A drug charge on your record can follow you for years. It can cost you jobs, housing and educational opportunities long after your case ends.
What Indiana’s Second Chance Law does
Indiana Code Title 35, Article 38, Chapter 9 is the primary law governing record sealing in Indiana. You may hear it called Indiana’s Second Chance Law. Under this statute, a successful expungement seals your record from public background checks. You can legally state that you have never been arrested or convicted.
The law does not erase your history entirely. It removes your record from public view so employers, landlords and licensing boards cannot access it.
How your case outcome affects eligibility
Your waiting period depends on how your case resolved. Here are the three main paths:
- Dismissed or acquitted: Law requires a one-year wait from your arrest date. No filing fee applies.
- Misdemeanor conviction: Law sets a five-year wait from your conviction date. You must pay all fines and fees before you file.
- Level 6 or Class D felony conviction: Law requires an eight-year wait. You must have no new convictions during that period.
Each path also requires that you carry no pending criminal charges at the time you file.
Drug charges that cannot be expunged
Not every drug offense qualifies. Per Indiana Code § 35-38-9-5, certain charges permanently bar you from expungement:
- Dealing or trafficking charges: Courts generally bar large commercial quantities from expungement.
- Offenses involving bodily injury: The prosecutor must provide written consent before you can move forward.
- Human trafficking convictions: Indiana law bars these from expungement regardless of when they occurred.
If your charge falls into one of these categories, the court will likely deny your petition without prosecutorial consent.
One rule you cannot overlook
Indiana law allows you to file an expungement petition only once in your lifetime. You must list every eligible conviction in your petition. You cannot return later and add cases you left out.
When to speak with an attorney about expungement
The expungement process involves strict deadlines, court filings and notice requirements. A single procedural error can delay or end your petition. An attorney can review your full criminal history, confirm your eligibility and prepare a petition that meets every requirement under Indiana law.