Indiana criminal records: court cases, criminal history and public records
Indiana criminal-record research usually starts with one of two systems. MyCase provides free public access to case information from Indiana courts using the statewide Odyssey case-management system, while the Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History service provides a separate Indiana criminal-history product. MyCase is useful for court cases, charges, court dates, dispositions and selected documents, but Indiana Courts specifically warns that it is not a complete criminal-history search. Older records, police reports, jail records, warrants and correctional information can require different agencies.
First decide which Indiana record you actually need
Court case
Use MyCase for public Indiana court cases, charges, court activity, hearings, dispositions and selected documents.
Official court document
Use the Clerk of Court when the public record exists but the document is not available as a MyCase link, or when you need a certified copy.
Criminal history
Use ISP for an Indiana criminal-history product rather than one individual court docket.
Arrest or incident record
Arrest reports, police reports and local jail data are generally maintained by law-enforcement agencies rather than Indiana Courts.
State incarceration
Use Indiana Department of Correction when the person is or was within the state correctional system.
Federal criminal case
Federal cases use PACER and the U.S. District Courts, not Indiana MyCase.
Search Indiana criminal court records with MyCase
Indiana MyCase is the Judicial Branch’s public case-search system.
Case information comes from courts using Indiana’s Odyssey case-management system. Indiana Courts says most courts across the state use Odyssey, but MyCase does not contain every historical record from every Indiana court.
Open official Indiana MyCase Check which courts use OdysseyWhat you can search
Case search
Search using a case number, citation number or cross-reference number.
Name search
Search by last name and narrow using first name, middle name or date of birth.
Attorney search
Search by attorney number or attorney name when that information is useful.
How to search Indiana criminal records on MyCase step by step
Open MyCase
Start at the Indiana Judicial Branch’s official public case-search system.
Choose Case or Party
If you already know the case number, use the Case tab. Otherwise use the Party search for a defendant name.
Enter the strongest identifier available
Exact case number is usually best. A citation number or cross-reference number can also locate a case when entered as recorded in Odyssey.
Narrow a name search
Add first name, middle name, DOB, filing dates, county or case type to reduce unrelated matches.
Confirm the defendant
Compare name, DOB where displayed, county, court, filing date and case number before assuming the result belongs to the person you searched.
Open the chronological case summary
Review charges, hearings, orders, pleas, sentencing and disposition entries.
Open linked public documents
Some eligible orders and judgments appear as document links. If a public record has no link, contact the county Clerk.
Verify the final disposition
Do not treat the original charge as the final result.
Indiana MyCase search tricks that are easy to miss
Case numbers do not have to include every hyphen or leading zero
Indiana Courts says MyCase can recognize several variations of an Indiana uniform case number. For example, hyphens and leading zeroes in the filing sequence are not always required.
Use a trailing asterisk for wildcard searching
MyCase allows a trailing * wildcard.
If you know the person’s last name but only the beginning of the first name, a search such as:
Sheppard / J*
can return first names beginning with J.
Use filing-date filters
MyCase allows open/closed status and filing-date filters. These are especially useful when a common name produces hundreds of results.
MyCase caps search results
Indiana Courts says a MyCase search will return no more than 1,000 results, so broad searches should be narrowed.
Indiana criminal case-type codes
Indiana criminal case types are useful both for identifying a record and for narrowing MyCase results.
| Code | Case type | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | Level 1 Felony | Level 1 felony prosecution. |
| F2 | Level 2 Felony | Level 2 felony prosecution. |
| F3 | Level 3 Felony | Level 3 felony prosecution. |
| F4 | Level 4 Felony | Level 4 felony prosecution. |
| F5 | Level 5 Felony | Level 5 felony prosecution. |
| F6 | Level 6 Felony | Level 6 felony prosecution. |
| MR | Murder | Indiana murder case. |
| CM | Criminal Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor prosecution. |
| MC | Miscellaneous Criminal | Criminal matter that does not fit an ordinary felony or misdemeanor case, such as certain probable-cause or pre-charge warrant proceedings. |
| PC | Post-Conviction | Post-conviction relief proceeding connected to a criminal matter. |
| XP | Expungement Petition | Petition under Indiana’s criminal-record expungement statute. |
How an Indiana court case number is structured
Indiana uses a uniform case-number system under Administrative Rule 8.
Example format: 49D01-2609-F6-012345
County + court
The first group identifies the county, court category and individual court.
Year + month
Two-digit filing year followed by two-digit filing month.
Case type
Here the case is a Level 6 felony.
Sequence
Filing sequence number assigned within that court and case type.
How to read an Indiana criminal MyCase docket
| MyCase item | What it tells you | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Unique identifier for the proceeding. | County, court, filing month/year and case type. |
| Charge | The criminal accusation filed with the court. | Check amendments and final disposition. |
| Chronological case summary | Sequence of filings, hearings and court actions. | Read later entries for the current status. |
| Hearing | A scheduled or completed court event. | Dates can change; confirm with the court when attendance matters. |
| Plea | Defendant’s formal response to the charge. | A plea entry alone may not describe the final judgment. |
| Disposition | How a charge or case was resolved. | Conviction, dismissal, acquittal or another result. |
| Sentencing order | Formal sentencing information in a qualifying criminal case. | Often one of the criminal documents available to the public online. |
| Converted event | Information migrated from an older electronic court system. | Older converted records may contain less online detail. |
Which Indiana criminal court documents can the public view online?
MyCase provides more than a docket, but public document access depends on case type, document type and Indiana’s Rules on Access to Court Records.
Indiana Courts currently lists the following as public online examples:
- final orders in criminal cases
- judgments in criminal cases
- sentencing orders in common felony case types
- non-confidential documents in miscellaneous criminal cases
- appellate opinions and orders
- many appellate briefs and motions
Public MyCase access
Public case information plus selected non-confidential documents allowed for remote public access.
Broader public document access
If a public document is not linked online, ask the Clerk of Court in the county hearing the case about inspection or a copy.
If it is your own case, MyCase party access can show more documents
A party to a public Indiana case can create an Indiana Courts account and request an access code to connect the case to that account.
Once connected, a party may receive access to additional available documents that ordinary anonymous public users cannot see online.
Why an older Indiana criminal case may be missing from MyCase
MyCase historical depth is not identical statewide.
Indiana Courts explains that:
- MyCase contains data from courts using Odyssey
- most Indiana courts now use Odyssey
- different courts adopted Odyssey on different dates
- some information was converted from older systems
- online document availability is not necessarily retroactive
- how far back records go varies by county
Find the correct Indiana county Clerk of Court
Indiana Courts maintains a directory of trial courts and clerks for every county.
Find an Indiana court or Clerk by countyContact the local Clerk when you need:
- official court record
- certified copy
- older criminal file
- document not linked on MyCase
- current financial balance
- local courthouse record-search procedure
- transcript contact information
- clarification about a specific case file
Indiana criminal court copy and certification fees
Indiana’s statewide clerk accounting guidance cites the following statutory document-copy fees:
| Service | State statutory amount | Important note |
|---|---|---|
| Copy or transcript of a legal/letter-size court record | $1 per page | A county legislative body may have authority to reduce the fee in circumstances described by Indiana law. |
| Certificate under seal authenticating a copy | $1 | Certification charge is separate from applicable per-page copying cost. |
These figures are based on Indiana Code provisions cited by the State Board of Accounts. Always confirm the actual copy method and total with the county Clerk because electronic, enhanced-access, mailing or local procedures can differ.
How to obtain an Indiana criminal court transcript
A MyCase docket is not a word-for-word transcript of a hearing or trial.
Indiana Courts instructs users seeking a transcript for a specific hearing or trial to contact the court reporter or the local court/Clerk.
Docket
Shows that a hearing, trial or sentencing event occurred.
Court filing / order
Written material filed with or issued by the court.
Transcript
Verbatim written record of the proceeding when a transcript can be prepared.
How to check an Indiana arrest warrant
Indiana does not provide one universal public statewide warrant-confirmation page that should be treated as authoritative for every county.
If you already know a public criminal case exists, MyCase can help you review the public case history. For current warrant status, the safer route is to contact the court or Clerk that issued the warrant or the responsible county sheriff / local law-enforcement agency.
Indiana search warrants can begin as Miscellaneous Criminal cases
Indiana uses the MC — Miscellaneous Criminal — case type for certain criminal matters that do not yet fit a normal felony or misdemeanor prosecution.
Indiana Judicial Branch guidance gives a search warrant issued before charges are filed as an example of an MC case. If later charges are filed, a separate case can be opened under the appropriate criminal case type.
Therefore, no MyCase result should be interpreted as absolute proof that no warrant-related court proceeding exists.
Indiana arrest records and police reports are not court records
Indiana Courts expressly distinguishes criminal-history, arrest and police records from court records.
These records are maintained by law-enforcement agencies.
Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor provides statewide guidance about Indiana public-access laws, including the Access to Public Records Act.
Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History
A court search and an Indiana criminal-history search answer different questions.
The Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History is an Indiana-only name-and-DOB based criminal-history service.
ISP says completeness depends on county participation and emphasizes that the Limited Criminal History is not the most comprehensive background check available.
Information used for the search can include
- name
- date of birth
- race
- gender
- Social Security number when needed
- place of birth when needed
Possible ISP search results
On File
Indiana criminal-history information matching the search was found.
Inconclusive
ISP recommends fingerprint-based review when a name search cannot produce a conclusive match.
No Records Found
ISP states that this is still an official search result and the search fee is still charged.
Current ISP Limited Criminal History fees
| Method | Current ISP fee schedule | Payment / note |
|---|---|---|
| Mail — state-only Limited Criminal History | $7 | ISP says mailed requests require a money order payable to the State of Indiana. |
| Online — state-only Limited Criminal History | $16.32 total | Current ISP fee schedule lists a $7 state fee plus a $9.32 online processing fee. |
ISP service pages have historically displayed processing totals that can change. Confirm the amount presented by the official service before submitting payment.
Indiana fingerprint-based criminal-history review and record challenge
If you need to verify your own Indiana criminal history more reliably than a name-based search, ISP provides a fingerprint-based Criminal Record Review Challenge.
ISP describes the state-only fingerprint report as containing reported Indiana arrests, charges and dispositions. It does not include federal arrests or criminal records from other states.
The current ISP fee schedule lists:
- $10 state fee for the state-only review/challenge report
- separate electronic fingerprinting charge
- fingerprinting through ISP’s contracted IDEMIA / IdentoGO process
After completing the process, ISP says the person receives either a criminal-history transcript or a No Record Letter.
If the record is wrong
ISP recommends obtaining court documentation that supports the correction. The Criminal Justice Information Services Section can then review a challenge.
Email:
CriminalHistory@isp.IN.gov
Phone:
317-232-8262
Indiana State Police criminal-history office location
Indiana State Police lists its Criminal History Administration Unit at the Indiana Government Center North in Indianapolis for applicable in-person criminal-history business.
Suite N302 — East Elevators
100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Mailed Limited Criminal History requests use a separate ISP mailing address:
Indiana State PoliceCriminal History Limited Check
P.O. Box 6188
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6188
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Indiana prison and incarcerated-person records
For people incarcerated in Indiana’s state correctional system, use the Indiana Department of Correction Incarcerated Locator .
Indiana’s official guidance says users can search the locator by:
- last name
- first name
- DOC number
Indiana Court of Appeals and Supreme Court criminal records
MyCase also contains public appellate case information for Indiana’s appellate courts.
For written appellate decisions, Indiana Courts maintains a separate Appellate Decisions search .
The Decisions database includes opinions dating back to approximately mid-2005 and can be filtered by:
- case or party name
- court
- case category
- authoring judge
- date range
- county
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-232-2540
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Main office:
317-232-1930
Records:
317-232-7225
Federal criminal cases in Indiana are separate from MyCase
Indiana state court records do not include federal criminal prosecutions.
Indiana has two federal U.S. District Courts:
Northern District of Indiana
Divisional offices include Fort Wayne, Hammond and South Bend. Public federal docket access is available through PACER.
Northern District of IndianaSouthern District of Indiana
Federal criminal and civil case docket information and most public documents are accessible through PACER.
Southern District of IndianaIndiana juvenile criminal-type records have stronger access restrictions
Juvenile delinquency and related juvenile proceedings do not have the same ordinary public visibility as adult criminal cases.
Indiana’s Public Access to Court Documents matrix lists juvenile delinquency JD records as unavailable through ordinary public online access.
Indiana expungement: what happens to public criminal records?
Indiana’s criminal-record expungement law is primarily found in Indiana Code § 35-38-9.
Indiana’s own court-management guidance makes an important point: an Indiana expungement under this chapter is generally not a traditional destruction of every record. Instead, the law can seal specified arrest and conviction records or restrict their use, depending on the section under which relief is granted.
MyCase visibility
Indiana Courts says:
- a pending expungement petition may remain searchable
- a denied expungement petition can remain searchable
- a granted expungement can be removed from public access depending on the type of relief
- the underlying records are not necessarily physically destroyed
Once an expungement or seal is granted, Indiana State Police says the local court forwards the verified petition and order to the ISP Expungement Section for processing.
Indiana State Police criminal-history servicesWhat to do if an Indiana criminal record is wrong
First determine whether the problem is in the court record or the Indiana State Police criminal-history record.
Contact the local Clerk
If the docket, disposition or court entry appears wrong, identify the county and case number and contact the court maintaining the official record.
Use Review Challenge
ISP provides a fingerprint-based process to review and challenge Indiana criminal-history information.
Get court documentation
ISP specifically recommends using official court documentation to support a challenge to an inaccurate or incomplete disposition.
ISP states that it cannot simply alter source information without appropriate documentation from the court or criminal-justice agency that owns the information.
Indiana criminal-record search tips that save time
Start with MyCase
It is free and covers most Indiana courts using Odyssey.
Use the case number
It is more precise than a name and makes clerk requests easier.
Add DOB for common names
Date of birth can dramatically reduce unrelated results.
Use wildcards carefully
A trailing asterisk can help when only the beginning of a first or last name is known.
Filter the case type
F1–F6, CM and MC can help separate relevant criminal cases from unrelated records.
Check closed cases too
A completed conviction, dismissal or acquittal may be in the closed-case filter.
Missing document? Call the Clerk
No online document link does not necessarily mean the filing is confidential.
Old case? Check Odyssey date
Historical depth varies because Indiana courts joined Odyssey at different times.
Use ISP for criminal history
MyCase is a court-case system, not a complete statewide criminal-history report.
Use IDOC for prison custody
State incarceration is different from a county jail booking.
Read the final disposition
Never treat the initial criminal charge as the final outcome.
Official record = court
MyCase says the official record must come from the court maintaining the case.
Employment, housing and background-screening use
Public court information is not automatically the same thing as a consumer report prepared for employment, housing, credit, insurance or another regulated eligibility decision.
A third-party background-screening company can be subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other rules that do not apply to ordinary personal research of a public court docket.
Indiana criminal records: frequently asked questions
1. Is Indiana MyCase free?
Yes. Indiana Judicial Branch provides free public access to public, non-confidential case information through MyCase. Some eligible court documents are also available online at no charge.
2. Does MyCase show all Indiana criminal records?
No. MyCase contains records from courts using Indiana’s Odyssey case-management system, and how far back data goes varies by county. Indiana Courts also states that MyCase should not be used as a complete criminal-history search.
3. How can I search an Indiana criminal case by name?
Use the Party tab in MyCase. Enter the last name and narrow the search with first name, middle name, date of birth, filing dates, county or case type when available.
4. What do F1 through F6 mean on Indiana court records?
F1 through F6 identify Indiana Level 1 through Level 6 felony case types. CM means criminal misdemeanor and MC means miscellaneous criminal.
5. Can I download an Indiana criminal complaint from MyCase?
Not necessarily. Public MyCase access includes selected criminal documents, including final orders, judgments and qualifying sentencing orders. Broader non-confidential court documents may require contacting the Clerk in the county where the case is heard.
6. How much does an Indiana State Police criminal-history search cost?
The current Indiana State Police fee schedule lists a state-only Limited Criminal History at $7 by mail and $16.32 total online, including the online processing fee. Verify the amount shown by the official service before payment because processing fees can change.
7. Is an Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History the same as MyCase?
No. MyCase is a court case-search system. ISP Limited Criminal History is an Indiana-only criminal-history product based on identifying information such as name and date of birth.
8. Where can I search Indiana state prison inmates?
Use the Indiana Department of Correction Incarcerated Locator. Indiana’s official guidance says searches can use first name, last name or DOC number.
9. Can an expunged Indiana criminal case disappear from MyCase?
Yes. Indiana Courts says that once an expungement is granted, public MyCase access may be removed depending on the type of expungement. Indiana’s expungement law generally seals or restricts records rather than physically destroying every underlying record.
10. What should I do if an Indiana criminal record is wrong?
If the error is in the court record, contact the Clerk or court maintaining the official case. If the problem appears in Indiana State Police criminal-history information, ISP provides a fingerprint-based Criminal Record Review Challenge process and recommends obtaining court documentation supporting the correction.
Official Indiana criminal-record sources
- Indiana MyCase — Statewide Public Case Search
- Indiana Judicial Branch — Searching MyCase
- Indiana MyCase Search Tips
- Indiana Public Access to Court Documents
- Indiana MyCase Party Access
- Indiana Courts Using Odyssey / MyCase
- Indiana Courts & Clerks Directory
- Indiana Judicial Branch — Public Records
- Indiana Judicial Branch — Requesting Public Records
- Indiana Appellate Decisions Search
- Indiana Courts Contact Information
- Indiana State Police — Criminal History Services
- Indiana State Police — Limited Criminal History
- Indiana State Police — Criminal History Fees
- Indiana State Police — Criminal Record Review Challenge
- Indiana Department of Correction — Incarcerated Locator
- Indiana Public Access Counselor
- Indiana Judicial Branch — Expungement Statutes Guide
- U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana
- PACER — Federal Court Records