Are Marion County Records Public?

Yes. By virtue of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA) and other relevant rules and statutes, Marion County Records are public. They are accessible to all persons under the law.

The Access to Public Records Act IC 5-14-3-3 provides that any person may inspect and copy public records of any public agency, whether state, local, or county, during regular business hours. Public agencies are required to make these records reasonably available upon request. They are also prohibited from denying or interfering with exercising this right.

The Indiana APRA applies to state and county public agencies except where it expressly excludes certain state agencies and officials. The APRA provides regulations for access to information like law enforcement records, court records, and financial data for state agencies. Likewise, the Indiana Court Rules regulate access to Marion county court records, and records are excluded from public access.

What is Exempted Under the Indiana Public Records Act?

The Indiana Access to Public Records Act guarantees the right of persons to request and inspect records pertaining to the acts and affairs of public officials and agencies in connection with their official duties.
In a bid to maintain the balance between the right to know and the conflicting right to privacy, freedom from prejudice, and other interests (state security and confidentiality), some records are exempt from public access. In essence, records that are exempt are non-public, confidential, and are not subject to the individual right of access.

Record custodians must inform requesters whether the records they have requested are public or not. An agency may also exercise discretion to disclose otherwise confidential records in part after redacting sensitive information. The following are examples of records exempt from public disclosure under the APRA (IC 5-14-3-3):

• Trade secrets
• Confidential financial information
• Records are declared confidential by the Supreme Court of Indiana, state statute, federal law, or the rule of a public agency.
• Medical records
• Social security number in the records of a public agency.

If an individual is denied access to exempted records, they may appeal this denial in court. Denial of access to non-public court records may be challenged where the person has a written request demonstrating extraordinary circumstances, in case of public interests, if there is no significant risk of harm, and if the release won’t prejudice ongoing proceedings. This is also possible where the subject of the record or parties to the records consent to the access.

Marion County Public Records Search

To find Marion Couty's public records, the searcher must determine and identify the type of record sought (court, land, law enforcement, etc.), then identify the record custodian. It is futile to conduct a search for public records without first identifying the public agency responsible for filing and maintaining that particular record, as public agencies do not have any obligation under the APRA to provide the contact information of agencies to the searcher. The request will be denied if a requester directs their search requests to the wrong agency or fails to identify the record sought with the utmost peculiarity.

Nonetheless, interested persons can contact the Marion County Clerk’s Office at (317) 327-4715 (Records Department) to be directed to the proper department or agency. Public agencies typically have rules and guidelines for requesting records on their website. One may also call their phone lines in advance to make the necessary enquiries.

However, the general rules under the Indiana Code 5-14-3-3 are that a request for inspection or copying must identify the record requested with reasonable particularity and be in writing (fax, mail, or email) or a form provided by the agency. Public agencies are also authorized to charge request fees needed to search for, produce, or certify copies of public records.

Find Public Records For Free in Marion County

One way to find public records for free in Marion County is through public records search portals on public agencies' websites. For example, the Marion County Recorder’s Office provides online access to real estate records, and the Clerk of Court hosts a court records search site online, where internet users can access public records for free.

Likewise, public records may be available through third-party search sites. Third-party sites are private record service providers, not affiliated with the government. They offer broader and more convenient search alternatives, as one can access public records from multiple jurisdictions on one site. A downside of accessing information through third-party sites is that they are expensive and incomplete. People have also cited concerns with data privacy breaches.

How to Remove Information From Public Records Free

The process of removing information from public records will depend on the agency with custody over that record. First, the individual must be eligible to have their records sealed, expunged, deleted, or redacted from publicly available records. To do so, contact the Marion County clerk's office to inquire how to proceed. Then, to remove criminal records or court records, the subject of the record must petition the court in the county where the case was filed to have it expunged.

Who Can Access Marion County Public Records in Indiana?

In line with the APRA, any person may request, inspect, and copy Marion County public records. The definition of person under the law includes individuals, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, associations, and government entities. In Indiana, requesting parties do not need to be residents before they can exercise the right to access public records.

What Happens if I Am Refused a Public Records Request?

There are a couple of reasons why a person’s public records request may be refused or denied. Common reasons may be because the record requested is exempted, the request was vague and failed to identify a specific record, the request was sent to the wrong agency, or the requester failed.

A person who has been denied the right to inspect or copy public records may file an action in the circuit or superior court in the county where the denial occurred to compel the public agency to permit the inspection or copying of the record in question (IC 5-14-3-3-9).

The formal complaint process begins with stating the alleged denial and violation of the right to access public information. The types of denial stated are typically wrongly denied records, information incorrectly redacted, no response from the agency, unreasonable time for record production, and excessive copy fees.

A requestor may also file a complaint with the Public Access Counsellor (PAC) within 30 days of the denial. Once the PAC receives the complaint, the Office notifies the public agency, which has two weeks to respond. The statute requires the Public Access Counselor to hear the complaint and respond within 30 days of receiving it. The complainant may also request priority status to receive an opinion within seven days.

The Public Access Counselor attempts to resolve issues through de facto mediation to eliminate the need to file a lawsuit. It acts as an advisor to agencies in need of assistance in evaluating and responding to requests. All formal opinions given by the PAC are based on the facts presented to it by the complainant and the public agency. It is pertinent to note that formal opinions issued by the PAC do not compel the public agency to act; they are only advisory. The only way to compel the public agency is through the court. If the advice is not satisfactory to the complainant/requestor, they may proceed to file a lawsuit.