Indiana ban-the-box rules: the 2017 preemption law, state jobs and Indianapolis

Indiana has no ban-the-box law for private employers, and it is the state that stops local ones. As of October 2026, Indiana Code 22-2-17-3, in force since July 1, 2017, says a city, county or other political subdivision may not prohibit an employer from asking about criminal history on the initial application or from using it in hiring as far as the law allows. The rules that do exist cover government jobs: Executive Order 17-15 removed the question from most state executive branch applications, and Indianapolis keeps it off city and county agency forms. One rule reaches everyone: an Indiana application may ask only in words that exclude expunged records.

Does Indiana have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. We found no Indiana statute that sets when a private employer may ask about criminal history, and Indiana's civil rights law, Indiana Code 22-9-1-2, lists race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin and ancestry, not criminal history. A private employer may ask on the application, subject to two Indiana rules on wording and use (below) and to federal law. Indiana is in the minority here: its neighbor Illinois bars employers with 15 or more employees, and employment agencies, from asking until the applicant is selected for an interview or receives a conditional offer, so a role based across the state line follows a very different rule.

Can Indiana cities or counties ban the box?

Not for private employers. Senate Enrolled Act 312, which became Public Law 210-2017, added chapter 22-2-17, "Use of Criminal History Information in Employment Decisions," effective July 1, 2017, according to the Indiana courts' legislative update. Section 3 reads: "Unless federal or state law provides otherwise, a political subdivision may not prohibit an employer from":

1. "obtaining or using criminal history information during the hiring process to the extent allowed by federal or state law, rules, or regulations"; or
2. "at the time an individual makes an initial application for employment," making an inquiry about the individual's criminal history information or requiring the individual to disclose it.

The section speaks of what a local government may impose on "an employer," so city and county rules that reached private companies, including their vendors, cannot stop them from asking on the initial application. A local government deciding not to ask on its own forms is a different matter, and Indianapolis still does so.

Section 4 of the same chapter protects employers in lawsuits: an employee's or former employee's criminal history may not be introduced as evidence against the employer in a civil action based on that person's conduct if it does not bear a direct relationship to the facts of the case, if before the events the record was sealed, reversed, vacated, pardoned or expunged, or if it concerns an arrest or charge that did not lead to a conviction.

What do Indiana state executive branch jobs follow?

Executive Order 17-15, "Fair Chance Hiring Process," signed by Governor Eric Holcomb on June 29, 2017, orders that:

• "Job applications for positions in the Executive Branch of the State of Indiana shall be amended to remove questions regarding convictions and criminal history, unless a conviction of a particular crime precludes the person from employment in the particular job to which she or he applied."
• "A background check or inquiry, including information pertaining to a person's criminal history, typically will be conducted at a later point in the application and hiring process."
• Executive branch agencies must take the steps needed to implement it. It took effect July 1, 2017 and "will remain in effect until amended, rescinded, or superseded."

The order sets no specific stage for the later inquiry, no notice or response period and no penalty, and it does not reach private employers, state contractors, the legislature, the courts or local governments. The Governor's office still publishes it, and we found no rescinding order, but we did not confirm its status beyond that.

What does Indianapolis require?

Indianapolis-Marion County Revised Code 670-102, headed "Ban-the-box," says that in connection with printed or online employment application forms "of a city or county agency, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for them to contain a 'Box' or inquiry regarding an applicant's prior criminal history." The section was adopted in 2014 and amended in 2015 and 2017. As codified through June 2026, it covers city and county agencies' own forms only, which is consistent with Indiana Code 22-2-17-3. Private employers in Indianapolis, including city vendors, may ask on the application under state law.

How must an Indiana application word the criminal history question?

Indiana's expungement statute, Indiana Code 35-38-9-10, applies to every employer:

• Wording. "In any application for employment, a license, or other right or privilege, a person may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms that exclude expunged convictions or arrests, such as: 'Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been expunged by a court?'"
• No discrimination. It is unlawful discrimination to refuse to employ, or otherwise discriminate against, anyone "because of a conviction or arrest record expunged or sealed under this chapter." A violation is a Class C infraction, may be punished as contempt by the court that issued the order or any court of general jurisdiction, and the person is entitled to injunctive relief.
• Exceptions. The wording and discrimination rules do not apply to a law enforcement agency or a probation or community corrections department hiring for its own positions, and the section does not apply to those entitled to see sealed records under the chapter.
• Protection for employers. An expungement order may be introduced as evidence of due care in hiring, and an expunged conviction is not admissible in a negligent hiring action against someone who relied on the order.

If your client's application or candidate portal asks "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" without the expungement carve-out, fix the wording before Indiana candidates see it. More on Indiana record sources, the limited criminal history report and mandatory checks is in Indiana background check laws.

What federal rules still apply in Indiana?

• Title VII. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but Title VII and its disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k), still apply. A job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice.
• Federal contractors. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, 41 U.S.C. 4714, bars contractors from requesting criminal history before a conditional offer for positions related to work under a federal contract, for contracts awarded under solicitations issued after its effective date, with exceptions. Indiana's preemption law does not change a federal rule.
• The FCRA. A report from a screening company needs a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization and the pre-adverse and adverse action notices; see the FCRA background check process.

Indiana criminal history rules at a glance

What should staffing agencies and recruiters do in Indiana?

• Audit the wording, not the timing. Indiana lets you ask early, but every criminal history question on your forms, portal or screening questionnaire must exclude expunged records.
• Separate government roles. For state executive branch and Indianapolis or Marion County agency roles, leave the question to the agency's later process.
• Think about multi-state candidates. A candidate in Indianapolis applying for a job located in Illinois is covered by Illinois law. If your desk works both sides of the line, one practice of keeping criminal history out of screens is simpler.
• Agency licensing. Indiana stopped licensing employment agencies in 2023; see Indiana staffing agency licensing and the state hub, hiring employees in Indiana.

Questions to settle with an Indiana client at intake

• Is the client a state executive branch agency, a city or county agency, a federal contractor or a private employer?
• Does the client's application ask about criminal history, and does the question exclude expunged convictions and arrests?
• Does any law disqualify people with certain convictions from this job, or require a check? Which law?
• Where is the job located? If it is across a state line, which state's rule applies?
• Who orders the background check, who reviews it against the job, and who sends the FCRA notices?

A script for Indiana screens

Candidate asks whether to list an expunged case: "No. In Indiana, expunged arrests and convictions don't have to be listed, and the question should say so. Please don't share details with me; background is handled later by the employer."

Client wants to ask on the phone screen: "Indiana law allows it, but we keep it out of recruiter screens so every candidate is handled the same way and nothing ends up in notes. Your background step after the interview is the better place."

Candidate volunteers a record: "Thanks for telling me. I don't screen on criminal history and won't note it. If there's a check, you'll see anything the employer relies on."

An Indiana checklist for recruiting desks

1. Reword every criminal history question to exclude expunged convictions and arrests, using the statute's example.
2. Never treat an expunged or sealed record as a reason to reject, and tell your screening company to suppress them.
3. For state executive branch and Indianapolis-Marion County agency roles, keep the question off applications and screens.
4. Keep volunteered details out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
5. Route screening company reports through the FCRA steps, and record the job-related reason for any decision.
6. For neighboring states, see Kentucky and Illinois; for the federal picture, ban-the-box laws and interview questions.