Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6 (2026)

Class C felony; Level 5 felony; commission of nonsupport of child as Class D felony

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 6. (a) A person who commits a Class C felony (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between two (2) and eight (8) years, with the advisory sentence being four (4) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

     (b) A person who commits a Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between one (1) and six (6) years, with the advisory sentence being three (3) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

     (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), if a person commits nonsupport of a child as a Class C felony (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or a Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014) under IC 35-46-1-5, the sentencing court may convert the Class C felony conviction to a Class D felony conviction or a Level 5 felony conviction to a Level 6 felony conviction if, after receiving a verified petition as described in subsection (d) and after conducting a hearing in which the prosecuting attorney has been notified, the court makes the following findings:

(1) The person has successfully completed probation as required by the person's sentence.

(2) The person has satisfied other obligations imposed on the person as required by the person's sentence.

(3) The person has paid in full all child support arrearages due that are named in the information and no further child support arrearage is due.

(4) The person has not been convicted of another felony since the person was sentenced for the underlying nonsupport of a child felony.

(5) There are no criminal charges pending against the person.

     (d) A petition filed under subsection (c) must be verified and set forth the following:

(1) A statement that the person was convicted of nonsupport of a child under IC 35-46-1-5.

(2) The date of the conviction.

(3) The date the person completed the person's sentence.

(4) The amount of the child support arrearage due at the time of conviction.

(5) The date the child support arrearage was paid in full.

(6) A verified statement that no further child support arrearage is due.

(7) Any other obligations imposed on the person as part of the person's sentence.

(8) The date the obligations were satisfied.

(9) A verified statement that there are no criminal charges pending against the person.

     (e) A person whose conviction has been converted to a lower penalty under this section is eligible to seek expungement under IC 35-38-9-3 with the date of conversion used as the date of conviction to calculate time frames under IC 35-38-9.

As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.8. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.119; P.L.167-1990, SEC.1; P.L.213-1996, SEC.5; P.L.71-2005, SEC.9; P.L.158-2013, SEC.659; P.L.148-2014, SEC.2; P.L.168-2014, SEC.116.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 744 cases (25 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Combs v. State, 851 N.E.2d 1053 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).
Combs v. State, 851 N.E.2d 1053 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 16× “[11] Pursuant to Indiana Code § 35-50-2-6 (2004), the presumptive sentence was four years, with the minimum sentence being two years and the maximum sentence being eight years.”
Adam K. Baumholser v. State of Indiana, 62 N.E.3d 411 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× “” Ind.Code § 35-50-2-6 (2005).' The trial court imposed a sentence of thirty-two years for the Class A felony conviction.”
Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482 (Ind. 2007). · cites it 2× “See I.C. § 35-50-2-6(a). Here the trial court imposed a six-year term.”
Martin v. State, 784 N.E.2d 997 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 8× “Ind.Code § 35-50-2-6. Hence, Joshua's eight-year sentence was the maximum lawful sentence allowed for his conviction.”
Riehle v. State, 823 N.E.2d 287 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 6× “The trial court then ordered three of these sentences to run consecutively, [6] for an aggregate sentence of 108 years.”
McMahon v. State, 856 N.E.2d 743 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 6× “The maximum sentence for a Class C felony is eight years, Ind.Code § 35-50-2-6, and the maximum sentence for a Class D felony is three years, Ind.”
Rutherford v. State, 866 N.E.2d 867 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “See I.C. § 35-50-2-6(a). 3 Under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), this court may revise a sentence that we conclude is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender, after giving due consideration to the trial court’s decision.”
Pierce v. State, 949 N.E.2d 349 (Ind. 2011). · cites it 4× “I.C. § 35-50-2-6. *352 The trial court "shall determine whether terms of imprisonment shall be served concurrently or consecutively" and may consider the sentencing aggravators and mitigators in making this determination.”
John Paul Garcia v. State of Indiana, 47 N.E.3d 1249 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6 (a) (2005). The plea agreement capped Garcia’s sentence at sixty-six months, which is five and a half years, and although the court imposed all sixty-six months, that sentence is closer to the advisory sentence than to the maximum possible sentence for…”
Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana, 489 U.S. 46 (1989). · cites it 4× “Compare Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6 (1988), with Ind. Code § 35-50-3-2 (1988).”
Chupp v. State, 830 N.E.2d 119 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 6× “The trial court specifically advised Chupp regarding the possible punishment he would face by explaining to him that he was pleading guilty to a Class C felony and reading the sentencing statute for Class C felonies, Indiana Code § 35-50-2-6. Chupp stated that he understood…”
Darryl Calvin v. State of Indiana, 87 N.E.3d 474 (Ind. 2017). · cites it 4× “C. § 35-50-2-1(a)(2). That part of the definition would serve no purpose if it applied only where the legislature used the full “Level 6 felony conviction” term.”
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(a) — 74 cases
Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482 (Ind. 2007). “See I.C. § 35-50-2-6(a). Here the trial court imposed a six-year term.”
Rutherford v. State, 866 N.E.2d 867 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). “See I.C. § 35-50-2-6(a). 3 Under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), this court may revise a sentence that we conclude is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender, after giving due consideration to the trial court’s decision.”
Stewart v. State, 866 N.E.2d 858 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).
McMahon v. State, 856 N.E.2d 743 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). “The maximum sentence for a Class C felony is eight years, Ind.Code § 35-50-2-6, and the maximum sentence for a Class D felony is three years, Ind.”
Martin v. State, 784 N.E.2d 997 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). “Ind.Code § 35-50-2-6. Hence, Joshua's eight-year sentence was the maximum lawful sentence allowed for his conviction.”
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(aq) — 1 case
Baber v. State, 842 N.E.2d 343 (Ind. 2006).
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(b) — 75 cases
Jakob Robinson v. State of Indiana, 61 N.E.3d 1226 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
Zachary L. Lewis v. State of Indiana, 31 N.E.3d 539 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
Daniel Vega v. State of Indiana, 119 N.E.3d 193 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).
Ennis v. State, 806 N.E.2d 804 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).
Bernard v. Individual Members of the Ind. Med. Licensing Bd., 392 F. Supp. 3d 935 (S.D. Ind. 2019).
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(c) — 1 case
Darryl Calvin v. State of Indiana, 87 N.E.3d 474 (Ind. 2017). “C. § 35-50-2-1(a)(2). That part of the definition would serve no purpose if it applied only where the legislature used the full “Level 6 felony conviction” term.”
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