Arrest Records for St. Joseph County, Indiana

Pull up Indiana MyCase and type in the name — that statewide court portal covers St. Joseph County Circuit and Superior Court cases and costs nothing to search. For booking-level records held by the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, use the Sheriff’s records search at Sjcindiana or call the St. Joseph County Courthouse at (574) 235-9635. The Courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Records requests submitted in person or by mail go to the St. Joseph County Clerk’s Office, located in South Bend.

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

Searching for records beyond Indiana

St. Joseph County’s online portals cover cases filed in this county’s courts — but arrests in neighboring counties, federal cases, and records from states where you’ve previously lived won’t appear there. A nationwide database search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave, particularly for name variants or records predating Indiana’s digital court window.

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How to look up arrest records in St. Joseph County

Court filings from recent years live online — older paper records require a different approach entirely. Indiana’s MyCase portal covers St. Joseph County Circuit and Superior Court cases and is the fastest route for anything filed digitally. Cases predating the portal’s online window may exist only in paper form at the Clerk’s office in South Bend; call (574) 235-9635 to confirm how far back digital records extend before making the drive.

The Sheriff’s records search at Sjcindiana is the county-first resource for booking-level records held by the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office. That portal covers constable precincts and warrant-related records. For traffic and misdemeanor cases specifically, the Clerk maintains a dedicated Traffic & Misdemeanor records section. The St. Joseph County Clerk’s Office handles in-person and mailed requests for certified copies of court records. Confirm the current records-request fee by calling the Courthouse at (574) 235-9635 before submitting a written request.

The St. Joseph County Superior Court — reachable through the county’s Superior Court page — handles felony and civil matters. Its Traffic and Misdemeanor & Small Claims division is located at 219 Lincolnway W, Mishawaka, IN. If you’re calling about a traffic misdemeanor case, have your Uniform Traffic Ticket number ready — it speeds up the lookup considerably.

For someone transferred to state custody, the Indiana Department of Correction offender locator at Indiana DOC Offender / Incarcerated Locator confirms current facility placement. The Saint Joseph County Jail handles pre-trial and short-term custody; reach the jail directly at (574) 235-9611. The Jail Division directory lists current staff contacts. Note that the jail lobby and kiosk are accessible between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. for payments and services — plan accordingly if you need to drop off money orders (mail them to 401 W. Sample St., South Bend, IN 46601 with the inmate’s name on the envelope).

The South Bend Police Department, the county’s largest municipal agency, maintains its own community records through Community Outreach. Arrests made by South Bend PD generate both a booking record at the Sheriff’s jail and a court record that flows into MyCase once charges are filed. The Indiana State Police handles arrests on state highways and unincorporated areas; those records also appear in MyCase once charges are filed in St. Joseph County courts.

Are St. Joseph County arrest records public?

What happens to a record once a court seals it — does it disappear entirely from public view? Under Indiana law, the answer is yes for the public, but not for law enforcement. The default rule in Indiana is that arrest and court records are open to anyone under Ind. Code § 5-14-3, the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. Booking photos, charges, and case dockets are generally available without a court order or stated purpose.

Sealed and expunged records are the primary exception. Once a St. Joseph County court grants an expungement under Indiana’s Second Chance Law, the record is removed from public access — MyCase will no longer return it in a name search, and the Clerk’s office cannot disclose it to the general public. Law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records, but employers and members of the public do not. That distinction matters practically: a background check run through a commercial database may still surface old data if the database hasn’t updated since the sealing order took effect.

Juvenile records carry a separate protection layer. Arrests of minors are not open to the public under Indiana law, and the Clerk will not release them in response to a standard records request. Victim-identifying information is also redacted from publicly released documents — names, addresses, and contact details for alleged victims are withheld even when the underlying case file is otherwise public.

Dismissed and acquitted cases occupy a middle ground. The case docket remains visible in MyCase until an expungement order is entered. Indiana law provides that a dismissal or acquittal is expunged automatically — but the order takes effect no sooner than 60 days after entry. During that window, the record is still technically public. After the 60-day period passes and the order is processed, the case drops from public view. The expungement process for these non-conviction records is covered in detail in the section below.

What’s in a St. Joseph County arrest record?

At least two distinct record types exist for any St. Joseph County arrest — and they live in different systems with different visible fields. The booking record originates with the Saint Joseph County Jail at the time of intake. The court docket originates with the Clerk once charges are formally filed. Neither system is a complete substitute for the other.

A booking record — the Sheriff’s side — typically contains: the arrestee’s full legal name, date of birth, booking date and time, arresting agency, charges as listed at booking (which may differ from final charges), and bond amount if set. The Sheriff’s staff directory and records portal are the access points for this data. For the mugshot release policy specific to St. Joseph County, contact the Sheriff’s Office directly — the policy isn’t posted online in a form we can confirm.

A court docket entry — the Clerk’s side, visible in Indiana MyCase — contains: the case number (formatted as county-year-case type-sequence), the formal charges as filed by the prosecutor, all hearing dates and dispositions, the attorney of record for both sides, and any bond conditions set by the court. Dispositions include guilty pleas, bench trial verdicts, jury verdicts, and dismissals. If a case was dismissed or the defendant was acquitted, the disposition field will reflect that — and that disposition is what triggers eligibility for automatic expungement under Indiana law.

When a case has been partially sealed — meaning some charges were resolved and expunged while others remain active — the docket entry in MyCase may still appear in search results, but the sealed case details will be hidden. You’ll see that a case exists at the St. Joseph County Courthouse without being able to read the underlying filings. That’s the practical meaning of partial sealing: the docket shell is visible, but the case-detail is not.

Federal charges filed in the Northern District of Indiana (South Bend division) do not appear in MyCase at all — those records live in the federal PACER system and require a separate search. Cases involving Notre Dame Security Police or other campus agencies may be booked into the county jail but prosecuted in state court, so both the Sheriff’s booking record and the MyCase docket would apply.

How to expunge an arrest record in St. Joseph County

Indiana law sets a specific filing fee for expungement petitions — call the Clerk to confirm the current filing fee before submitting, as the amount can change. The controlling statute is Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”), and it governs every expungement filed in St. Joseph County courts. A fee waiver path exists for petitioners who cannot afford the filing fee; ask the Clerk’s office about the indigency waiver process when you call (574) 235-9635.

Petitioning to seal an arrest record in St. Joseph County is a routine legal procedure — one Indiana designed specifically to give people a path forward after involvement with the criminal justice system. The eligibility rules vary by case type and offense level.

An arrest that did not result in a conviction — meaning the case was dismissed, charges were never filed, or the person was acquitted — can be petitioned for expungement one year after the date of arrest. Dismissals and acquittals are also expunged automatically under Indiana law, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after entry. If you’re waiting on an automatic expungement, confirm with the Clerk that the order has been processed before assuming the record is gone from public view.

A misdemeanor conviction can be expunged five years after the conviction date, provided the person has no pending charges and has not been convicted of another crime during that period. The court must grant the petition if eligibility requirements are met — it is not discretionary for misdemeanors. A Class D or Level 6 felony follows the same mandatory-grant rule, with an eight-year waiting period from conviction.

More serious felonies carry an eight-year waiting period from conviction or three years from completing the sentence, whichever is later — and the court has discretion to grant or deny. The most serious felonies require the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s written consent in addition to the court’s approval, with a ten-year waiting period from conviction or five years from completing the sentence, whichever is later. Sex offenses, violent offenses, and official-misconduct offenses are excluded from expungement entirely under Indiana law.

Indiana allows effectively one expungement petition per lifetime. All petitions in St. Joseph County must be filed together in a single filing — you cannot file for one conviction now and return later for another. Getting the timing right before filing matters significantly. A verified petition is filed in the St. Joseph County court where the conviction occurred; for non-conviction records, it’s filed in the county of arrest.

Self-represented petitioners can file without an attorney. The Indiana public defender locator can help identify whether you qualify for appointed counsel. For attorney-assisted petitions, the Indiana Roll of Attorneys search at Indiana Roll of Attorneys attorney directory confirms license status. After a successful expungement, law enforcement retains access to the sealed record — but the public, including commercial background-check databases, does not. Confirm the current statute text or ask the Clerk before filing, as waiting periods and eligibility rules are subject to legislative change.

Frequently asked questions about St. Joseph County arrest records

What’s the fastest way to find my own St. Joseph County arrest record?

Indiana MyCase at Indiana MyCase case records search is the quickest route — search your name and filter by St. Joseph County to see all court-side records. That gives you case numbers, charges as filed, and dispositions. For the booking record held by the Sheriff (which may include data not yet reflected in a court filing), use the Sheriff’s records search portal or call (574) 235-9611. If you need a certified copy for a legal proceeding, contact the St. Joseph County Clerk’s Office at (574) 235-9635 — the Courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How do I get a St. Joseph County arrest record expunged under Indiana law?

Indiana’s expungement process is governed by Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (the Second Chance Law). For an arrest that didn’t result in a conviction, you can petition one year after the arrest date — or wait for the automatic expungement that follows a dismissal or acquittal (effective no sooner than 60 days after the order). For a misdemeanor conviction, the waiting period is five years from conviction; for a Class D or Level 6 felony, eight years. File a verified petition at the St. Joseph County court where the conviction occurred, or the county of arrest for non-conviction records. All petitions in St. Joseph County must be filed together in a single submission. Call the Clerk at (574) 235-9635 to confirm the current filing fee and ask about the indigency waiver if cost is a concern. Indiana allows one expungement petition per lifetime, so confirm your eligibility against the current statute before filing.