Arrest Records Lookup: Franklin County, Indiana

Court filings for Franklin County criminal cases are publicly searchable through Indiana’s statewide MyCase portal at Indiana MyCase docket search, where you can pull case numbers, charges, and dispositions by name at no cost. Booking records held by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office are a separate system — those live at Franklincountysheriff and require a direct records request. The Franklin County Clerk of Courts, located inside the Franklin County Courthouse, maintains the official court file for every criminal case filed in the county. Bring a valid government-issued ID if you visit in person, and note that the Clerk’s computer systems shut down around 3:45 p.m., so plan to arrive well before closing.

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

If your person has a history in other states

A Franklin County records check covers cases filed in Indiana courts, but it won’t surface arrests from other states or federal cases that never touched the county docket. A nationwide preliminary scan may help fill gaps that local portals often leave — particularly if the person has lived in multiple states or used name variants across jurisdictions. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.

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This tool is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and may not be used to screen anyone for employment, housing, credit, or any other purpose covered by that law.

How to look up arrest records in Franklin County

During weekday business hours, the fastest path to Franklin County court records is Indiana’s MyCase portal — search by name at Indiana MyCase case records search and you’ll see case numbers, charge descriptions, hearing dates, and dispositions for cases filed in the Franklin County Circuit Court and Superior Court. MyCase is free and requires no login for public case searches.

Booking records — the Sheriff-side record of an arrest — are separate from the court docket. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office maintains those records and handles records requests through its own office, not through the Clerk. Visit the Sheriff’s department page at Sheriff or the Sheriff’s main site at Franklincountysheriff for request procedures. Be aware that the Sheriff’s phone lines can experience significant hold times — calling early in the morning tends to reduce wait.

The Franklin County Clerk of Courts handles the court-side file: certified copies of charging documents, plea agreements, sentencing orders, and case histories. The Clerk’s office is inside the Franklin County Courthouse; courtrooms are on the second floor, and the parking lot layout can be disorienting on a first visit. The Clerk accepts cash, money order, and check for records fees — confirm the current per-page fee before your visit, as it is not published in the county’s online documents. Clerk computer systems shut down around 3:45 p.m., so arrive with enough time to complete your request.

The Indiana Judicial Branch also publishes a Franklin County court directory at Franklin County, which lists judges, court divisions, and links to case search tools. For cases where someone has been transferred to a state facility, the Indiana Department of Correction offender search at Indiana DOC Offender / Incarcerated Locator confirms current IDOC custody status by name or DOC number. The Franklin City Police Department, which handles municipal arrests within the city of Brookville’s neighboring jurisdiction, maintains its own records at Department — municipal arrests may appear on MyCase but the originating agency holds the booking record.

Are Franklin County arrest records public?

What does Indiana law actually say about who can see an arrest record? Under Ind. Code § 5-14-3 — Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act — booking records, including booking photographs, are presumptively open to the public. Any person can request them from the arresting agency without stating a reason.

Court records filed in Franklin County Circuit and Superior Courts carry the same default-public status. A case number, the charges filed, the name of the attorney of record, and the disposition are all visible on MyCase unless a court order has restricted access.

Exceptions are narrow but real. Juvenile records are not public — cases involving defendants under 18 are handled in a separate docket and are not accessible through MyCase or a standard records request. Victim-identifying information in certain offense categories (sexual offenses, domestic violence) is redacted before records are released. Records subject to a protective order may have specific fields withheld.

Expunged records are the most significant exception for records-checkers. Once a Franklin County court grants an expungement petition under Indiana’s Second Chance Law, the public record is sealed — it no longer appears on MyCase, and the Clerk will not confirm its existence to a member of the public. Law enforcement agencies retain access, but background checks run by private parties will not surface it. The mechanics of how expungement works in Franklin County are covered in detail in the section below.

What’s in a Franklin County arrest record?

At the moment a booking is completed at the Franklin County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office generates a booking entry that is distinct from anything the court has yet produced. That booking record typically shows the arrestee’s name and date of birth, the booking date and time, the arresting agency (Sheriff, Franklin City Police, or Indiana State Police), the charges as written at arrest, and a booking photograph if one was taken. The mugshot release policy for Franklin County is not posted in the county’s published online documentation — contact the Sheriff’s Office directly to confirm current policy before assuming a photo is publicly available.

The court-side record, accessible through MyCase and physically held at the Franklin County Courthouse, contains a different and often richer set of fields. You’ll see the case number assigned by the Clerk, the formal charges as filed by the prosecutor (which may differ from the arrest charges), each scheduled and completed hearing with its date and outcome, the name of the defense attorney of record, bond conditions if set, and the final disposition — guilty plea, jury verdict, dismissal, or acquittal.

Docket entries and booking entries live in separate systems and may tell different stories. An arrest charge of “Theft” might become a reduced charge of “Conversion” in the court file. A case dismissed before charges were formally filed may appear in the Sheriff’s booking log but show no corresponding court case on MyCase. Conversely, a case that went to trial will have a detailed docket on MyCase but the Sheriff’s booking entry may be sparse.

After a partial sealing order — where some counts in a multi-count case are expunged but others are not — the docket entry for the sealed count still exists as a line item, but the case-detail fields for that count are restricted. You’ll see that a record was sealed; you won’t see what it said. This distinction matters if you’re reviewing a record that shows a gap in the charge sequence or a count labeled “sealed” without further detail.

How to expunge an arrest record in Franklin County

Petitioning to seal an arrest record in Franklin County is a routine legal procedure, and the timing of when you file matters more than almost anything else. Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”) governs every expungement filed in the state, and Franklin County Circuit Court is where the petition goes — specifically, the court where the conviction occurred, or for non-conviction records, the county of arrest. Indiana requires that all petitions in a given county be filed together in a single petition, so if you have multiple Franklin County cases to address, they must be consolidated.

Waiting periods vary by what happened in the case. An arrest that never resulted in a conviction can be petitioned one year after the arrest date. A dismissal or acquittal is expunged automatically once the order takes effect — no sooner than 60 days after the order is entered. A misdemeanor conviction requires a five-year wait from the date of conviction. A Class D or Level 6 felony conviction requires eight years. More serious felonies require the later of eight years from conviction or three years from completing the sentence. The most serious felonies — which also require the written consent of the Franklin County prosecutor — require the later of ten years from conviction or five years from completing the sentence.

Indiana effectively gives each person one expungement petition per lifetime. Filing too early, or filing an incomplete petition, can exhaust that opportunity. Confirm the current statute text or ask the Franklin County Clerk of Courts before filing — the law has been amended since its original passage, and the exact eligibility rules for your case type are worth verifying against the current version of Ind. Code § 35-38-9.

Self-petitioning is legally available and some people complete the process without an attorney. The Franklin County Clerk can tell you which forms are required and what the current filing fee is. An attorney-assisted filing is also a reasonable path, particularly for felony cases or cases involving the prosecutor’s written consent requirement — neither approach is wrong, and the choice depends on the complexity of your record and your comfort navigating court procedure. Indiana’s public defender locator can help identify low-cost representation options. The Indiana Roll of Attorneys search lets you verify that any attorney you hire is licensed in Indiana.

After expungement is granted, the public record is sealed. The Franklin County Clerk will not confirm the case to a member of the public, and it will not appear on MyCase. Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors retain access for their own purposes, but private background checks will not surface it.

Quick-contacts for Franklin County arrest records

Frequently asked questions about Franklin County arrest records

How do I find out what’s on my Franklin County arrest record?

Run a name search on Indiana MyCase — it’s free and shows every public court case filed in Franklin County, including charges and dispositions. If you want the booking-side record (what the Sheriff’s Office holds), submit a records request directly to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. For a certified copy of the court file, visit the Franklin County Clerk of Courts at the Franklin County Courthouse with a valid government-issued ID.

How do I get a Franklin County arrest record expunged?

Indiana’s expungement law — Ind. Code § 35-38-9 — sets the waiting periods: one year for an arrest without conviction, five years for a misdemeanor conviction, and eight or more years for felony convictions depending on severity. File a verified petition at the Franklin County Circuit Court, the court where the case was heard. Indiana requires all Franklin County petitions to be filed together in a single filing, so consolidate every case you want addressed. Confirm the current filing fee and form requirements with the Franklin County Clerk of Courts before submitting — you effectively get one petition per lifetime under Indiana law.