Criminal docket entries for Shelby County cases live in Indiana’s statewide MyCase public access portal, where you can search by name and pull case numbers, charges, and dispositions without visiting a courthouse. Booking records — the Sheriff’s side of the transaction — are held by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, which publishes a formal public-records request process at the Sheriff’s public records request form. Shelby County government offices are located at 25 W Polk St, Shelbyville, IN 46176; the Courthouse typically operates Monday through Friday, with some offices closing at 4:15 p.m. — confirm hours before driving.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Shelby County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.
If your person has a history in other states
MyCase covers Shelby County’s own Circuit and Superior Court dockets going back to the portal’s online window — but cases filed in other Indiana counties, federal district courts, or any other state won’t appear there. A nationwide database search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave, surfacing records under name variants or addresses from prior states where the person has lived.
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How to look up arrest records in Shelby County
Pull the criminal docket, the booking record, the charge sheet, and the disposition from separate systems — each lives in a different place, and knowing which system holds which document saves you a wasted trip.
Criminal docket (court-side): The Indiana MyCase public access portal covers Shelby County’s Circuit Court and both Superior Courts. Search by name or case number. The docket shows case filings, charge descriptions, hearing dates, and dispositions. MyCase is free to search and requires no account for basic lookups. Note that portal updates can lag behind live courtroom activity, so a very recent filing may not appear immediately.
Booking record and charge sheet (Sheriff-side): The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office holds booking records — the arrest date, charges as logged at intake, and the booking photo. Submit a formal request through the Sheriff’s public records request form. Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (Ind. Code § 5-14-3) makes booking records generally open to the public, so you do not need to state a reason. Confirm current fee and turnaround with the Sheriff’s Office before submitting, as those details are not posted online.
Disposition (court-side or Clerk-side): Dispositions — guilty pleas, verdicts, dismissals — appear in MyCase once entered by the court. For a certified copy of a disposition, contact the Shelby County Clerk of Court at the Courthouse, 25 W Polk St, Shelbyville, IN 46176. The Clerk’s office handles certified record requests and can confirm the current records-request fee. Arriving early in the day typically means shorter wait times; the Courthouse parking lot has ample space.
IDOC lookup (state corrections): If the person was sentenced to state prison rather than the county jail, the Shelby County Community Corrections page links to state-level supervision resources. For confirmed state incarceration, the Indiana Department of Correction offender search at IDOC Offender Search is the authoritative tool. The Shelby County Jail Division page at the Shelby County Jail Division covers local custody and bail bond board information.
A practical note: MyCase and the Sheriff’s booking system are independent databases. A name search in MyCase may return a case number with no corresponding booking record visible online — that’s normal. The court docket and the jail record are maintained separately and may show different charge language for the same arrest.
Are Shelby County arrest records public?
Understand the default rule before you search: most Shelby County arrest records are open to the public under Indiana law, with a narrow set of exceptions.
Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, Ind. Code § 5-14-3, establishes that booking records — including booking photos — are presumptively public. You do not need to be a party to the case, a lawyer, or a journalist to request them. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office processes public records requests through its online form, and the Shelby County Clerk of Court handles court-record requests at the Courthouse on W Polk St.
Expunged records are the primary exception. Once a Shelby County court grants an expungement order under Indiana’s Second Chance Law, the record is sealed from public view — it will not appear in MyCase searches, and the Sheriff’s Office will not disclose it in response to a public records request. Law enforcement agencies retain access, but the general public does not. This is covered in detail in the expungement section below.
Juvenile records carry a separate protection. Arrests and adjudications involving minors are not open to the public under Indiana law and will not appear in MyCase or in response to a standard public records request.
Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases. Records involving sexual offenses may have victim-identifying information removed before release. The Shelby County Clerk or Sheriff’s Office can advise on what has been redacted in a specific case.
Pending charges that were never filed — situations where someone was arrested but the prosecutor declined to charge — may still appear in booking records even though no court case was opened. Those arrest records remain public unless separately expunged. A MyCase search will show no case for that arrest, but the Sheriff’s booking record may still exist.
What’s in a Shelby County arrest record?
When the attorney of record matters — say, you’re trying to reach current defense counsel or confirm who represented someone at a prior hearing — the docket entry in MyCase is where that information appears, not the booking record.
The booking record (Sheriff-side) typically contains: the booking date and time, the arresting agency (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Shelbyville Police Department, or Indiana State Police), the charges as written at intake, the booking photo, and the bond amount set at initial hearing. This record is generated at the Shelby County Jail and held by the Sheriff’s Office. Request it through the Sheriff’s public records request form.
The criminal docket (court-side, via MyCase) contains: the case number assigned by the Shelby County Circuit or Superior Court, the formal charge description as filed by the prosecutor, all hearing dates and continuances, the attorney of record for both prosecution and defense, and the disposition — guilty plea, verdict, or dismissal. The attorney of record field updates as counsel changes; if you need to find current defense counsel for an open case, the MyCase docket entry is the most reliable place to check. The Shelby County Superior Court 2 and the Circuit Court both feed into MyCase.
The charge sheet is the formal document listing each count. In Shelby County, the charge sheet is filed with the Clerk of Court and becomes part of the court record. A certified copy is available from the Shelby County Clerk at the Courthouse, 25 W Polk St, Shelbyville, IN 46176. Call to confirm the current records-request fee before visiting.
One important distinction: the charge language on the booking record and the charge language on the court docket sometimes differ. The Sheriff logs charges as described by the arresting officer; the prosecutor may file different or amended charges. Always check the MyCase docket for the operative legal charges in any pending or resolved case.
For the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office mugshot release policy, the policy is not posted online — contact the Sheriff’s Office through the public records request form to confirm what is releasable for a specific booking.
How to expunge an arrest record in Shelby County
Dismissed and acquitted cases get the most streamlined path — if your Shelby County case ended in a dismissal or acquittal, Indiana law provides for automatic expungement of that record, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after the dismissal or acquittal.
For arrests that did not result in a conviction at all — where no charges were filed — you may petition to expunge the arrest record one year after the date of arrest. This is the non-conviction path under Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”), and it is available regardless of why charges were not pursued.
Conviction-based waiting periods are tiered by offense level. A misdemeanor conviction can be petitioned for expungement five years after the conviction date, and the court must grant it if eligibility requirements are met. A Class D or Level 6 felony conviction carries an eight-year waiting period from the conviction date, and the court must also grant that petition if requirements are satisfied. More serious felonies may be expunged after the later of eight years from conviction or three years from completing the sentence — the court has discretion on those. The most serious felonies require the prosecutor’s written consent in addition to the waiting period of ten years from conviction or five years from completing the sentence, whichever is later.
Sex offenses, violent offenses, and official-misconduct offenses are excluded from expungement under Indiana’s Second Chance Law. If the conviction falls into one of those categories, the statute does not provide a path — confirm with a licensed attorney or the Shelby County Clerk before assuming eligibility.
Where to file: A verified petition must be filed in the county court where the conviction occurred — for Shelby County convictions, that means the Shelby County Circuit or Superior Court at the Courthouse, 25 W Polk St, Shelbyville, IN 46176. For non-conviction arrest records, file in the county of arrest. Indiana requires that all petitions in a given county be filed together in a single filing — you effectively get one expungement petition per lifetime, so timing matters.
Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted: Indiana allows self-represented petitions. The Indiana Legal Help self-help resources at Indiana Legal Help provide common court forms as a starting point. For cases involving felony convictions or prosecutor-consent requirements, attorney assistance is worth considering. Find a licensed Indiana attorney through the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, or locate a public defender through the Indiana Public Defender Commission.
After expungement: Once granted, the record is sealed from public view. MyCase will no longer display the case in public searches, and the Sheriff’s Office will not disclose the booking record in response to a public records request. Law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records. The expungement does not erase the underlying facts — it removes the public record.
Confirm the current statute text and any filing fee with the Shelby County Clerk before submitting a petition. Indiana’s Second Chance Law has been amended over time, and the Clerk’s office can confirm what version applies to your specific case.
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana MyCase | Case number, charges filed, hearing dates, disposition, attorney of record | Booking photos, bond amounts, arrests with no court case opened | Search by name or case number; free, no account required |
| Shelby County Sheriff’s Office — public records request | Booking record, booking photo (policy-dependent), arrest date, charges at intake | Court dispositions, expunged records | Submit request online; confirm fee and turnaround before filing |
| Shelby County Clerk of Court — 25 W Polk St, Shelbyville, IN 46176 | Certified copies of docket entries, charge sheets, dispositions | Booking records (Sheriff holds those); expunged records | Visit during weekday business hours; bring ID and confirm fee in advance |
| Shelby County Jail Division | Current custody status, bail bond board information | Historical arrest records, court dispositions | Review online; for records requests use the Sheriff’s public records form |
| Indiana DOC Offender / Incarcerated Locator | State prison custody status, IDOC number, facility assignment | County jail records, cases not resulting in state incarceration | Search by name at IDOC Offender Search; free public tool |
| Shelby County Community Corrections | Community supervision programs, state corrections resources for Shelby County | Individual arrest or booking records | Use as a referral point to state corrections resources |
Sources verified 2026-07-25:
- Indiana MyCase public access portal — statewide court docket search covering Shelby County Circuit and Superior Courts
- Shelby County Sheriff’s Office — public records request form — official channel for booking records and Sheriff-side arrest documents
- Shelby County Jail Division — custody status, bail bond board, and jail administration information
- Shelby County Community Corrections — state corrections resources and supervision programs for Shelby County
- Shelby County Superior Court 2 — court contact and docket access information
- Shelby County — Indiana Judicial Branch — local court directory and judicial branch resources
- Indiana Code — full text of Indiana statutes including Ind. Code § 5-14-3 (APRA) and Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Second Chance Law)
- Indiana Department of Correction Offender Search — state prison custody lookup
- Indiana Legal Help — self-help court forms — common court forms including expungement petition resources
- Indiana Public Defender Commission — public defender locator for Shelby County and statewide
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Frequently asked questions about Shelby County arrest records
What charges appear on a Shelby County arrest record, and where do I find them?
Charges appear in two places that may differ from each other. The booking record — held by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office — lists charges as the arresting officer described them at intake. The criminal docket in Indiana MyCase lists the formal charges as filed by the Shelby County prosecutor, which may be amended or reduced from the booking charges. For the operative legal charges in any pending or resolved case, the MyCase docket is the authoritative source. For the original booking charges, submit a public records request through the Sheriff’s public records request form.
What happens next if a Shelby County arrest record is eligible for expungement?
Under Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”), you file a verified petition in the Shelby County court where the conviction occurred — or, for a non-conviction arrest, in the county of arrest. Dismissals and acquittals are automatically expunged, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days. Non-conviction arrests can be petitioned one year after the arrest date. Misdemeanor convictions carry a five-year waiting period; Class D or Level 6 felonies carry eight years. Indiana requires all petitions in a given county to be filed together, and each person effectively gets one lifetime petition — so confirming eligibility and timing with the Shelby County Clerk or a licensed attorney before filing is worth the extra step. After expungement, the record is sealed from public view in MyCase and in Sheriff’s Office responses to public records requests.
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