Sealing Eviction Records in Indiana

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It's more difficult than ever to get a new apartment lease in this competitive market and the difference between being approved or denied for a new lease is often the rental history of the tenant applying.  For years, nothing could be done about evictions on public records that would haunt a background check for years and result in a tenant being denied a new lease.  Effective July 1, 2022, certain eviction cases in Indiana are eligible for expungement - being sealed from public records and public access so that they are no longer part of background investigation checks*

What cases are eligible?

You are eligible to have a prior eviction case sealed and restricted* from public record if:

• the case was opened but dismissed prior to trial
• the tenant won judgment on the case (either at trial or upon appeal)
• the tenant was actually evicted but no judgment for damages was ever entered

You are not eligible to have a prior eviction case sealed and restricted from public record if:

• the case was not in Indiana (at least under this Indiana law)
• the eviction resulted in a judgment against the tenant for money damages

Cost and Process

Lewis Legal Services provides the service of preparing and filing a petition under the new law for residential eviction expungements. The process is still new, so we don't know entirely what to expect as far as the time and effort for each individual case, but based on results so far, we are currently only charging $250.00** for the service per each eviction case.  A written contract of engagement for services is required before any work will be done. If a client has multiple cases, we will work with them on a reduction of fees for doing multiple cases if at all possible.

*The new law only applies to court files and government agencies to prevent further access and dissemination of eviction information.  It does NOT restrict access to information or records already held by a third party, private sources or businesses that collected the information before the sealing of the record is approved.

**Includes attending one court hearing by virtual means, such as Zoom or Webex.  Courts requiring in-person attendance will require increased fee. Other fees and costs may apply on a case-by-case basis.