Sec. 4. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and
section 8.5 of this chapter, this section applies only to a person
convicted of a felony who may not seek expungement of that felony
under section 3 of this chapter.
(b) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) An elected official, or an elected or appointed judicial officer,
convicted of an offense while serving the person's term or as a
candidate for public office.
(2) A sex or violent offender (as defined in IC 11-8-8-5).
(3) A person convicted of a felony that resulted in serious bodily
injury to another person.
(4) A person convicted of a felony that resulted in death to
another person.
(5) A person convicted of official misconduct (IC 35-44.1-1-1).
(6) A person convicted of an offense described in:
(A) IC 35-42-1, including attempted murder under IC 35-42-1-1;
(B) IC 35-42-3.5, including an attempt to commit the offense;
or
(C) IC 35-42-4, including an attempt to commit the offense.
(7) A person convicted of two (2) or more felony offenses that:
(A) involved the unlawful use of a deadly weapon; and
(B) were not committed as part of the same episode of criminal
conduct.
(8) A person convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a
serious violent felon (IC 35-47-4-5).
(c) Not earlier than the later of eight (8) years from the date of
conviction, or three (3) years from the completion of the person's
sentence, unless the prosecuting attorney consents in writing to an
earlier period, the person convicted of the felony may petition a court
to expunge all conviction records, including records contained in:
(1) a court's files;
(2) the files of the department of correction;
(3) the files of the bureau of motor vehicles; and
(4) the files of any other person who provided treatment or
services to the petitioning person under a court order;
that relate to the person's felony conviction, including records of a
collateral action.
(d) A person who files a petition to expunge conviction records,
including any records relating to the conviction and any records
concerning a collateral action, shall file the petition in a circuit or
superior court in the county of conviction.
(e) If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(1) the period required by this section has elapsed;
(2) no charges are pending against the person;
(3) the person has paid all fines, fees, and court costs, and
satisfied any restitution obligation placed on the person as part of
the sentence; and
(4) the person has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor
within the previous eight (8) years (or within a shorter period
agreed to by the prosecuting attorney if the prosecuting attorney
has consented to a shorter period under subsection (c));
the court may order the conviction records described in subsection (c),
including any records relating to the conviction and any records
concerning a collateral action, marked as expunged in accordance with
section 7 of this chapter. A person whose records have been ordered
marked as expunged under this section is considered to have had the
person's records expunged for all purposes other than the disposition
of the records.
As added by P.L.159-2013, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.181-2014,
SEC.10; P.L.142-2015, SEC.4; P.L.219-2019, SEC.10; P.L.52-2021,
SEC.4; P.L.77-2025, SEC.13.
Notes of Decisions
Mindy M. Cline v. State of Indiana, 61 N.E.3d 360 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 11× “Discussion and Decision [4] Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4 permits persons convicted of certain crimes to have their conviction records expunged.”
D.A. v. State of Indiana, 58 N.E.3d 169 (Ind. 2016).
· cites it 12× “petitioned for the expungement of his civil forfeiture records under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4. This section allows people convicted of certain felonies to petition for the expungement of their “conviction records.”
Jerrell Antonio Key v. State of Indiana, 48 N.E.3d 333 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 12× “§ 35-38-9-3 (Class D or Level 6 felonies); I.C. § 35-38-9-4 (felonies other than Class D or Level 6 felonies); I.”
Jereme Lee Wall v. Alfred H. Plummer, III, 13 N.E.3d 420 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).
· cites it 10× “In September 2013, Wall filed a petition to expunge his conviction pursuant to Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4, which at that time read as follows: (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this section applies only to a person convicted of a felony.”
D.A. v. State of Indiana, 49 N.E.3d 580 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 19× “” I.C. § 35-38-9-4 (emphases added). This language is ambiguous.”
Alan Lee Berryman v. State of Indiana, 127 N.E.3d 1246 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 2× “[15] Additionally, if we were to accept Berryman's interpretation of the statute, an individual found NRRI could petition for expungement much earlier than a person convicted of a crime.”
Craig Alvey v. State of Indiana, 15 N.E.3d 72 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).
“Subsection (i) then provides for a three-year waiting period, but only if the original expungement petition was denied due the trial court’s exercise of discretion under Indiana Code sections 35-38-9-4 and -5, which govern the expungement of certain felony convictions.”
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 10× “A trial court must grant expungement for felons who qualify under that statute, whereas trial courts have discretion to grant or deny expungement for felons who qualify under Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4. 9 The trial court order denying expungement did not state the court’s…”
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. 2020).
· cites it 10× “After waiting the required three years, Allen, who had no prior criminal history, petitioned for expungement under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4 (the Permissive Expungement Statute).”
Harold Chastain v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 6× “See I.C. § 35-38-9-4(c). In March, the trial court entered a final judgment granting Chastain’s petition and expunging the records of the six identified case numbers.”
Ritchie Townsend v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 10× “Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4 (West 1988). While we do not know which of these conditions was fulfilled to elevate Townsend’s conviction to a class B felony, it was reasonable for the trial court to infer that one of the two had to have been met in this case.”
— Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4(a) — 1 case
D.A. v. State of Indiana, 58 N.E.3d 169 (Ind. 2016).
“petitioned for the expungement of his civil forfeiture records under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4. This section allows people convicted of certain felonies to petition for the expungement of their “conviction records.”
— Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4(b) — 3 cases
Mindy M. Cline v. State of Indiana, 61 N.E.3d 360 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
“Discussion and Decision [4] Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4 permits persons convicted of certain crimes to have their conviction records expunged.”
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. 2020).
“After waiting the required three years, Allen, who had no prior criminal history, petitioned for expungement under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4 (the Permissive Expungement Statute).”
— Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4(b)(3) — 3 cases
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).
“A trial court must grant expungement for felons who qualify under that statute, whereas trial courts have discretion to grant or deny expungement for felons who qualify under Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4. 9 The trial court order denying expungement did not state the court’s…”
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. 2020).
“After waiting the required three years, Allen, who had no prior criminal history, petitioned for expungement under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4 (the Permissive Expungement Statute).”
— Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4(c) — 4 cases
D.A. v. State of Indiana, 58 N.E.3d 169 (Ind. 2016).
“petitioned for the expungement of his civil forfeiture records under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4. This section allows people convicted of certain felonies to petition for the expungement of their “conviction records.”
D.A. v. State of Indiana, 49 N.E.3d 580 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
“” I.C. § 35-38-9-4 (emphases added). This language is ambiguous.”
Harold Chastain v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2025).
“See I.C. § 35-38-9-4(c). In March, the trial court entered a final judgment granting Chastain’s petition and expunging the records of the six identified case numbers.”
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).
“A trial court must grant expungement for felons who qualify under that statute, whereas trial courts have discretion to grant or deny expungement for felons who qualify under Indiana Code Section 35-38-9-4. 9 The trial court order denying expungement did not state the court’s…”
— Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4(e) — 4 cases
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana (Ind. 2020).
“After waiting the required three years, Allen, who had no prior criminal history, petitioned for expungement under Indiana Code section 35-38-9-4 (the Permissive Expungement Statute).”
Ritchie Townsend v. State of Indiana (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
“Ind. Code § 35-38-9-4 (West 1988). While we do not know which of these conditions was fulfilled to elevate Townsend’s conviction to a class B felony, it was reasonable for the trial court to infer that one of the two had to have been met in this case.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.