How do I Expungement My Criminal Record under the Indiana Second Chance Expungement Law?

There are 6 steps to expunge your criminal record under the Second chance Expungement Law in Indiana. The below guide will provide a brief explanation of these 6 steps. Please remember that the actual expungement law is technical and complicated and you should consult an attorney about your specific case.

Determine Eligibility: Ensure you meet the eligibility criteria. Speaking broadly, you can generally expunge arrests that did not result in a conviction, certain misdemeanor convictions five years from the date of the last conviction, and certain felony convictions eight years from the date of your last conviction. When you are expunging a conviction, remember that the clock starts running from the date of your last conviction – not the date of the actual case. For example, if you have a D felony Theft conviction from 2000, and you are convicted of an A Misdemanor Driving While Suspended today, your last conviction would be today and you would therefore likely need to wait eight years to expunge your criminal record. Review the following link for a more detailed explanation of Criminal Record Expungement Eligibility under the Indiana Expungement Law.
Gather Documentation: Collect all necessary documents, including your criminal history and any court records related to your case. Some of these documents will be available on mycase.in.gov If all of your cases do not appear on mycase.in.gov you should contact the County Clerk in each county in order to obtain records from your case. Additionally, it is prudent to run both an Indiana and FBI fingerprint criminal history. After you have the documents, you should consult with an Indiana Expungement Attorney.
File a Petition: Submit a petition for expungement with the court in the county where the conviction or arrest occurred. You are legally allowed to file an Indiana criminal record expungement petition yourself (pro se). However, remember that Indiana Law generally only gives you one chance to expungement your criminal record, so we would strongly recommend using an Indiana Expungement Attorney.
Notify Relevant Parties: After a petition is filed, the Indiana Rules of Civil Procedure require service of the petition. If you hire counsel, your Expungement Lawyer will ensure that service has occurred. However, if you are proceeding pro se, remember that if service is not perfected, in compliance with the Indiana Rules of Civil Procedure, it is very possible that the expungement petition will be denied.
Attend a Hearing: Some expungements are granted without a hearing. However, some expungements require a hearing. A hearing is more common in higher level convictions where the granting of the petition is discretionary. Additionally, if there are any procedural defects in the filing, the Prosecutor will have the opportunity to raise objections based on these defects at the hearing. Remember that it is unlikely that a Judge will permit an amended petition to be filed after commencement of the hearing, so it is important that the original petition be free of any procedural or technical defects.
Receive and Distribute theCourt Order: If the judge grants your petition, you will receive a court order for expungement. Remember that distribution of the order is still necessary. When in doubt, it is best to use certified mail for distribution.
Follow Up with State Police and FBI: Don’t assume that the government processed your court ordered expungement correctly. Government actors often make mistakes. If a mistake was made, it migth be easy to fix – but you dont want to find out that there was an error wen you are in the process of applying for employment. The only way to know for sure what is going to show up on a background check is to run the background check. About 30 days after the distribution of the Court order, Contact the Indiana State Police and the FBI and ask that they run a fingerprint background check.

Gomez has also worked directly with Jeff Cardella, the Criminal Defense Attorney & Expungement Lawyer in Indianapolis & Indiana.