Indiana Public Records: How to Perform an Indiana Public Records Search

Indiana Public records serve (among other things) to document a long list of events that happen in the state as well as account for the people who are affected by them. 

These include Vital events (births, deaths, marriages, divorces), court cases, arrests, incarceration, and other interactions with law enforcement agencies. 

This article seeks to discuss the various ways you can take to find a number of these public records in Indiana. 

Indiana Public Records Search: Criminal Records

Criminal records are publicly available to all persons as per the Access to Public Request Act (APRA). 

Law enforcement agencies such as the Sheriff's Office and the Police Department are primarily responsible for keeping, maintaining, and disbursing these records to interested requesters.

The Indiana State Police (ISP), for example, is known to offer name-based and fingerprint-based criminal record searches via its Criminal History Search platform. 

For $15 per search(barring the processing fees) you can run a background check on yourself or other people and find details such as the following as it relates to the subject:

* The subject's full name, aliases, date of birth, race/ethnicity, and other personal details
* Their unique physical identifiers such as height, weight, hair and eye color, tattoos, birthmarks, etc. 
* Mugshots and fingerprints
* Past and active warrants, convictions, indictments, etc

Indiana Public Records: Court Records

To find court records in Indiana, you need to be in the know of the court where the case was tried and the type of record involved. The next step is to locate the record custodian who is most often the clerk of the court. 

You'd then be asked to provide the names of the parties to the case and the case number along with a valid means of identification.

Next is the payment of the service charge—usually, $2 per page for certified copies of the court records, and the sought-after record can be collected. 

These Indiana public records are also available online at the state judiciary's Case Search portal. 

Indiana Public Records: Marriage Records

Most marriage record requesters in Indiana usually look to obtain certified copies of replacement certificates to be used for official and legal purposes. 

Chief among the eligibility criteria for accessing these Indiana public records include that the requester is one of the couple, their parents or children, their legal representatives, etc.

If you are any of these persons with access (or you have a court order to that effect) you can locate the clerk of court or the local health department in whichever county the marriage took place. 

The latter is known to keep records on marriages recorded from 1907 till now.

The Indiana digital library also holds online copies of marriage records since 1850, while those records dated 1958 onwards are more easily found on the internet. 

Then there's the Indiana State Department of Health which also takes custody of marriage records (dating back to 1907) and to whom record request applications can be sent using the address:

Vital Records,
Indiana State Department of Health,
P.O. Box 7125,
Indianapolis, IN 46206-7125

Indiana Public Records Search: Divorce Records 

Divorce records are more readily accessible to the public through traditional government sources and third-party websites. 

The only caveat is that it is much harder to find certified copies of these Indiana public records if you are not directly related to the named record-holders or have legal access.

These certified copies are available for collection at the courthouse where the divorce was sealed, with the requester having to complete an application form. 

The record custodian must be furnished with details such as the full names of the parties to the divorce, the ex-wife's maiden name, and the official divorce date. Fees are charged per person, with the amount depending on the location.

Public Records Indiana: Birth Records

To find certified and non-certified copies of a person's birth records, you can visit the county health department in which the person was born(as long as the person was not born before 1907). 

You'd be required to come along with a photo ID for identification, a check/money order equivalent to the applicable service fee, and a host of other information.

This information includes(as it relates to the record owner) their date of birth, county/city of birth, full name, and their mother's maiden name. 

All of the aforementioned are to be provided in the application form and submitted to the following address:

Vital Records,
Indiana State Department of Health,
P.O. Box 7125,
Indianapolis, IN 46206-7125

Public Records Indiana: Death Records

The Indiana State Department of Health provides named-based marriage record searches for deaths that date as far back as 1917. 

Those that were recorded between 1900 to 1917 are profiled in death records that are kept in the custody of the health department in the county of death.

These public records are also available online from third-party sources as they are in their traditional government custodial agencies. 

The basic information needed to run a search includes the name of the deceased and the state/city where the death took place.

Mailed requests for certified or non-certified copies of these death records become approved after the requester must have fulfilled certain conditions. 

They include that the requester provides valid identification and pays the appropriate fees—usually $8 for the initial copy and $4 for subsequent copies.