Indiana reciprocity covers three different things that often get lumped together: whether your out-of-state firearm permit works here, whether your professional or driver’s license transfers, and whether a court order from another state can be enforced in Indiana. The answers differ by category, and in some cases by profession. Here is what Indiana recognizes, what it requires you to do, and where recognition stops.
Out-of-State Firearm Permits
Indiana recognizes handgun carry licenses issued by every other state and by foreign countries, but only for people who are not Indiana residents. Under Indiana Code 35-47-2-21, an out-of-state license is honored “according to the terms thereof” while the holder is a non-resident.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-2-21 – Recognition of Retail Dealers Licenses and Licenses to Carry Handguns Issued by Other States Your home-state restrictions travel with you. If your permit excludes certain weapon types or limits where you can carry, those same limits apply inside Indiana.
Indiana residents don’t need a permit at all. House Enrolled Act 1296, enacted in 2022, eliminated the license requirement for anyone lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.2Indiana Senate Republicans. Permitless Carry in Indiana – HEA 1296-2022 The Indiana State Police still issues free carry licenses in five-year and lifetime versions, and many residents get one anyway because other states only recognize an Indiana permit, not Indiana’s permitless carry status. If you travel armed, check your destination state’s reciprocity list before you cross.
Where Carry Is Still Prohibited
Neither permitless carry nor out-of-state permit recognition overrides Indiana’s location restrictions. Possessing a firearm on school property or a school bus is a Level 6 felony, though keeping a gun locked in your vehicle’s trunk or glove compartment is a statutory defense. Leaving a firearm in plain view in a vehicle parked in a school lot is a Class A misdemeanor, even if you’re legally permitted to carry.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-9-2 – Possession of Firearms on School Property
Under Indiana Code 35-47-11.1-4, carry can also be prohibited in buildings containing a courtroom, at public meetings, and in government-owned buildings that have metal detectors at every public entrance staffed by trained law enforcement officers who screen everyone entering. Hospitals established under state law and secure correctional health units within public hospital corporations also qualify.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-47-11.1-4 Federal rules still bar firearms in post offices, federal courthouses, and airports past TSA checkpoints.
Driver’s License Transfer
If you move to Indiana with a valid driver’s license from another state, you have 60 days to get an Indiana license. Visit a BMV branch, surrender your out-of-state license, present proof of identity and Indiana residency, and pass a vision screening. No written or driving test is required as long as the previous license is still valid. The BMV issues a temporary license good for 30 days while your documents are verified.5Bureau of Motor Vehicles. New Indiana Residents
An expired out-of-state license triggers a knowledge exam, and in some cases a skills test too.5Bureau of Motor Vehicles. New Indiana Residents Vehicle registration runs on the same 60-day clock: every vehicle you own must be titled and registered in Indiana within 60 days of becoming a resident.6Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Registrations
International reciprocity is narrow. Indiana has formal agreements only with Japan and Taiwan, and those agreements only waive the driving skills exam. The written knowledge test and vision screening still apply.7Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Residents with Out-of-Country Licenses Drivers from every other country complete the full testing process.
Professional License Reciprocity
What happens when you bring a professional credential to Indiana depends entirely on the profession. Some fields operate through interstate compacts that let you work immediately. Others require a new Indiana application, additional testing, or coursework before you can practice.
Nurses
Indiana belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact under Indiana Code Title 25, Article 42. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in Indiana on that license, with no separate Indiana application, no waiting period, and no endorsement fee.8Justia. Indiana Code Title 25 Article 42 – Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact
Nurses from non-compact states take a different route. They apply for licensure by endorsement through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, which involves verifying an active license, passing a criminal background check, and confirming NCLEX passage. The endorsement process takes several weeks, and you cannot practice in Indiana until approval comes through.
EMS Personnel
Indiana joined the Recognition of EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact and completed full integration of its licensure data into the National EMS Coordinated Database in February 2026. Nearly 20,000 Indiana EMS clinicians, including EMTs, Advanced EMTs, and Paramedics, now hold a state-authorized privilege to practice in all 25 EMS Compact member states.9EMS Compact. Indiana Completes Full Integration Into the National EMS Coordinated Database EMS professionals licensed in another compact state can work in Indiana without obtaining a separate Indiana license.
Teachers
Educators with a valid out-of-state teaching license can apply for a temporary reciprocal permit that lets them teach for one year while they finish meeting Indiana’s testing requirements. The permit is not automatic recognition of the underlying license. Indiana requires passing a content-area licensure test in every subject that will appear on the Indiana license, and seven content areas, including English Learners, Exceptional Needs, and Elementary Generalist, cannot be added through testing alone and require completion of an approved coursework program.10Indiana Department of Education. Teacher After the Indiana Department of Education evaluates your credentials, a deficiency letter through their licensing system spells out what you still owe.11Indiana Department of Education. Convert Reciprocal Permit to Standard License
Attorneys
Indiana does not offer true reciprocity for lawyers. Out-of-state attorneys who want to practice here permanently must satisfy Indiana’s own admission standards under Admission and Discipline Rule 6.
Admission without examination, which Indiana calls “admission on reciprocity,” is available to attorneys who have actively practiced law for at least three of the five years immediately preceding their application. Active practice means performing legal services at least 1,000 hours per year, whether in private practice, government employment, teaching at an ABA-accredited law school, or sitting as a judge. Applicants pass a character and fitness interview with a member of the Board of Law Examiners and pay a non-refundable application fee of $875.12Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys
Attorneys who don’t meet the practice-hours threshold take the Indiana Bar Exam, which includes the Uniform Bar Examination and an Indiana-specific law component. Indiana’s professional conduct rules allow limited temporary practice, such as working alongside an Indiana-licensed lawyer on a specific matter, but extended practice without full admission risks unauthorized-practice violations.
Out-of-State Court Orders
Indiana enforces court orders from other states under several overlapping frameworks. Which one applies depends on whether the order involves money, children, or personal safety.
Civil Money Judgments
Indiana adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act at Indiana Code 34-54-11. To enforce a civil judgment from another state, you file an authenticated copy with the clerk of any Indiana court of record. Once filed, the judgment is treated the same as one issued by an Indiana court, with the same procedures and defenses available.13Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-54-11-1 – Filing of Foreign Judgment
The debtor has options. Under Indiana Code 34-54-11-4, a court must stay enforcement if the debtor shows that an appeal is pending or will be taken in the original jurisdiction, or that a stay of execution was already granted there, provided the debtor has posted any security the original jurisdiction requires. A debtor can also seek a stay on the same grounds that would apply to an Indiana judgment, as long as they provide security for the debt.14Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-54-11-4 – Staying Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment
Custody and Child Support
Child custody determinations from other states fall under Indiana’s version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act at Indiana Code 31-21.15Justia. Indiana Code Title 31 Article 21 – Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act Indiana courts generally defer to the state that issued the custody order, and an out-of-state determination can be registered in Indiana by submitting a letter requesting registration along with two copies of the determination, one of them certified.16Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-21-6-4 – Registration of Child Custody Determination Jurisdiction typically stays with the original issuing state unless the child and all parties have moved away from it.
Child support runs on a separate track. Indiana adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act at Indiana Code 31-18.5, which provides mechanisms for enforcing and modifying support orders across state lines, including enforcement without registration in some circumstances.17Justia. Indiana Code Title 31 Article 18.5 – Uniform Interstate Family Support Act The Indiana Department of Child Services coordinates enforcement with the issuing state when a parent relocates.
Protective Orders
Protective orders get the broadest recognition of any court order. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 2265 requires every state to give full faith and credit to protection orders issued by other states, tribes, and territories, and to enforce them as if they were local.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders Indiana’s own statute reinforces the point. Indiana Code 34-26-5-17 prohibits law enforcement from requiring registration or filing of a valid out-of-state protective order as a condition of enforcing it.19Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-17 – Civil Law and Procedure
Officers can verify an order through the National Crime Information Center database for immediate enforcement. Registration is not required, but filing a certified copy with an Indiana court can help if a question arises about the order’s validity. The federal statute also protects the person covered by the order: it prohibits states from publicly posting registration information online, and an enforcing state cannot notify the respondent that a protective order has been registered unless the protected party requests it.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders