Expungement Frequently Asked Questions

If a record is successfully expunged, then:

• misdemeanors and most D/Level 6 felonies are no longer on public record
• A, B and C felonies (and some D felonies) are still visible on public records, but they are marked expunged. This means that rights are restored, and you may not be discriminated against because of your record.

Whether a record can be expunged depends on:

1. whether or not you were convicted, and
2. if you were convicted, the type of crime for which you were convicted, and
3. how much time has passed since your last criminal incident on record.

Some things cannot be expunged. These include:

• cases out of federal court
• cases outside of Indiana
• cases where charges were not filed and a case number was not created by the court
• infraction and ordinance violations
• convictions that are tied to a name, social security number or gallery number that do not actually belong to that individual

• Criminal records are not destroyed and can be accessed in some circumstances, like if you are charged with another crime or are applying to become an attorney.
• Expungement does not remove case information from electronic sources, like news articles that can be found online.
• Expungement does not require that national criminal history repositories expunge records (e.g. FBI database).
• Having a child neglect conviction expunged does not remove your name from the substantiated index with the Department of Child Services.
• Expungement does not restore rights to firearms if there is a conviction for domestic violence/battery.

Felonies that cannot be expunged include crimes that involve:

• loss of life
• sex crimes
• perjury
• human trafficking
• official misconduct
• 2 or more offenses with the use of a deadly weapon

In general, if you are found guilty of such a crime (IC 35-38-9-5(b)), then no crimes on the record can be expunged.

Non-conviction includes:

• dismissal
• not guilty verdict
• successful completion of pretrial diversion, resulting in a dismissal
• cases where charges were not filed, but a case number was created by the court

Non-convictions, or arrests that do not lead to a conviction, can be expunged. In general, convictions that can be expunged include:

• misdemeanors
• D/Level 6 felonies without bodily injury
• A, B, or C felonies without serious bodily injury and D felonies with bodily injury
• Some felonies with serious bodily injury

You can ask for expungement of a non-conviction (an arrest that does not result in conviction), as many times as is necessary. Expungements for convictions are only allowed one time in your lifetime. This means you cannot get any new convictions expunged. However, you may be able to file to fix mistakes.

You will need to file for expungement in each county in which there is a criminal incident on your record. That means you may have to file a petition (request) for expungement in more than one county, but this will need to be done at the same time.

Under the statute, if you do not meet the waiting/timeline requirements, you may still ask for expungement if the prosecutor agrees. Click to download the handout to see how to ask the prosecutor to allow early expungement filing.

Check with each court. Some courts will cancel fees if asked.

Information including court rules, filing fee waiver forms, and how to file forms with the court can be found by clicking the resources found here. There is no filing fee when asking for expungement of a non-conviction.