Yes, texting and driving in Indiana is illegal, and the law reaches further than texting alone. Under Indiana’s hands-free statute, you cannot hold or use a phone, tablet, or similar telecommunications device while your vehicle is moving. It’s a primary offense, meaning an officer can pull you over for that alone. A first ticket brings a fine plus four points on your license, and the fallout gets worse if the distraction causes a crash.
What the Law Actually Bans
Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 prohibits a driver from holding or using a telecommunications device while operating a moving motor vehicle.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 – Use of Telecommunications Device While Operating a Moving Motor Vehicle Texting is covered. So is scrolling social media, reading an email, browsing the internet, or holding the phone to look at a map. The statute bans holding or using the device for any purpose, not just messaging.
The trigger is a “moving motor vehicle.” If the vehicle is in motion, the phone needs to be out of your hands. Indiana’s Department of Transportation advises pulling off the road and coming to a complete stop if you need to handle your device.2Indiana Department of Transportation. Indiana Hands-Free Driving Law Frequently Asked Questions Because this is a primary offense, seeing a phone in your hand is enough on its own to justify a stop.
What You Can Still Do
Hands-free and voice-operated use is still allowed.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 – Use of Telecommunications Device While Operating a Moving Motor Vehicle Bluetooth, speakerphone, voice commands, and a phone sitting in a dashboard mount are all fine, as long as you’re not holding it. GPS and navigation apps are permitted too, provided you set them up before you drive or operate them with your voice.3Indiana Department of Transportation. Indiana Hands-Free Driving Law Fact Sheet
There is one narrow exception that lets you pick the phone up: calling 911 to report a genuine emergency.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 – Use of Telecommunications Device While Operating a Moving Motor Vehicle Otherwise, hands off the device while the car is moving.
Fines and Court Costs
A hands-free violation is a Class C infraction.3Indiana Department of Transportation. Indiana Hands-Free Driving Law Fact Sheet The fine depends on your record of moving violations in the county where you’re cited, on a sliding scale set by Indiana’s infraction statute:4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34 Civil Law and Procedure 34-28-5-4
- No prior moving violations in the county within five years: up to $35.50 plus court costs.
- One prior moving violation in the county within five years: up to $250.50 plus court costs.
- Two or more prior moving violations in the county within five years: up to $500 plus court costs.
Court costs add meaningfully to the number on the ticket, so even a clean-record first offense will run higher than $35.50 out of pocket.
Points on Your License
As of July 1, 2021, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles adds four points to your driving record for each hands-free violation.3Indiana Department of Transportation. Indiana Hands-Free Driving Law Fact Sheet Four points from one ticket is a lot. Accumulate 20 or more points in a two-year window and the BMV schedules an administrative hearing with your license on the line. Five hands-free tickets inside two years is enough to put your driving privileges at risk.
Insurance Impact
The violation goes on your driving record, and insurers check that record at renewal. Industry rate analyses estimate a texting-while-driving ticket raises premiums by roughly 23 percent on average nationwide. The exact increase varies by carrier, policy, and driving history, and tends to stay on your rates for several years.
School Zones and Work Zones
Indiana treats a hands-free violation more seriously in a school zone or an active work zone, with a minimum of four points per violation in those areas and the potential for higher fines. A single lapse in one of those zones, stacked on existing points, can push a driver toward the suspension threshold much faster than a routine traffic ticket.
What Police Can and Can’t Do With Your Phone
The statute builds in protections during enforcement. An officer cannot seize your phone just to check whether you were using it, and cannot hold the device as evidence pending trial.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 – Use of Telecommunications Device While Operating a Moving Motor Vehicle Police also cannot extract or download data from your phone unless one of three things is true: there is probable cause the phone was used in a crime, a valid search warrant has been issued, or another specific legal authorization applies. Without your consent and without one of those conditions, the data on the device stays private.
If the Violation Causes a Crash
A hands-free ticket becomes far more costly when it is tied to a collision. In a personal injury or property damage case, a citation for holding a phone is strong evidence of negligence because it shows the driver broke a specific safety law.
Indiana uses a modified comparative fault system. Under Indiana Code 34-51-2-6, an injured person can recover damages only if their share of fault is 50 percent or less; cross that line and they recover nothing.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 34, Article 51, Chapter 2 – Compensatory Damages: Comparative Fault A documented hands-free violation on the other driver shifts that balance. Insurance adjusters and juries treat distracted driving as a serious breach, and a citation is concrete proof the driver was breaking the law at the moment of impact.
For the driver who was holding the phone, the citation makes it very difficult to argue reasonable care. Even if the other party contributed, the documented distraction anchors a large share of fault to the phone-holding driver. If that driver was on the job when the crash happened, the employer can be pulled in too, under the rule that employers are responsible for the negligent acts of employees acting within the scope of their work.