Indiana Statewide Criminal Background Check
Employers need Indiana criminal records fast, and they need them accurate. Our real-time statewide search reads live Indiana trial court indexes, so results reflect what the clerk shows today. Results within 24 hours or less. Meanwhile, the state police file stays limited to arrests that counties chose to report.
Hiring in Indiana? Read our Indiana background screening laws guide before you run your first report.
What an Indiana statewide criminal background check covers
Indiana keeps its criminal records in two very different places. Courts hold the case files, while the Indiana State Police holds an arrest-based repository. Because employers make decisions on charges and dispositions, court data usually answers the question better.
Our Indiana statewide criminal background check searches trial court criminal indexes across the state. Consequently, you see the filing, the charge, the statute, the degree and the outcome. Furthermore, a live researcher confirms every possible hit before it reaches your report.
Every Indiana county
Searches reach all 92 counties. Therefore you avoid ordering county by county.
Live court data
The search runs against current indexes. So dismissals and amendments show correctly.
Full case detail
Reports carry charges, statutes, degrees and dispositions. Nothing gets summarized away.
Researcher verified
A person checks each hit against identifiers. As a result, false matches drop sharply.
Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History compared to our search
Many employers start at the Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History portal. That service works, yet it answers a narrower question. Below, the two options sit side by side so you can choose deliberately.
| Feature | ISP Limited Criminal History | BCS Real-Time Statewide Search |
|---|---|---|
| Price per name | $15.00 subscriber, $15.70 by credit card | $20.00 flat |
| What it contains | “Only felonies and class A misdemeanor arrests within the state of Indiana” | Criminal case filings of every degree found in the trial court indexes |
| Class B and C misdemeanors | Excluded | Included when the court indexes them |
| Source of the data | State arrest repository fed by local agencies | Indiana trial court criminal indexes |
| Completeness | “Completeness of this information is based upon county participation” | All 92 counties searched every time |
| No-record searches | Billed anyway; every search “will be considered a completed request” | Billed at the same flat $20 |
| Result retention | PDF “will expire 14 days after the search has completed” | Stored in your secure BCS account |
| Resale by a screening company | Not permitted for third-party CRA use | Built for FCRA employment screening |
| Verification | Automated repository response | Researcher confirms each possible hit |
Fees and terms above come from the Indiana State Police online portal and may change. Always confirm current pricing at the state site.
Why employers cannot simply buy the state police report
Here is the detail that surprises most hiring managers. An Indiana employer may request a Limited Criminal History directly. A consumer reporting agency, however, cannot pull that state file and resell it to you. Screening companies therefore obtain Indiana criminal records from the courts instead.
That restriction shapes the whole market. In practice, any compliant Indiana employment screening report is court based. We treat that as an advantage rather than a limitation. After all, court records carry the disposition detail that arrest repositories often lack.
How Odyssey made a true statewide Indiana search possible
Indiana finished a remarkable project on 13 December 2021. On that date Randolph County went live, and the Odyssey case management system finally reached all 92 counties. Before then, clerks in one county often could not see filings in another.
Today roughly 300 trial courts serving those counties run on one platform. Additionally, the public portal at mycase.in.gov draws from the same system. Still, that portal is not a background check. Indiana itself warns that its display “is not to be considered or used as an official court record.”
Our search uses that statewide infrastructure properly. Researchers work the indexes, apply identifiers and confirm outcomes at the source court. Meanwhile, you receive one clean report instead of 92 separate lookups.
What appears on your Indiana report
Each confirmed record arrives in a consistent format. Consequently, your team reads every report the same way, which speeds up adjudication.
Subject identifiers
Name searched, date of birth and any middle name supplied.
Court and case
Court name, case number, case type and filing date.
Charge detail
Charge description, Indiana Code citation, degree and offense date.
Disposition
Plea, verdict or dismissal, plus the date the court decided.
Sentence
Confinement, jail credit, probation terms and any special conditions.
Financial orders
Court costs, fees, fines and restitution the court imposed.
Cross references
Prosecutor numbers, agency numbers and original cause numbers.
Clear results
A documented no-record finding, dated and attributable.
Sample Indiana statewide criminal report
Below sits a complete sample record in the format your team will read. Names, dates of birth, addresses and case numbers are fictitious. However, the structure, the statute citation and the sentencing language mirror a real Indiana disposition.
Decided — Conviction
Case summary
Case cross references
Parties to the case
Charges
Sentence
Sample only. This subject does not exist, and the case number is fictitious. Real reports return exactly these fields when the court publishes them.
How to order an Indiana statewide search
Collect FCRA paperwork
Give the applicant a standalone disclosure. Next, obtain written authorization.
Enter the applicant
Submit full legal name and date of birth. Additionally, add known aliases.
Select the Indiana search
Choose State Criminal Search — Real Time, then pick Indiana.
Review results
Results post to your secure account. Afterward, download or print the report.
Adjudicate carefully
Apply your matrix consistently. Then follow the FCRA adverse action steps.
Every BCS Background Screening LLC account also offers optional Multiple Authentication Factor (MAF) protection. Enable it for any user you choose.
Indiana rules that shape your report
Indiana regulates criminal history providers directly. Under IC 24-4-18-6, a provider may not report expunged records, court-restricted records or records the provider knows are inaccurate. Moreover, IC 24-4-18-7 requires reports to reflect material record changes filed at least 60 days earlier.
Employers carry duties too. IC 35-38-9-10 makes discrimination over an expunged record a Class C infraction. It also prescribes the only permitted application question about criminal history. Ask it exactly as written, and you stay on safe ground.
Local ordinances will not surprise you either. Since 1 July 2017, IC 22-2-17-3 has preempted municipal ban-the-box rules for private employers. Indiana became the first state to do that, so your statewide hiring process can stay uniform.
Our Indiana background screening laws page walks through each statute in plain language. Read it before you build your adjudication matrix.
What this search will not return
Honest limits matter more than marketing claims. Accordingly, here is what a statewide Indiana court search leaves out.
- Records a court sealed, expunged or restricted from public access.
- Protection order cases, which Indiana keeps off public case search.
- Federal charges, since those live in the U.S. District Courts.
- Convictions from other states, which need their own searches.
- Juvenile matters, which remain confidential under Indiana law.
- Arrests that never produced a court filing anywhere in Indiana.
Because of those gaps, most employers pair this search with a national database scan and a federal search. Together, the three cover far more ground than any single lookup.
Pair it with these searches
Nationwide Background Check
SSN trace, national criminal database, sex offender registry and watchlists.
Federal Criminal Search
U.S. District Court cases, which never appear in Indiana state courts.
County Criminal Court Search
Deeper single-county research when a statewide hit needs confirmation.
SSN Trace
Address history that points you toward the right jurisdictions.
Motor Vehicle Records
Indiana BMV driving history for any role behind the wheel.
Other Statewide Searches
Applicants rarely stay put. So search every state they have lived in.
Indiana statewide criminal background check FAQs
What is an Indiana statewide criminal background check?
It is a name-based search of Indiana trial court criminal indexes across all 92 counties. Researchers run the search in real time, then verify each possible hit at the source court. Consequently, your report shows charges, statutes, degrees and dispositions rather than raw arrest entries.
How much does an Indiana statewide criminal background check cost?
BCS Background Screening LLC charges $20 per name for the real-time Indiana statewide search. That price applies whether or not the search returns a record. By comparison, the Indiana State Police online portal charges $15.00 for subscribers and $15.70 by credit card. It also bills every search regardless of the result.
Why not just use the Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History?
That report contains “only felonies and class A misdemeanor arrests within the state of Indiana.” Class B and Class C misdemeanors therefore never appear. The Indiana State Police also states that “completeness of this information is based upon county participation.” On top of that, a screening company cannot resell that state file to you, so compliant employment reports come from the courts instead.
How far back does the Indiana search go?
Indiana sets no state lookback cap on reportable convictions. The FCRA seven-year rule at 15 U.S.C. 1681c restricts non-conviction items, and that restriction lifts for positions paying $75,000 or more. Court index depth still varies by county, so older records depend on what each clerk retains electronically.
Do I need fingerprints for this search?
No. Our Indiana statewide search works from name and date of birth. Fingerprints apply to state and federal programs such as licensing checks, not to standard FCRA employment screening. Because no fingerprinting appointment is needed, your applicant never has to travel anywhere.
Will expunged Indiana records show on my report?
They will not. IC 24-4-18-6 bars criminal history providers from reporting expunged and court-restricted records. That bar also covers reduced Level 6 felony convictions that became Class A misdemeanors. Additionally, IC 35-38-9-10 makes it a Class C infraction to discriminate over an expunged record.
Does one statewide search replace county searches?
Usually it covers the state efficiently, yet county research still has a role. When a statewide hit needs document-level confirmation, a county search at the source court settles it. Many employers therefore run the statewide search first, then order a county search only where a record appears.
What do I need before I order?
Collect a standalone FCRA disclosure and a signed authorization from the applicant. Then supply the full legal name, date of birth and any aliases. Accurate input drives accurate output. Indiana court indexes match on the name you submit, not on a Social Security number.
Order your Indiana statewide criminal background check
Open an account today and run Indiana searches at $20 per name. Our team credentials new clients quickly, so you can start screening without a long wait.
BCS Background Screening LLC · support@usabackground.com · Mon–Fri 9–6 ET
Disclaimer: BCS Background Screening LLC provides consumer reports for permissible purposes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This page explains a screening product and summarizes publicly available information about Indiana records. It is not legal advice. Consult qualified employment counsel before you build or change a hiring policy.
Court comment, as entered
Plea accepted. 1 year jail. 7 days credit plus statutory credit time. The defendant is placed under the supervision of Elkhart County probation at a level deemed appropriate for balance of sentence. Probation may modify the level of supervision without need for further court order.
While under probation supervision the defendant shall participate in any evaluations, evidenced based practices, treatment programming, and/or rehabilitative programming deemed appropriate by probation and/or providers.
Domestic Violence Determination entered. The Court, in accordance with I.C. 35-38-1-7.7, having heard evidence at trial, or based on a factual basis provided as part of a guilty plea in this case, now finds that the Defendant has committed a crime of domestic violence, as defined by I.C. 35-31.5-2-78.
Advisements and financial orders
The Defendant has been advised that upon conviction: he/she shall lose the right to possess a firearm, possession of a firearm or ammunition may constitute a separate crime, parenting time with minor children may be restricted, and other legal penalties may be applicable and should be discussed with his/her attorney.
Defendant is ordered to pay court costs, administrative fees, and a $50 domestic violence fee pursuant to I.C. 33-37-5-13. The defendant is ordered to pay court costs, fees, fines and restitution imposed on or before 2/14/2027; failing to do so, the Clerk shall assess a late payment fee in the sum of $25.00, pursuant to I.C. 33-37-5-22.
Any cash bond posted in this case is ordered applied to outstanding financial obligations and the balance, if any, released to the cash bond depositor. Surety bond, if any, ordered released. Court declines no contact order. Appearance of public defender withdrawn. Judgment of conviction entered. Notice. sc-c