Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 5-14-3-10 (2026)

Classified confidential information; unauthorized disclosure or failure to protect; offense; discipline

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 10. (a) A public employee, a public official, or an employee or officer of a contractor or subcontractor of a public agency, except as provided by IC 4-15-10, who knowingly or intentionally discloses information classified as confidential by state statute, including information declared confidential under:

(1) section 4(a) of this chapter; or

(2) section 4(b) of this chapter if the public agency having control of the information declares it to be confidential;

commits a Class A infraction.

     (b) A public employee may be disciplined in accordance with the personnel policies of the agency by which the employee is employed if the employee intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly discloses or fails to protect information classified as confidential by state statute.

     (c) A public employee, a public official, or an employee or officer of a contractor or subcontractor of a public agency who unintentionally and unknowingly discloses confidential or erroneous information in response to a request under IC 5-14-3-3(d) or who discloses confidential information in reliance on an advisory opinion by the public access counselor is immune from liability for such a disclosure.

     (d) This section does not apply to any provision incorporated into state law from a federal statute.

As added by P.L.17-1984, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.54-1985, SEC.8; P.L.68-1987, SEC.3; P.L.77-1995, SEC.6; P.L.70-1999, SEC.3 and P.L.191-1999, SEC.3; P.L.126-2012, SEC.24.

 

IC 5-14-3.1Chapter 3.1. Privacy Protections of Nonprofit Organizations

 

           5-14-3.1-1Privacy protection of personal information

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1993–2025 · leading case: John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 81 N.E.3d 199 (Ind. 2017).
John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 81 N.E.3d 199 (Ind. 2017). · cites it 8× “DCS’s personnel policies provide that employees who breach confidentiality face a range of discipline, including dismissal.”
Jackson v. Brinker, 147 F.R.D. 189 (S.D. Ind. 1993). · cites it 3× “” Ind.Code Ann. § 5-14-3-10. . The plaintiff first sought these medical records by way of a Rule 34 request for production in February 1991 (while the Department was still a defendant).”
Foreman v. State, 865 N.E.2d 652 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “Foreman also argues that the disclosure of confidential information relating to the lottery statute is unconstitutional because the potential fifty-year maximum penalty for disclosure of confidential information relating to the lottery is higher than the one-year maximum penalty…”
John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 53 N.E.3d 613 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 5× “Likewise, Section 31- 33-18-2(14) provides that the reports shall be made available to the “person about whom a report has been made”; however, the identity of a person reporting known or suspected child abuse or neglect must be protected. A public employee or official who…”
Rory Kerwood v. Elkhart Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't (Ind. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 6× “See Ind. Code § 5-14-3-10 (a); Ind. Code § 34-28-5-4 (a).”
Indiana State Health Comm'r v. Caitlin Bernard, M.D. (Ind. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “See I.C. §§ 5-14-3-10(a) (making it a Class A infraction for “a public official, or an employee or officer of a contractor or subcontractor of a public agency” to knowingly or intentionally disclose information classified as confidential by state statute), 34-28-5-1(a) (“An…”
Fort Wayne Women's Health v. Bd. of Commissioners, 735 F. Supp. 2d 1045 (N.D. Ind. 2010). · cites it 2× “Ind. Code § 5-14-3-10 (a). This provides little comfort to medical patients since it isn’t immediately obvious whether Indiana statutes define medical records as confidential.”
— Ind. Code § 5-14-3-10(a) — 3 cases
John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 81 N.E.3d 199 (Ind. 2017). “DCS’s personnel policies provide that employees who breach confidentiality face a range of discipline, including dismissal.”
Foreman v. State, 865 N.E.2d 652 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). “Foreman also argues that the disclosure of confidential information relating to the lottery statute is unconstitutional because the potential fifty-year maximum penalty for disclosure of confidential information relating to the lottery is higher than the one-year maximum penalty…”
Indiana State Health Comm'r v. Caitlin Bernard, M.D. (Ind. Ct. App. 2025). “See I.C. §§ 5-14-3-10(a) (making it a Class A infraction for “a public official, or an employee or officer of a contractor or subcontractor of a public agency” to knowingly or intentionally disclose information classified as confidential by state statute), 34-28-5-1(a) (“An…”
— Ind. Code § 5-14-3-10(b) — 2 cases
John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 81 N.E.3d 199 (Ind. 2017). “DCS’s personnel policies provide that employees who breach confidentiality face a range of discipline, including dismissal.”
John Doe 1 v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs., 53 N.E.3d 613 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). “Likewise, Section 31- 33-18-2(14) provides that the reports shall be made available to the “person about whom a report has been made”; however, the identity of a person reporting known or suspected child abuse or neglect must be protected. A public employee or official who…”
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