Indiana Court Records Search by Name

Independent court-record guide: Public-Court-Records.us is an independent educational website. It is not the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Judicial Branch, Indiana Office of Judicial Administration, MyCase, an Indiana clerk’s office, PACER, a law firm, law-enforcement agency, background-check company, or government agency. This page explains lawful ways to locate and request court records. It cannot certify, seal, expunge, correct, remove, or change an official court record. Verify important information with the court or clerk maintaining the file.

Indiana Court Records Search by Name: MyCase works statewide—but Odyssey coverage still matters

The official starting point for most Indiana court records is MyCase, the Indiana Judicial Branch’s public interface for the Odyssey case-management system. Users can search public cases by party name, business name, case number, citation number, cross-reference number, or attorney.

The important Indiana-specific limitation is that MyCase contains records from courts using Odyssey. Most Indiana courts use Odyssey, but the Judicial Branch maintains a court-by-court list with each court’s implementation date. Older records can therefore require clerk or archival research even when a newer case from the same county appears online.

MyCase checked: August 30, 2026 Indiana court rules checked: August 2026 Trial Court Fee Manual: current through 2026 session PACER pricing checked: August 30, 2026

Indiana does not have just one type of trial court

Before searching a person’s name, identify the court level whenever possible. Indiana’s court structure matters because MyCase is built around individual courts using the statewide Odyssey case-management platform.

Choose the correct Indiana records route

Public trial-court case by name Use MyCase party/name search.

Known Indiana case number Use MyCase case search.

Traffic citation MyCase can search citation numbers when the citation exists in Odyssey.

Protection order Indiana provides a separate Protection Order Search rather than ordinary public MyCase searching.

Your own case documents Use MyCase Party Access and connect the case to an Indiana Courts account.

Appellate case MyCase includes Odyssey appellate cases; Indiana also provides a dedicated appellate-decisions search.

Older or missing case Check the court’s Odyssey go-live date, then contact the clerk or Indiana Archives when appropriate.

Federal case Use PACER for the Northern or Southern District of Indiana and federal bankruptcy courts.

How to search Indiana court records by name

MyCase is more precise than a generic people-search box. Indiana provides wildcard, Sounds-like, court, case-status and filing-date options. Using them in the wrong combination can hide the record you were trying to locate.

1. Open MyCase. Confirm that you are on the Indiana Judicial Branch public case-search system.
2. Choose the party/name search. Use the case search only when you already have a case, citation or cross-reference number.
3. Enter the last name. Add first and middle name only as needed to narrow results.
4. Avoid speculative DOB filtering. Indiana explains that birth date is not recorded in every civil case and can also be absent from some criminal matters.
5. Use Sounds-like when spelling is uncertain. This broadens the search to phonetically similar names.
6. Use a trailing asterisk for a starts-with search. For example, Joh* can broaden a name beginning with those letters.
7. Do not combine wildcard and Sounds-like in the same wildcarded field.
8. Select the court if known. A court filter can substantially reduce unrelated people sharing the same name.
9. Use case status when useful. Advanced Search can narrow by open or closed cases.
10. Add a filing-date range. This can be more useful than adding uncertain personal identifiers.
11. Review the result list. MyCase limits one search to 1,000 results, so common names require additional narrowing.
12. Open the case and verify it. Compare the court, case number, filing date, case type, party role, attorneys and later disposition.

Indiana MyCase search rules worth knowing before you conclude “no record”

What does Sounds-like do?

Indiana’s MyCase guidance uses surname variations such as Shepherd, Shepard, Shephard and Sheppard to illustrate the feature. Sounds-like is useful for discovering candidates, but the broader results require stronger identity verification.

Business-name searching works differently

Business names should be searched with attention to legal suffixes and formatting.

An exact search for:

General Business

may not behave the same as the court record entered as:

General Business LLC

A search such as:

General Business*

can broaden a supported starts-with query.

Business-search workflow

1. Start with the legal or best-known business name.
2. Consider LLC, Inc., Corp., punctuation and other suffix differences.
3. Use the supported trailing wildcard when the ending is uncertain.
4. Filter by court if the filing county is known.
5. Add an approximate filing-date range.
6. Open the case and confirm the business’s actual party role.

Indiana case numbers contain meaningful court information

Indiana Administrative Rule 8 establishes a statewide uniform case-numbering system.

A trial-court case number generally contains four main components:

A standard Indiana example is:

55C01-1101-CF-000123

Court-type letters can provide another clue

• C commonly appears in Circuit Court identifiers;
• D commonly appears in Superior Court identifiers;
• H appears in City Court identifiers;
• I appears in Town Court identifiers; and
• K appears in Marion County Small Claims Court identifiers.

Case transfer can change the displayed case number

If a case transfers from one Indiana court to another, its case number can change. MyCase searches case-number history, so an older number can still locate a case currently displayed under a newer number.

Citation and cross-reference searches require more exact input

Under MyCase case search, Indiana supports:

• case number;
• citation number; and
• cross-reference number.

Citation numbering is not one universal statewide format, and a cross-reference can represent an older court number or an identifier assigned by another agency.

These searches can require the identifier to be entered exactly as stored in Odyssey.

MyCase coverage depends on the court’s Odyssey history

MyCase contains information from courts using Odyssey. Indiana publishes a current list showing individual courts and the dates they began using the system.

Why the go-live date matters

A case filed years after a court joined Odyssey is more likely to have native electronic case data and documents than a much older case.

Older data can still appear when information was converted from a previous court system. Indiana refers to some of these entries as converted events.

A converted docket event does not guarantee that the original historical paper document was scanned or made available online.

Protection orders use a separate Indiana search system

Protection-order cases should not be researched through ordinary MyCase public search.

Indiana provides a separate Protection Order Search. The state also limits public internet access to identifying information about the protected person.

Expunged Indiana cases can be removed from public access

A pending expungement proceeding or a petition that was not granted may still appear depending on the record and procedural posture.

When expungement is granted, the underlying case can be removed or restricted from ordinary public access depending on the applicable order and statute.

Do not use stale commercial databases or cached pages to republish information that the official Indiana system no longer makes public.

Juvenile paternity has an important July 1, 2014 boundary

Indiana identifies different access treatment for juvenile paternity cases based on the filing date.

• JP cases filed on or after July 1, 2014 are generally public unless the court makes the record confidential;
• JP cases filed before July 1, 2014 remain subject to the older confidentiality treatment described by the Indiana Judicial Branch; and
• new activity in an older case does not automatically make the entire historical file publicly accessible online.

Case result, CCS, document image and certified copy are not the same thing

Which Indiana court documents can the general public view online?

Public access and Party Access are different

How to connect your own Indiana case using Party Access

1. Create an Indiana Courts account.
2. Find your public case in MyCase.
3. Look for the Is this your case? option.
4. Identify yourself as a case party and request an access code.
5. Select an available verification method.
6. If the clerk must verify you, bring appropriate identification and have the case number ready.
7. Enter the access code in your Indiana Courts account.
8. Review the additional documents made available to you as a verified party.

Financial information in MyCase may not equal the current payoff amount

MyCase can display financial balances, payments and credits. Indiana warns that an online amount may not include newly accrued interest, recent charges or transactions that have not yet appeared in the system.

Contact the clerk when you need an official current balance.

If online payment is supported for the particular case, MyCase displays a payment option. Do not assume every Indiana case can be paid online.

CAPTCHA is designed to stop bulk automated extraction

MyCase can require CAPTCHA verification. Indiana explains that these controls help protect the service from data mining and excessive automated requests.

If CAPTCHA does not load correctly:

• try another current browser;
• review browser extensions or privacy settings that might block it;
• avoid excessive repeated searching; and
• do not use automated tools to bypass the control.

Indiana handles bulk court-data access through a separate data-request program rather than ordinary MyCase scraping.

How to find an Indiana court date

1. Search for the correct case.
2. Confirm the court and case number.
3. Open the Chronological Case Summary.
4. Locate the newest hearing or event.
5. Read later entries for continuance, cancellation, reset or location changes.
6. For an imminent appearance, confirm uncertain information with the court or clerk.

Indiana trial-court live streams

Indiana’s IN Court Streams system lists publicly available remote proceedings from participating courts. The state warns that recording proceedings is prohibited and archived recordings are not provided through the service.

How to read an Indiana Chronological Case Summary

Indiana criminal records: charge and conviction are different

Indiana felony case codes changed in 2014

Indiana civil, eviction and small-claims searches need final-outcome checking

A civil complaint, collection action, foreclosure, eviction or small-claims filing means a claim was filed. It does not prove:

• the defendant was properly served;
• the plaintiff won;
• a judgment remains in force;
• a judgment is unpaid;
• the matter was not dismissed;
• the judgment was not satisfied;
• the case was not appealed; or
• a later order did not modify the result.

How to request a certified Indiana court record

MyCase is useful for locating the record, but official certified documents come from the clerk or court maintaining the case.

Fees checked: August 30, 2026. Confirm the final cost with the clerk before ordering.

Certified-copy workflow

1. Locate the case in MyCase if it is available.
2. Record the complete case number.
3. Identify the county and court maintaining the file.
4. Identify the exact document required.
5. Ask the receiving organization whether it needs an ordinary copy, certified copy or another form of authentication.
6. Open Indiana’s Trial Courts & Clerks directory.
7. Contact the filing clerk and ask for the current request method.
8. Confirm page count, certification fee, payment method and delivery cost.
9. Submit the request.
10. Keep the case number and receipt until the record is received.

Certified divorce decrees come from the filing clerk

A MyCase search can help identify an Indiana divorce case, but the actual certified decree must be requested from the clerk maintaining the divorce file.

This distinction matters when an agency, court, passport/immigration authority, pension administrator, school or other institution requests formal proof of the divorce rather than general docket information.

Older Indiana court records require an Odyssey + clerk + archives workflow

Indiana Archives court-record holdings

The Indiana Archives does not have a complete duplicate of every county court record. It does hold older civil order books for many counties, selected probate and guardianship material, and more detailed case files from certain jurisdictions.

Older-record workflow

1. Estimate the filing year.
2. Identify the county and court.
3. Check the court’s Odyssey implementation date.
4. Search MyCase for a case index or converted docket data.
5. Record any historical/current case number shown.
6. Contact the clerk and ask whether the record is electronic, paper, microfilm, off-site or transferred.
7. If transferred, use the repository identified by the clerk.
8. Verify retrieval and copy procedures before traveling.

Indiana appellate court records

Indiana’s appellate courts include:

• Indiana Supreme Court;
• Court of Appeals of Indiana; and
• Indiana Tax Court.

Docket search vs opinion search

Use MyCase when you need the case history. Use the Indiana Appellate Decisions system when the primary goal is finding a written appellate opinion or memorandum decision.

The decisions system can filter by:

• case number or party;
• court;
• case category;
• authoring judge;
• date range; and
• originating county.

Indiana Appellate Clerk official record information

Federal Indiana cases use PACER, not MyCase

Current PACER fees

PACER pricing checked: August 30, 2026.

MyCase is not a jail, prison, criminal-history or vital-record database

MyCase is not a background-check service

MyCase provides free public court access, but Indiana’s Terms of Use distinguish ordinary public searching from commercial or bulk court-data use.

Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and should not be treated as an FCRA consumer-reporting service for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance or similar eligibility decisions.

If MyCase returns no result

1. Check spelling. Try a shorter or more reliable name form.
2. Use Sounds-like. Helpful when surname spelling is uncertain.
3. Try a trailing wildcard.
4. Remove DOB. The case may not contain birth-date data.
5. Broaden the court search. Your assumed filing county may be wrong.
6. Check the 1,000-result limit. Narrow common names with court or filing-date filters.
7. Check business suffixes. LLC, Inc. and punctuation can affect business searching.
8. Check whether the court uses Odyssey.
9. Check the court’s Odyssey go-live date.
10. Protection order? Use the separate official Protection Order Search.
11. Expunged or sealed? Respect the restriction.
12. Federal? Use PACER.
13. Still unresolved? Contact the clerk for the court that likely handled the case.

How to confirm you found the correct Indiana person

• full first and last name;
• middle name or initial;
• suffix;
• county and court;
• case number;
• filing year/month;
• case type;
• party role;
• attorney information;
• other lawfully displayed case context; and
• final or most recent disposition.

Official Indiana sources reviewed

• Indiana Judicial Branch — MyCase
• MyCase Search Tips
• Courts Using Odyssey
• Indiana Administrative Rule 8
• Public Access to Court Documents
• MyCase Party Access
• Records Excluded from Public Access
• Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual
• Indiana Judicial Record Retention Schedules
• Indiana Archives Court Records
• Indiana Appellate Clerk
• Indiana Appellate Decisions
• PACER Pricing

Research review date: August 30, 2026. Court participation, search behavior, case status, documents, clerk procedures, fees and hearing information can change. Verify time-sensitive or official-use information directly with the relevant court.

Frequently asked questions about Indiana court records

1. What is the official Indiana court records search by name?

The official statewide starting point is MyCase at mycase.in.gov. It searches public non-confidential cases from Indiana courts using the Odyssey case-management system. Search by party name and then verify the court, case number, filing date and party role.

2. Does MyCase include every Indiana court?

MyCase receives records from courts using Odyssey. Most Indiana courts use Odyssey, but the Judicial Branch maintains a live court list with implementation dates. Check that list when a case does not appear.

3. How do wildcards work in Indiana MyCase?

Use a trailing asterisk for a starts-with search. You cannot replace an entire first or last name with only the wildcard, and Sounds-like does not operate on a name field containing a wildcard.

4. Can I search Indiana court records using date of birth?

MyCase can use date of birth as a search filter, but DOB is excluded from ordinary public case-detail display. Indiana also warns that DOB is not entered in many civil and some criminal cases, so adding it can accidentally exclude a valid result.

5. Why can’t I find an Indiana protection-order case in MyCase?

Protection-order cases are handled through a separate Indiana Protection Order Search rather than ordinary MyCase public searching. Identifying information about the protected person is excluded from ordinary public online access.

6. Are all Indiana court documents available online?

No. Document access varies by case type and user access level. Civil cases can have broader public online document access, while family, adoption, mental-health and many criminal records have additional restrictions. Contact the clerk if an otherwise public document is not linked.

7. Is a MyCase result an official certified court record?

No. MyCase information is not a certified court record. Obtain official or certified documents from the court or clerk maintaining the case.

8. How much does an Indiana court-record copy cost?

The Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual current through the 2026 legislative session lists copying at not more than $1 per letter/legal-size page and $1 per certificate, with additional specialized fees for some services. Confirm the exact current amount with the filing clerk.

9. How do I find an older Indiana court case that is not in MyCase?

Check the court’s Odyssey go-live date, search for converted case information, then contact the clerk. Older records can exist as paper, microfilm, off-site records or archival holdings. Indiana Archives also holds selected historical court materials.

10. Can MyCase or Public-Court-Records.us be used for employment or tenant background screening?

Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and should not be used as an FCRA consumer-reporting service for employment, tenant, credit, insurance or similar eligibility decisions. A name match in MyCase also does not independently verify identity.