Indiana law permits those with certain criminal convictions to petition a court for an "expungement."  An expungement is a legal process of asking a court and other agencies that hold those records to seal them from public access.  An expungement does not completely erase a conviction, it simply seals the criminal history from public view or labels the conviction as "expunged."  Obtaining an expungement can be helpful in securing a job, licensing, housing, loans, etc.  However, your criminal record can still be held against you if you are charged with a future crime and you may still qualify as a "habitual criminal" under Indiana law.

The expungement process is not a simple one.  For example, if you have arrests, charges, or convictions in different Indiana counties, you will need to file an expungement petition in a court in each county.  The process involves a waiting period after a conviction and there a one (1) year deadline after filing an expungement petition to file all of the necessary documents. 

Certain offenses cannot be expunged.  Indiana Code section 35-38-9-5.  Those offenses include anyone designated as a "sex or violent offender" meaning anyone convicted of: murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, rape, child molesting, child exploitation, vicarious sexual gratification, child solicitation, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a minor (Level 5 or above), incest, sexual battery, kidnapping, criminal confinement if the victim was under 18 years of age, possession of child pornography, promoting prostitution, human trafficking, etc.  Additionally, anyone convicted of official misconduct, a felony that resulted in death to another person, or persons convicted of two (2) or more felony offenses that (a) involved the unlawful use of a deadly weapon; and (b) were not committed as part of the same episode of criminal conduct, cannot receive an expungement.

Expungements of Non-Conviction Records

Indiana law treats non-conviction records differently than those which resulted in a conviction.  These records include arrests, charges, and juvenile delinquency adjudications.  After one (1) year of your arrest, charge, or juvenile delinquency adjudication, you may file a petition to have your criminal record expunged if either of the following applies:

(1) you were arrested but not convicted of a crime; or

(2) you were convicted but the convicted was later vacated.

Expungements of Conviction Records

Indiana law treats expungement differently depending upon on the seriousness of the offense. 

You may request to have criminal records of misdemeanors and low level felonies that have since been reduced to misdemeanors expunged if all of  the following apply:

(1) at least five (5) years have passed since the date of your conviction;

(2) you have had no new convictions in that time period;

(3) you have no pending criminal charges;

(4) you have paid all restitution orders, fines, fees, and court costs; and

(5) you have paid an expungement fee.

Convictions for most other felony convictions must weight eight (8) years since from the date of conviction or three (3) years after the completion of their sentence before petitioning for expungement.  However, if the offense resulted in serious bodily injury to another person or if the conviction is of an individual who was an elected official or a candidate for public office when the offense was committed, the waiting period to consider an expungement is extended to ten (10) years from the date of conviction, or five (5) years from the date of the end of the individual's sentence, whichever is later.

Requests for Permission to File an Early Expungement

If the waiting periods discussed above have not passed and you are otherwise eligible for an expungement, you may request our office consider an early expungement by completing the form below.  You may be requested to appear in the Madison County Prosecutor's Office for a meeting with a deputy prosecutor if there are additional questions regarding your early expungement request. *Note* even if you receive permission to file an early expungement petition, the State reserves the right to object to expungement should you be determined otherwise ineligible for an expungement.

Expungement petitions can be filed through an attorney or by yourself, "pro se," but the process can be complicated and Indiana permits only one expungement request from each individual.  Because of the complexities involved, it's always better to retain an attorney to assist you with the process.  However, if you need to proceed with an expungement petition yourself, Indiana Legal Help provides assistance through the link included below.