Expungements

Expungements

Indiana’s Second Chance Law
Once an arrest or conviction record has been sealed or expunged, it is unlawful for any person or business to suspend, expel, refuse to employ, refuse to admit, refuse to license, or otherwise discriminate against the person arrested or convicted.

Arrest without Conviction: 
(i.e. Arrested and Never Charged, Found Not Guilty, Overturned on Appeal)
Persons arrested without a resulting conviction, or if the conviction was vacated on appeal, may petition the court to seal records of the arrest one (1) year after the date of the arrest or one (1) year after the date of the opinion vacating the conviction becomes final. To successfully seal arrest records, a person cannot have pending charges.
Misdemeanor Convictions:
  • Persons with misdemeanor convictions may petition the court to expunge their conviction records once five (5) years have elapsed from the date of the conviction
  • Persons may seek expungement of conviction records before five (5) years have elapsed if the prosecutor consents in writing
  • To obtain expungement of misdemeanor convictions a person:
  • Cannot have pending charges
  • Cannot have an existing or pending driver’s license suspension
  • Must successfully complete the person’s sentence and satisfy all other obligations placed on the person as part of the sentence
  • Must not have been convicted of a crime within the previous five (5) years

Felony Convictions:
So long as a person is not considered by law to be:
  • A sex or violent offender
  • A person convicted of official misconduct; or
  • A person convicted of
  • Homicide
  • Human and Sexual Trafficking; or
  • A sex crime
Persons may petition the court to expunge felony conviction records after either eight (8) or ten (10) years depending on the type of felony conviction. 
To obtain expungement of felony convictions a person:
  • Cannot have pending charges
  • Cannot have an existing or pending driver’s license suspension
  • Must successfully complete the person’s sentence and satisfy all other obligations placed on the person as part of the sentence
  • Must not have been convicted of a crime within the previous eight (8) or ten (10) years depending on the type of felony conviction
In some instances, the person may be required to obtain the written consent of the prosecuting attorney before the court may expunge felony conviction records.
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