Expungement
.jpg)
Expungement Law Firm in Lake, Porter and Jasper County, Indiana
An old arrest or conviction can keep showing up on background checks for jobs, apartments and school. Indiana's expungement law lets many people seal or clear those records after a waiting period. Vollmer Law Group helps people across Northwest Indiana find out whether they qualify and files the petitions for them, for a flat fee per county.
​
Who may qualify
Waiting periods generally run from the date of the arrest or conviction:
-
Arrest or charge with no conviction: generally 1 year.
-
Misdemeanor conviction: generally 5 years.
-
Level 6 or Class D felony conviction: generally 8 years.
-
Most other felony convictions: generally 8 years after the conviction or 3 years after the sentence ends, whichever is later.
-
Felonies that caused serious bodily injury: generally 10 years after the conviction or 5 years after the sentence ends, whichever is later, and the prosecutor must agree.
In some cases the prosecutor can agree in writing to a shorter wait.
You also generally need to have no pending charges, no new convictions during the waiting period, and any restitution paid.
Some records cannot be expunged, including convictions that require sex or violent offender registration and homicide convictions.
How the process works
-
Records check: we gather your full record from every county where you were arrested or convicted. In Indiana you generally get one petition per county in your lifetime, and petitions in every county should be filed within one year of each other, so it matters to include everything the first time.
-
Eligibility review: we confirm which records qualify and when.
-
Petition filed: we prepare and file the petition in each county.
-
Prosecutor response: the prosecutor generally has 30 days to respond or object.
-
Hearing, if needed: if there is an objection or the judge asks for one, the court holds a hearing.
-
Order and follow-up: once the judge signs the order, the court and state agencies update their records.
​Most petitions take a few months from filing to the judge's order, depending on the county and whether the prosecutor objects.​
What changes after an expungement
For arrests, misdemeanors and most Level 6 or Class D felonies, the records are sealed from public view. For more serious felonies, the records stay public but are marked "expunged". In most situations, Indiana law makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire you because of an expunged record.
​​
What it costs
-
Misdemeanor expungement: $500 per county.
-
Felony expungement: $1,000 per county.
-
The court's filing fee of $161 is paid in addition to our fee.
See our Fee Schedule for details.
Common questions
Do I need a lawyer to get an expungement?
You are not required to have one. But you generally get only one petition per county, so a missed record or a mistake in the petition can be hard to fix later.
​​
I have records in more than one county. What do I do?
You file a separate petition in each county, and all of them should be filed within one year of each other. We handle every county together.
Will employers still see my record?
For sealed records, most employers will not see them on a background check. For felonies marked "expunged", the record stays public, but most employers cannot hold it against you.
How long does it take?
Most petitions take a few months from filing to the judge's order.
Where do you file expungements?
In Lake, Porter and Jasper County and across Northwest Indiana, from our office in Merrillville.
Talk to us about your case
Call (219) 587-5641 or send a message below. Tell us briefly which county or counties your records are in, and a staff member will call you back as soon as possible during office hours.