Expungement of red flag law records., the official text

First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)

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  HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1137

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and
procedure.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 35-47-14-6, AS AMENDED BY P.L.142-2020,
SECTION 78, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 6. (a) The court shall conduct a hearing as
required under this chapter.

   (b) The state has the burden of proving all material facts by clear
and convincing evidence.

   (c) If the court determines that the state has proved by clear and
convincing evidence that the individual is dangerous, the court shall
issue a written order:

      (1) finding the individual is dangerous (as defined in section 1 of
      this chapter);
      (2) ordering the law enforcement agency having custody of the
      seized firearm to retain the firearm;
      (3) ordering the individual's license to carry a handgun, if
      applicable, suspended; and
      (4) enjoining the individual from:

         (A) renting;
         (B) receiving transfer of;
         (C) owning; or
         (D) possessing;
      a firearm; and

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determine whether the individual should be referred to further
proceedings to consider whether the individual should be involuntarily
detained or committed under IC 12-26-6-2(a)(2)(B).

   (d) If the court finds that the individual is dangerous under
subsection (c), the clerk shall transmit the order of the court to the
office of judicial administration:

      (1) for transmission to NICS (as defined in IC 35-47-2.5-2.5); and
      (2) beginning July 1, 2021, for the collection of certain data
      related to the confiscation and retention of firearms taken from
      dangerous individuals;
in accordance with IC 33-24-6-3.
   (e) If the court orders a law enforcement agency to retain a firearm,
the law enforcement agency shall retain the firearm until the court
orders the firearm returned or otherwise disposed of.
   (f) If the court determines that the state has failed to prove by clear
and convincing evidence that the individual is dangerous, the court
shall issue a written order that:
      (1) the individual is not dangerous (as defined in section 1 of this
      chapter); and
      (2) the law enforcement agency having custody of the firearm
      shall return the firearm as quickly as practicable, but not later
      than five (5) days after the date of the order, to the individual
      from whom it was seized; and
      (3) the following records shall be sealed and expunged:

         (A) The court's file.
         (B) The records of any law enforcement agency or other
         person involved in the:

            (i) investigation of the individual under this chapter;
            (ii) filing of a search warrant return under section 2 of
            this chapter; or
            (iii) filing of an affidavit under section 3 of this chapter.
         (C) The records contained in any central repository for
         criminal history or civil litigation information, including
         the repository maintained by the state police department.
         This clause does not require the state police department to
         seal any record the state police department does not have
         legal authority to seal.
      A record sealed under this subdivision may be disclosed to a
      law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer's
      duties, but may not be disclosed to any other individual or be
      accessible to any other person unless authorized by a court
      order.

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   (g) If, before July 1, 2025, the court issued an order that an
individual is not dangerous under subsection (f), and the individual
subsequently files a motion to amend that order to include the
expungement provisions of subsection (f)(3), the court shall grant
the motion and issue an amended order accordingly.

   SECTION 2. IC 35-47-14-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.142-2020,
SECTION 79, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 8. (a) At least one hundred eighty (180) days after
the date on which a court orders a law enforcement agency to retain an
individual's firearm under section 6(c) of this chapter, the individual
may petition the court for a finding that the individual is no longer
dangerous.

   (b) Upon receipt of a petition described in subsection (a), the court
shall:

      (1) enter an order setting a date for a hearing on the petition; and
      (2) inform the prosecuting attorney of the date, time, and location
      of the hearing.
   (c) The prosecuting attorney shall represent the state at the hearing
on a petition under this section.
   (d) In a hearing on a petition under this section, the individual may
be represented by an attorney.
   (e) In a hearing on a petition under this section filed:
      (1) not later than one (1) year after the date of the order issued
      under section 6(c) of this chapter, the individual must prove by a
      preponderance of the evidence that the individual is no longer
      dangerous; and
      (2) later than one (1) year after the date of the order issued under
      section 6(c) of this chapter, the state must prove by clear and
      convincing evidence that the individual is still dangerous.
   (f) If, upon the completion of the hearing and consideration of the
record, the court finds that the individual is no longer dangerous, the
court:
      (1) shall:

         (1) (A) issue a court order that finds that the individual is no
         longer dangerous;
         (2) (B) order the law enforcement agency having custody of
         any firearm to return the firearm as quickly as practicable, but
         not later than five (5) days after the date of the order, to the
         individual;
         (3) (C) terminate any injunction issued under section 6 of this
         chapter; and
         (4) (D) terminate the suspension of the individual's license to

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         carry a handgun so that the individual may reapply for a
         license; and
      (2) may order that one (1) or more of the following records be
      sealed and expunged:
         (A) The court's file.
         (B) The records of any law enforcement agency or other
         person involved in the:

            (i) investigation of the individual under this chapter;
            (ii) filing of a search warrant return under section 2 of
            this chapter; or
            (iii) filing of an affidavit under section 3 of this chapter.
         (C) The records contained in any central repository for
         criminal history or civil litigation information, including
         the repository maintained by the state police department.
         This clause does not require the state police department to
         seal any record the state police department does not have
         legal authority to seal.
      A record sealed under this subdivision may be disclosed to a
      law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer's
      duties, but may not be disclosed to any other individual or be
      accessible to any other person unless authorized by a court
      order.
   (g) If, before July 1, 2025, the court issued an order that an
individual is no longer dangerous under subsection (f), and the
individual subsequently files a motion to amend that order to
include the expungement provisions of subsection (f)(2), the court
may grant the motion and issue an amended order accordingly.
   (g) (h) If the court denies an individual's petition under this section,
the individual may not file a subsequent petition until at least one
hundred eighty (180) days after the date on which the court denied the
petition.
   (h) (i) If a court issues an order described that an individual is no
longer dangerous under subsection (f), subsection (f)(1), the court's
order shall be transmitted, as soon as practicable, to the office of
judicial administration for transmission to the NICS (as defined in
IC 35-47-2.5-2.5) and, beginning July 1, 2021, for the collection of
certain data related to the confiscation and retention of firearms taken
from dangerous individuals in accordance with IC 33-24-6-3.

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Speaker of the House of Representatives

President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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