Arrest Records for Elkhart County, Indiana

When you need to pull an arrest record in Elkhart County, the records split across two systems: court-side docket entries live on the Indiana Judicial Branch’s Elkhart County court records portal, and booking-side entries sit with the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office at 26861 County Road 26, Goshen. The statewide MyCase portal covers Elkhart County cases and is free to search by name. For police reports and APRA requests from the City of Elkhart, the Elkhart Police Department’s records and reports section handles those separately. Bring valid ID when visiting the courthouse, and note that the Clerk’s phone lines can be difficult to reach — an in-person visit often moves faster.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Elkhart County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

If your person has a history in other states

MyCase and the Elkhart County court portal only surface Indiana cases, so records that pre-date the portal’s online window or originate in other states won’t appear there. A nationwide criminal database search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave — it can surface records across multiple states and name variants that a single-county search would miss. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.

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How to look up arrest records in Elkhart County

“Public records shall be available for inspection and copying,” reads Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act — and that principle is the foundation for every pathway described here. Whether you’re checking your own record before a court date or helping a family member prepare for a hearing, the same portals are open to you. A guardian pulling records for a minor, or an attorney of record requesting case materials on behalf of a client, may also request records directly through the Clerk’s office with appropriate documentation.

MyCase — court docket entries online. The statewide MyCase portal is the fastest no-cost path for Elkhart County criminal case lookups. Search by name or case number. You’ll see charges filed, hearing dates, dispositions, and the attorney of record if one has appeared. Elkhart County courts run on Indiana’s Odyssey Case Management System, so MyCase reflects the same data the Clerk’s office uses. New entries can take time to appear after a filing, so if a very recent case isn’t showing, check back or call to confirm.

Indiana Judicial Branch — Elkhart County court records. The Indiana Judicial Branch’s Elkhart County page links directly to court records and e-filing resources for the county’s Circuit Court and Superior Courts. This is the right path if you need to verify which court division a case is assigned to before filing a petition or requesting certified copies.

Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office — booking records and inmate services. Booking records — the Sheriff-side record created at arrest — are separate from court docket entries. The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office inmate services page is the county’s official resource for checking on someone currently in custody. The Sheriff’s Office is located at 26861 County Road 26, Elkhart, Indiana. For non-emergency inquiries, call (574) 533-4151 (confirm before calling).

Elkhart Police Department — city arrest and police reports. Arrests made by city officers generate records held by the Elkhart Police Department, not the Sheriff. To request a police report or submit a formal public records request under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, use the city’s online public record request form. The city police non-emergency line is (574) 295-7070. The records department accepts multiple payment methods including cash, cashier’s check, debit, and credit cards.

Elkhart County Clerk of Courts — certified copies and in-person requests. For certified copies of court records, contact the Elkhart County Clerk of Courts at the Elkhart County Courthouse. The courthouse phone is Call (574) 522-5272 (verify before calling). Document submissions to the Clerk require payment by money order. Phone lines at the Clerk’s office can be difficult to reach — visiting in person is often more reliable. Bring valid ID.

IDOC — state corrections records. If the person you’re researching served time in an Indiana state facility, the Indiana Department of Correction offender search covers state prison records separate from county jail bookings.

Are Elkhart County arrest records public?

Can anyone pull an Elkhart County arrest record, or only the person named in it? Under Indiana law, the answer is: anyone. Ind. Code § 5-14-3 — Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act — establishes that government records, including booking records and arrest logs, are open to the public by default. You don’t need to show a relationship to the subject, and you don’t need to explain why you want the record.

That said, third-party requesters may face records-request fees that the subject themselves might not. Certified copies from the Elkhart County Clerk’s office carry a per-page fee — call to confirm the current rate before visiting. Online lookups through MyCase are free for anyone.

The default-public rule has narrow exceptions. Juvenile records are not public. Cases where a judge has entered a sealing or expungement order under Indiana’s Second Chance Law are removed from public view — the Clerk will not confirm their existence to a third-party requester. Victim-identifying information in certain cases (domestic violence, sexual assault) may be redacted before a record is released. Active investigative records that have not yet resulted in charges may also be withheld.

Booking photos present a separate question. Indiana’s open-records framework generally treats booking photos as public records, but individual agencies have some discretion in how they release them. For the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office’s current mugshot release policy, call the Sheriff’s non-emergency line at (574) 533-4151 — the policy isn’t posted in detail online.

A practical note for researchers: the MyCase portal reflects court-side data. A booking record at the Sheriff’s Office may exist even when no court case has been filed yet — those are different systems, and a name search on MyCase won’t surface a booking that hasn’t resulted in charges.

What’s in an Elkhart County arrest record?

Depending on which system you’re pulling from, the fields you see will differ — court-side docket entries and Sheriff-side booking entries are built for different purposes and live in different databases. The Elkhart County Courthouse holds the court record; the Sheriff’s facility at 26861 County Road 26 holds the booking record.

Sheriff-side booking record (created at arrest): booking date and time, full legal name and date of birth, charges as entered at booking (these may differ from charges formally filed by the prosecutor), arresting agency, case number assigned at booking, and physical descriptors. Booking photos are typically part of this record. Whether the Sheriff’s Office releases booking photos on request is a policy question — call to confirm current practice.

Court-side docket entry (created when charges are filed): case number under Indiana’s uniform case numbering system, charges as formally filed by the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office, all hearing dates and continuances, bond or bail conditions set by the court, attorney of record (defense counsel and prosecutor), and disposition — guilty plea, conviction after trial, dismissal, or acquittal. MyCase surfaces all of these fields for Elkhart County cases.

A few things the record will not show you: charges that were declined by the prosecutor after booking (those may appear in the booking record but not in any court filing), sealed or expunged entries (those are removed from public view entirely), and juvenile adjudications (handled separately under a different statutory framework).

If you’re a family member or attorney of record pulling records on someone else’s behalf, the Clerk’s office can provide certified copies of court documents. Bring valid ID and expect to pay by money order for document submissions at the Elkhart County Courthouse. For court records specifically, the Indiana Judicial Branch’s Elkhart County records portal is the cleanest official path before making an in-person trip.

How to expunge an arrest record in Elkhart County

One year — that’s the waiting period for petitioning to expunge an arrest that never resulted in a conviction. Indiana’s expungement framework under Ind. Code § 35-38-9 is tiered by outcome and offense level, and the path for dismissed or acquitted cases is the most straightforward of all.

Dismissed charges and acquittals. If an Elkhart County case ended in dismissal or acquittal, the expungement is automatic — the court enters the order, and it takes effect no sooner than 60 days later. You don’t need to file a petition for these outcomes. Once the order takes effect, the record is removed from public view. Law enforcement retains access; the general public does not.

Arrest with no charges filed. If you were arrested but the Elkhart County Prosecutor never filed charges, you can petition to expunge the arrest record one year after the arrest date. File the verified petition in the county court where the arrest occurred — for Elkhart County arrests, that means filing at the Elkhart County Courthouse. Indiana requires that all petitions in a given county be filed together in a single petition, so if there are multiple Elkhart County records to address, they go in one filing.

Misdemeanor convictions. A misdemeanor conviction can be petitioned for expungement five years after the conviction date, provided the statutory eligibility requirements are met. The court must grant the petition if eligibility is established — it’s not discretionary at this tier.

Class D / Level 6 felony convictions. The waiting period is eight years from the conviction date. Like misdemeanors, the court must grant a qualifying petition at this tier.

More serious felonies. The court may expunge after the later of eight years from conviction or three years from completing the sentence. The most serious felonies — and those involving sex offenses, violent offenses, or official misconduct — require the prosecutor’s written consent and carry a ten-year waiting period from conviction or five years from completing the sentence, whichever is later. Sex offenses, violent offenses, and official-misconduct convictions are excluded from the Second Chance Law entirely.

Practical steps for Elkhart County filers. Indiana gives each person effectively one expungement petition per lifetime, so timing matters. Pull your full record from MyCase before filing to make sure you’re capturing every eligible Elkhart County case in one petition. Document submissions to the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the Elkhart County Courthouse require payment by money order. If cost is a barrier, ask the Clerk about an indigency fee waiver. You may self-petition, but given the one-petition lifetime limit, many people choose to work with an attorney — the Indiana Roll of Attorneys search and the Indiana Public Defender Council are both resources for finding representation. Confirm current waiting periods and eligibility rules against the statute text or ask the Clerk before filing — the law has been amended and the current version controls.

Frequently asked questions about Elkhart County arrest records

What charges will show up on an Elkhart County arrest record, and what happens next after an arrest?

An Elkhart County arrest record shows the charges as entered at booking by the arresting agency — these are the initial allegations, not a finding of guilt. After booking, the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office reviews the case and decides whether to file formal charges, reduce them, or decline to prosecute. If charges are filed, the case appears on MyCase with the formal charge language, which may differ from the booking entry. The docket then tracks each court appearance, any bond conditions, and ultimately the disposition — plea, conviction, dismissal, or acquittal. A booking record at the Sheriff’s Office can exist even when no court case is ever filed, so checking both systems gives you the complete picture.

How do I get an Elkhart County arrest record expunged or sealed?

Indiana handles expungement through a single statute — the Second Chance Law — rather than separate sealing and expungement procedures. For an arrest that ended in dismissal or acquittal, the expungement is automatic and takes effect no sooner than 60 days after the court’s order. For an arrest with no charges filed, you can petition one year after the arrest date by filing a verified petition at the Elkhart County Courthouse. Misdemeanor convictions become eligible five years after conviction; Class D or Level 6 felony convictions after eight years. Indiana allows effectively one petition per lifetime, so pull your full record from MyCase first to capture every eligible Elkhart County case in a single filing. Bring valid ID to the courthouse and payment by money order for filing fees. The Indiana Public Defender Council can help connect you with low-cost legal assistance if needed.