Categories: Background Check

Indiana Criminal and Public Records

Many situations can cause for someone to need a criminal record or a background check of a person. You could be an employer looking forward to hiring somebody. Or you could be a vigilant citizen keeping an eye on your neighbors.

In any case, it is important to know how to get these records and whether your state allows you to view them. If you are living in Indiana, you are in luck.

I will discuss here the criminal and public records in Indiana and how anyone can access them. I will also talk about other important records you might need.

Table of Contents

Indiana Public Records

Indiana lies in the Great Lakes region of North America. It has been a part of the United States since 1816 onwards. Farming and manufacturing are the major components of its economy.

Having this large population, Indiana has certain provisions when it comes to public records.

Indiana Public Records Laws

The process to make Indiana’s public records being accessible to everyone started with the Hughes Anti Secrecy Act in 1953. Although it advocated transparency in the system, the act was too narrow.

Therefore, in 1983, Indiana passed the Public Records Act as an improvisation. In layman terms, this act suggests that in the state of Indiana, any person has the right to access public records.

The person who is requesting these records is not obliged to disclose the reason for the request. However, there are certain limitations to the use of the information that is found in these records.

For example, it is prohibited to disclose the list of names, email address, or physical address of any individual for any political or commercial purpose whatsoever.

These Act covers the records of all public agencies, include the Judicial, Executive and the Legislative branches. However, certain exemptions are present for each of them.

These exemptions include security related information, personal files, trade secrets, medical records, license exams, and any other records the disclosure of which is prohibited by any statute.

Indiana Criminal Records, Arrest Records, and Background Checks

Generally, background checks in Indiana come under the jurisdiction of Indiana Police. Anyone can access anyone’s criminal history, however, the report is limited and does not include certain information.

Any individual who wishes to make a background check request on someone can do it from this link of the Indiana Police’s online system. However, you are charged a fee for every request.

This report contains the convictions that are more than a year old. It also includes arrests if they are less than a year old.

However, to search for anyone’s background through this method, an employer needs to get the signature of a candidate before requesting for their background.

Further, the background check will deal with the criminal past of the person in the state of Indiana only.

Background Check Indiana through Intelius

Intelius is a database of all the people that contains every information about everybody. It is linked to countless public records throughout the country.

This makes Intelius’s system so extensive that no person can be missing on their system unless they are missing on Government records too.

The amount of information that Intelius can provide on every person is extensive. You get everything from their name, date of birth, phone number, address (even the last known addresses), social media accounts, and of course, background checks and criminal history.

You can search for any person through various means. These include:

Search by Name:

Name search provides you with the option to search for a person through their first name and last name. You can narrow the search by entering their city too.

Search by Phone Number:

This method is especially useful if you want to know the details about someone who is harassing you by constant missed calls. Just end the name in the search bar and Intelius will find the owner of the number.

Search by Address:

If you are suspicious about a neighbor that just moved in a house near you, this feature can come in handy. Enter their address and Intelius will give you all the info about the person.

Search by Email:

Everyone has a huge amount of digital footprints on the internet. Therefore, if you want to know someone’s background history, knowing their online presence would be the best idea. An email ID can help you in this regard.

You can try these features through this link. If you are unsure about the accuracy of the information, you can start by searching for your name.

Background Checks Through TruthFinder

TruthFinder is another option when it comes to access the criminal records of a person or doing their background check.

It works in a similar manner to Intelius. However, it only allows you to search for a person through their name. It does not have added search parameters as Intelius had.

Further, the information on TruthFinder is slightly less accurate as compared to Intelius. So if accuracy and convenience is your preference, I would go with Intelius.

Indiana Court Records

The website of the Administrator of Courts provides any information about the courts in Indiana state. If you want information about court records, you will have to go to the specific site based on the type of court.

For Appeals Courts, you can get the court records through this link. If you want the court records of a Trials Court, you will have to follow this link.

You can visit the particular courthouse if you want to have the physical copy of any court case.

Indiana Vital Records

The Department of Health is responsible for the maintenance of Vital Records in the state of Indiana. For a birth certificate or a death certificate, you can request these records through three methods:

Online Request:

If you want to request any vital record online, there are two ways to do it. You can either go to Indiana’s official website or try Intelius if you want to avoid any unnecessary hassle.

Mail:

If you want to request any vital record through mail, you will have to send a request form. You can download the request form from here and get it printed out. You will have to mail the form to Vital Records, Indiana State Department of Health, PO Box 7125, Indianapolis, IN 46206-7125.

In Person:

If you want to get the record by physically visiting the record office, you will have to go to the particular health department where the event occurred. You can make a request for the record there.

If you want to attain the marriage certificate or the divorce certificate, you can only do that in the county where the marriage or the divorce occurred.

There are various limitations to the vital records, such as how far back they are available and the verification requirement. For example, in the case of a birth certificate record, you will have to be related to the person to access the record. Otherwise, you will need to show a financial or legal interest in the record.