Eligibility for Expunging or Clearing Adult Criminal Records in Indiana

There are two baseline requirements that must be met in order for your expungement application to be accepted. Only:

1. Those who never had criminal charges filed against them,
   or
2. Those whose criminal charges were ultimately dropped because of:

• Mistaken identity
• No offense was actually committed,or
• The absence of probable cause, may pursue expungement.

This means that if you were arrested for a crime but no criminal charges were ever filed, or charges were filed, but they were dropped because of mistaken identity, lack of probable cause, or the court (and the state) saw that no offense ever occurred, then your arrest record is eligible for expungement.

Be aware that this remedy is available only for arrest records for which there are no convictions on record. Conviction records cannot be expunged. If you were convicted of a crime (regardless of having pled guilty or otherwise, your record is not eligible for expungement. Even if you were found not guilty at trial, you are not eligible for expungement: a conviction record must exist for a case to even make it that far, and then it’s too late. In Indiana, there is not a court procedure available for expunging adult conviction records.

Exceptions to Eligibility Rules: Though there is no means for getting a conviction record expunged by the court, it is possible to get rid of a criminal conviction by receiving a pardon from the Governor. This is, of course, extremely rare.

There is one partial exception to the eligibility rules: If at least 15 years have passed since the date you were discharged from prison/parole/probation, you can petition the law enforcement agency that arrested you directly (usually state police department) and ask them to restrict access to your criminal history record. This petition, if approved, will ensure that only criminal justice agencies have access to it, and your private life can be largely free of the record’s influence.

For more information on Indiana’s law, click the following articles:

Clearing of Criminal Records or Expungement in Indiana

Application Process for Expunging Adult Criminal Records in Indiana

Clearing or Expungement of Juvenile Criminal Records in Indiana

Application Process to Expunge Juvenile Criminal Records in Indiana

Using an Attorney to Clear or Expunge Indiana Criminal Record