Open Records

Indiana’s public records law is the Access to Public Records Act (APRA), enacted in 1983 and found at Indiana Code § 5-14-3. It affirms that government is the servant of the people and that everyone is entitled to full and complete information about the affairs of government.

Who can request records

Any person may request records – Indiana doesn’t require residency, and a requester doesn’t have to disclose a purpose for the request. Records generally can’t be used for commercial purposes, except when the request comes from news publications, academic researchers, or nonprofit organizations conducting legitimate activity.

What’s covered

APRA applies to all three branches of Indiana government – executive, legislative, and judicial (though judicial coverage applies primarily to administrative records within that branch). A “public record” is broadly defined as any material created, received, retained, maintained, or filed by or with a public agency – including writings, photographs, recordings, and electronically stored data.

How to request

Requests can be made in person, by phone, by mail, fax, or email. Agencies may ask for the request in writing or on their own form, but the underlying right to request doesn’t depend on using a specific format.

Response timeline

Indiana runs two separate response clocks depending on how the request arrives: – In person or by phone: the agency must respond within 24 hours. – By mail, fax, or email: the agency has 7 calendar days to respond. Importantly, this deadline applies only to the agency’s initial acknowledgment – confirming the request was received and explaining how/when it expects to respond – not to actually producing the records. The records themselves must be produced within “a reasonable time,” which the statute doesn’t further define. If the agency doesn’t acknowledge the request or explain a longer timeline within the applicable window, the request can be treated as denied.

Fees

– Inspecting records in person is free – agencies cannot charge for the ability to simply look at records. – Copying: state agencies may charge up to $0.10/page; other agencies may only charge their actual copying costs. – No fees are allowed for labor, overhead, search, or review time. – A “reasonable” fee is allowed specifically for providing electronic access to inspect records by electronic device, capped at the direct cost of supplying the record electronically. – Fee waivers are discretionary, not mandatory – agencies aren’t required to grant them even for legitimate noncommercial purposes like journalism or nonprofit work, though many will.

Exemptions

Indiana Code § 5-14-3-4 lists exemptions, including trade secrets, certain university research, and specific categories of educational and medical records. A 2016 law (House Bill 1019) separately established rules for accessing law enforcement body camera and vehicle camera recordings, including who qualifies as an eligible requester for that specific record type.

If your request is denied

The burden of proof to justify withholding always falls on the agency, not the requester. A denial must include the specific statutory exemption relied on, plus the name and title of the person responsible for the denial. Indiana has a Public Access Counselor (PAC) who can issue an advisory opinion on a disputed request – consulting the PAC before filing suit is important, since attorney’s fees can only be awarded if the requester first sought and received a PAC opinion and later prevails in court. Fees, if awarded, run from the date of the PAC’s opinion through the date the court determines the prevailing party.

A note on terminology

Indiana’s law is officially the “Access to Public Records Act” (APRA) – the same basic type of law that other states call an “Open Records Act,” “Freedom of Information Act,” or (in South Carolina) “FOIA Laws.”