State law · For employers
Indiana background check laws for employers
What Indiana law says about background checks for employment, beyond the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Each section shows the rule, who it covers, its exceptions and the law it comes from.
Reviewed
Primary sources
3 laws cited
At a glance
The Indiana rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.
| Topic | Indiana rule |
|---|---|
| Criminal history questions | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Limits on what a report includes | Indiana regulates ‘criminal history providers’ (anyone who compiles criminal history reports for employment, housing, licensing, or credit, or who regularly publishes criminal history online). |
| Sealed and expunged records | No automatic sealing of convictions. Indiana’s Second Chance law (IC 35-38-9) is petition-based. |
| Credit checks | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Salary history | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Cannabis | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Drug testing procedures | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| State consumer reporting law | No general state consumer-reporting statute beyond the federal FCRA. The one state analogue is the criminal history provider chapter (IC 24-4-18): content limits and a 60-day currency duty for criminal history reports, enforced as… |
What a background check report may include
Who it covers: Criminal history providers (CRAs and online publishers) producing reports used for employment in Indiana
In force since: July 1, 2012
Indiana regulates ‘criminal history providers’ (anyone who compiles criminal history reports for employment, housing, licensing, or credit, or who regularly publishes criminal history online). A provider may not knowingly report: a record that has been expunged (marked expunged or removed from public access); a record a court has restricted from public disclosure; a Class D or Level 6 felony conviction that was entered or converted as a Class A misdemeanor; or a record the provider knows is inaccurate. Reports must reflect material changes to the official record made 60 or more days before delivery. There is no state 7-year limit. A violation is a deceptive act under the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
Exceptions
- Requester is required by state or federal law to obtain the information
- Requester is the state or a political subdivision using the information solely for a public bond
IC 24-4-18-6(a) · IC 24-4-18-6(a)(3) · IC 24-4-18-6(b) · IC 24-4-18-7(a) · IC 24-4-18-3(a)
Sealed and expunged records
Who it covers: Any person, including private employers
In force since: July 1, 2013
No automatic sealing of convictions. Indiana’s Second Chance law (IC 35-38-9) is petition-based. Arrests and charges that did not end in a conviction may be expunged; for charges filed after June 30, 2022, the court expunges dismissals, acquittals, and no-true findings on its own (with up to a 1-year delay for cause), and for arrests after June 30, 2022 with no charges after 1 year, the person may petition. Conviction waits run from the conviction date unless the prosecutor consents to less: misdemeanors 5 years; Class D/Level 6 felonies 8 years; other less serious felonies the later of 8 years from conviction or 3 years from sentence completion; serious felonies the later of 10 years or 5 years, with prosecutor consent. Some offenses are never eligible (e.g., sex and violent offenses, and since 2025 attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon). Since 2025 (P.L.77-2025) a court may not order the BMV to expunge a commercial-driver conviction. Once expunged, it is unlawful discrimination to refuse to employ a person because of the expunged or sealed record. Applications may ask about criminal history only in terms that exclude expunged records, such as ‘Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been expunged by a court?’. An expungement order is evidence of due care in hiring, and an expunged conviction is not admissible in a negligent-hiring suit against one who relied on the order. 2026 HB 1118 (a full rewrite) did not pass; IC 35-38-9 was not changed on July 1, 2026.
Exceptions
- Persons to whom sealed records may be disclosed under IC 35-38-9-6(a)(3)
- Law enforcement agencies and probation or community corrections departments for their own hiring (subsections (b), (d), (e), (f) do not apply)
IC 35-38-9-10(b) · IC 35-38-9-10(d) · IC 35-38-9-2(c) · IC 35-38-9-1(a) · IC 35-38-9-3 · IC 35-38-9-5 · IC 35-38-9-10(g) · HB 1118 (2026), committee report version HB1118.02.COMH (digest)
The state consumer reporting law
Who it covers: Criminal history providers
In force since: July 1, 2012
No general state consumer-reporting statute beyond the federal FCRA. The one state analogue is the criminal history provider chapter (IC 24-4-18): content limits and a 60-day currency duty for criminal history reports, enforced as deceptive acts, without displacing an individual’s federal FCRA claim.
IC 24-4-18-8(a) · IC 24-4-18-8(b) · IC 24-5-24 (Security Freezes for Consumer Reports), chapter heading
Where federal law alone applies
We found no Indiana rule for private employers on these topics. The FCRA and other federal laws still apply.
- Criminal history questions
- Credit checks
- Salary history
- Cannabis
- Drug testing procedures
Local rules
Some places in Indiana add their own rules. A local rule applies on top of the state rule.
- Indianapolis-Marion County. Public-employer and vendor rule only: Revised Code ch. 670 (Employment of Ex-Offenders) governs city-county agency hiring and city vendors. IC 22-2-17-3 bars any local rule on private employers’ criminal-history inquiries. Listed so the state page can say private employers are not covered.
Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County ch. 670, secs. 670-101 to 670-108 (G.O. 2, 2014; am. G.O. 100, 2015; G.O. 42, 2017)
Adverse action notices
Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the Indiana requirements where they apply.
The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.
Paperwork at hire
Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, Indiana sets these for each new hire.
- State withholding. Have each new hire with Indiana state or county income tax complete Form WH-4, including the county of residence and county of principal employment as of January 1; keep it in your records and do not send it to the Department of Revenue. Form WH-4 (State Form 48845)
- New hire report. Report each new hire to Indiana within 20 days. State new hire reporting
- Notices at hire. Indiana adds none beyond the federal forms that every employer gives.
Build the new hire checklist for Indiana, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.
Sources
- IC 24-4-18-6(a)
- IC 35-38-9-10(b)
- HB 1118 (2026), committee report version HB1118.02.COMH (digest)
- Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County ch. 670, secs. 670-101 to 670-108 (G.O. 2, 2014; am. G.O. 100, 2015; G.O. 42, 2017)
Last reviewed · General information, not legal advice.
After the hire
Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.