If a past arrest or conviction is showing up on background checks and costing you jobs or housing, you may have more options than you think. Indiana law gives some people a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to clear conviction records. Understanding whether you qualify is the first step toward putting that record behind you.
What sealing your record actually does
Indiana’s Second Chance Law does not erase your criminal record — it restricts who can see it. For misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, your record is sealed from public view. For major felonies, it stays visible but is marked as “expunged,” meaning employers and landlords cannot legally use it against you. Either way, you can answer “no” on most job applications that ask about prior arrests or convictions.
Eligibility depends on the offense and timing
Indiana uses a tiered system based on the type of offense and how much time has passed since your arrest or conviction:
- Arrest without conviction: Courts automatically expunge many dismissals and acquittals within 60 days. For others, you can file a petition one year after the arrest date.
- Misdemeanor conviction: You may qualify after five years, provided you have no pending charges, have paid all fines and fees, and have no new convictions in that time.
- Low-level felony conviction: You may qualify after eight years for an eligible Class D or Level 6 felony, or five years if reduced to a misdemeanor, with all fines paid and no pending charges or new convictions.
- More serious felonies: Non-violent major felonies require eight years from conviction or three years from completing your sentence, whichever is later. Felonies involving bodily injury require ten years from conviction or five years from sentence completion, plus the prosecutor’s written consent.
Indiana law bars certain offenses from expungement entirely, including sex offenses, homicide, human trafficking convictions, official misconduct and certain violent weapon offenses.
This process has a strict one-time limit
Indiana law allows you to file for conviction expungement only once in your lifetime. If you have multiple convictions in the same county, you must include all of them in a single petition, and convictions across different counties require separate filings within a 365-day window.
Because a mistake or missed offense could cost you your only opportunity, speaking with a criminal defense attorney in Anderson or the greater Madison County area can help you determine what to include and how to give your petition the best chance of approval.