; the order restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child; and the order either finds the person a credible threat or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force against that partner or child.

Emergency ex parte orders generally do not trigger the federal ban because the respondent has not yet had a hearing. Once a final order issues after a hearing, the prohibition attaches automatically, whether or not the Indiana judge mentions firearms. A state court cannot override the federal prohibition. Violating the federal firearm ban is a separate federal offense carrying up to ten years in prison.

Defenses

The strongest defense usually attacks the mental-state element. The statute requires a knowing or intentional violation. If you were never properly served with the order, never informed of its terms, or made contact by pure accident, that undercuts what the prosecution has to prove. Courts look closely at whether service actually happened and what the defendant knew.

Consent from the protected person is a weaker defense than many people assume. Even if the protected person calls you, invites you over, or shows up at your door, the order stays in force until a judge modifies or dissolves it. Indiana courts routinely reject the argument that the protected person’s invitation excuses the violation. If circumstances change and contact is desired, the safer path is to ask the court to lift or amend the order first.

Related stalking charges carry their own defense: activity protected by the U.S. or Indiana Constitution, or by other statutes, is excluded from the definition of stalking.⁶ Lawful picketing, political speech, and news gathering fall outside the statute even when the target finds them unwelcome.

Related Charges Often Filed Together

Invasion of privacy rarely travels alone. Prosecutors regularly add related counts when the underlying conduct fits more than one statute.

Stalking

Stalking is defined as a knowing or intentional course of conduct involving repeated harassment that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that in fact causes the victim to feel that way.⁶⁷⁸ Stalking while a protective order is active exposes the defendant to both the Level 5 felony and a separate invasion of privacy charge for the same underlying conduct.

Harassment

Harassment is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.⁹¹⁰ The state must show intent to harass, annoy, or alarm and no intent of legitimate communication. Contact aimed at genuine business, custody logistics, or a real dispute is harder to prosecute as harassment because that second element is missing.

Clearing an Invasion of Privacy Conviction

A conviction stays on your record until you petition for expungement, and Indiana imposes mandatory waiting periods.¹¹

Misdemeanor convictions: five years from the date of conviction.
Level 6 felony convictions: eight years from the date of conviction, unless the prosecutor agrees in writing to a shorter period.

You must have paid all fines, court costs, and restitution. You cannot have picked up any new convictions during the waiting period, and no charges can be pending when you file. A new conviction resets the clock. Sex offenders and people convicted of offenses that caused bodily injury face additional restrictions or full ineligibility for felony expungement.¹¹

A Note on Civil Invasion of Privacy

Indiana also recognizes a civil tort called invasion of privacy, which is entirely separate from the criminal statute. In Felsher v. University of Evansville (2001), the Indiana Supreme Court identified four categories: intrusion upon seclusion, appropriation of name or likeness, public disclosure of private facts, and false-light publicity. These claims are brought in a private lawsuit for money damages and do not require any protective order to exist. A single course of conduct can produce both a criminal charge under IC 35-46-1-15.1 and a civil suit under the tort, but they are different proceedings with different standards of proof.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1 – Invasion of Privacy; Offense; Penalties
2
IN.gov. Protection Orders
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-45-10-1 – Stalk Defined
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-45-10-5 – Criminal Stalking
8
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-6 – Level 5 Felony
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-45-2-2 – Harassment; Obscene Message Defined
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-3 – Class B Misdemeanor
11
IN.gov. IC 35-38-9 – Sealing and Expunging Conviction Records