When you have a name and need the arrest record behind it, Wayne County gives you two distinct systems to work with: the court side and the Sheriff’s side. Court filings — case numbers, charges, dispositions — live in Indiana’s statewide MyCase portal, which covers Wayne County Circuit and Superior Courts. Booking records sit with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, reachable at (765) 973-9393, with in-person records access available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Richmond, Indiana office. The Wayne County Courthouse also houses the Wayne County Clerk, where you can request certified court records in person. Confirm current fees before visiting.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Wayne County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.
Searching for records beyond Indiana
A Wayne County arrest record won’t show charges filed in other states, federal cases, or records from counties that don’t publish online. A nationwide database search may help surface those gaps — prior names, records from other states where someone has lived, or older entries that predate Indiana’s online window. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.
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How to look up arrest records in Wayne County
Pull up the MyCase public case search and enter the name you’re researching. MyCase covers Wayne County Circuit Court and all Wayne Superior Courts, displaying case numbers, charge descriptions, hearing dates, and dispositions for publicly accessible cases. It’s the fastest path to court-side arrest data and costs nothing to search.
For jail-side booking records — who was booked, when, and on what charges before a case was filed — the Indiana County Jail Public Portal is the dedicated tool. It searches across Indiana county jails, including Wayne County’s facility, and can confirm whether someone is currently held or was recently booked. This portal is separate from MyCase and draws directly from Sheriff booking data rather than court dockets.
If a person was convicted and transferred to a state prison, the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) offender search at the IDOC offender locator is the right tool. County jail rosters and MyCase won’t show someone who has already moved into IDOC custody — you need the state corrections database for post-conviction transfers.
For a certified copy of a court record — something you might need for a legal proceeding or expungement petition — contact the Wayne County Clerk of Court directly. The Clerk’s office is located in the Wayne County Courthouse in Richmond. Records-request fees apply; call to confirm the current fee schedule before visiting. The Clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Note that the Courthouse has one small elevator, so plan accordingly if accessibility matters for your visit.
Richmond city arrests handled by the Fort Wayne Police Department’s records division are a separate channel. The Fort Wayne Police Department public records request page covers police reports originating from that agency. For Wayne County Sheriff arrests specifically, contact the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office directly at (765) 973-9393. The Sheriff’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
A practical note: MyCase updates as clerks enter data, so very recent arrests may not appear immediately. If a name search returns nothing on MyCase but the Indiana County Jail Portal shows a booking, the court case may simply not yet be entered. Give it a business day or two before concluding no charges were filed.
Are Wayne County arrest records public?
Arrest records in Wayne County are public records by default under Indiana law. The controlling statute is Ind. Code § 5-14-3, Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), which establishes that booking records — including booking photos — are open to the public. Agencies cannot simply decline to release them without a specific statutory exemption.
Sealed and expunged records are the primary exception. Once a Wayne County court grants an expungement petition under Indiana’s Second Chance Law, the record is no longer accessible to the public through MyCase or the Clerk’s office. Law enforcement agencies retain access, but civilian requesters — including background-check services — cannot see it. The public record effectively disappears from standard channels.
Juvenile records carry their own confidentiality protections. Indiana law treats delinquency proceedings differently from adult criminal cases: juvenile records are generally not open to the public, and the courts maintain strict access controls. An adult arrest record and a juvenile adjudication are two separate legal categories, and the juvenile record will not appear in a standard MyCase search or Sheriff booking inquiry.
Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases. Identifying information for crime victims — particularly in domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases — may be withheld from public copies of records even when the underlying case is otherwise public. What you receive through a public records request may have those fields blacked out.
Pending charges are public. An arrest record showing charges that have not yet been adjudicated is still accessible — Indiana does not restrict public access to records simply because a case is unresolved. A not-guilty verdict or a dismissal, however, triggers automatic expungement under Ind. Code § 35-38-9, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after entry.
What’s in a Wayne County arrest record?
A Wayne County arrest record is actually two overlapping documents that live in different systems and show different fields. Understanding which system holds which data saves time.
The Sheriff’s booking record — the jail-side document — captures what happened at the point of arrest. It typically includes the booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charges as listed at booking (which may differ from what the prosecutor later files), the arrestee’s name and physical descriptors, and a booking number. The Indiana County Jail Public Portal surfaces this data. For Wayne County mugshot release policy, call the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office at (765) 973-9393 — the policy is not posted online.
The court docket record — the Clerk-side document — picks up after charges are formally filed. It shows the case number assigned by the Wayne County Circuit or Superior Court, the statutory charges as filed by the prosecutor, all hearing dates, attorney of record (both prosecution and defense), bond conditions, and the final disposition. This is what you find through MyCase or by requesting a certified copy at the Wayne County Courthouse.
Personal information is partially redacted from public copies. Social Security numbers do not appear in public court records. Dates of birth may be partially masked — often showing only the year — in documents accessible through MyCase. Witness names in certain case types are withheld. What you see in a public records request from the Wayne County Clerk will reflect those redactions; law enforcement and attorneys of record see unredacted versions.
Disposition data is the most useful field for a records check. A case showing “dismissed,” “acquitted,” or “charges not filed” tells a different story than one showing a conviction and sentence. MyCase displays disposition information when it has been entered by the Clerk. If a case is old enough that it predates the online window, you’ll need to request the paper file from the Wayne County Courthouse directly.
How to expunge an arrest record in Wayne County
Indiana’s Second Chance Law gives eligible people a genuine path to clear their record — and the waiting periods are specific enough that timing your petition correctly matters. Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (Indiana “Second Chance Law”) governs the entire process, and Wayne County petitions are filed in the court where the case originated.
Arrests that did not result in a conviction are the most accessible category. If you were arrested in Wayne County but charges were never filed, or if the case was dismissed or you were acquitted, you can petition to expunge the arrest record one year after the arrest date. Dismissals and acquittals are expunged automatically under the statute, with the order taking effect no sooner than 60 days after entry — but you may still want to file proactively to ensure the record is cleared from all systems.
Juvenile records have separate sealing procedures that are generally more accessible than the adult expungement process. If the record you’re looking at involves a juvenile adjudication rather than an adult arrest, ask the Wayne County Clerk specifically about juvenile record sealing — the process and eligibility rules differ from the adult Second Chance Law framework.
For adult convictions, the waiting periods are set by offense level. A misdemeanor conviction can be expunged five years after the conviction date, and the court must grant the petition if eligibility requirements are met. A Class D or Level 6 felony follows the same five-year rule — eight years after conviction — and the court must also grant it. More serious felonies require the later of eight years from conviction or three years from completing the sentence, and the court has discretion. The most serious felonies require the later of ten years from conviction or five years from finishing the sentence, and the prosecutor’s written consent is also required.
Indiana allows effectively one expungement petition per lifetime. Filing prematurely — before the waiting period has run — can forfeit your opportunity. Confirm the current statute text or ask the Wayne County Clerk of Court before filing.
To file, you submit a verified petition in the Wayne County court where the conviction occurred (or the county of arrest, for non-conviction records). Indiana requires that all petitions in a given county be filed together in a single filing — you cannot file them piecemeal across multiple trips. Filing fees apply; ask the Clerk about the current fee and whether an indigency waiver is available.
Self-petitioning is legally permitted. The Indiana Judicial Branch’s public records page at Indiana Judicial Branch: Public Records provides guidance on the process. For cases involving serious felonies or prosecutor consent requirements, an attorney can help navigate the negotiation. The Indiana Roll of Attorneys search at Indiana Roll of Attorneys and the Indiana Public Defender Council at Indiana Public Defender Council are the official referral resources.
After expungement is granted, the public record is no longer accessible through MyCase or the Wayne County Clerk’s public counter. Law enforcement agencies retain access. Background-check databases that scraped the record before expungement may still show it — you can send the expungement order to those services and request removal.
Wayne County arrest records: quick reference
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyCase — Indiana Courts | Case numbers, charges filed, hearing dates, dispositions, attorney of record for Wayne County Circuit and Superior Courts | Booking details before charges are filed; sealed or expunged cases; very recent arrests not yet entered | Search by name or case number; no account required |
| Indiana County Jail Public Portal | Current and recent Wayne County jail bookings, booking date, charges at arrest | Court dispositions; cases transferred to IDOC custody; expunged bookings | Search by name; results reflect Sheriff booking data |
| Wayne County Sheriff’s Office | Booking records, mugshot policy, jail division services | Court docket entries; IDOC transfers | Call (765) 973-9393 — Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Wayne County Clerk of Court (Wayne County Courthouse) | Certified court records, case files, expungement petitions | Booking records; sealed records; IDOC status | Visit the Wayne County Courthouse in Richmond; call to confirm fees and hours before driving |
| IDOC Offender Locator | Inmates transferred to Indiana state prison after conviction | County jail bookings; court docket entries; pre-conviction status | Search by name or DOC number on the IDOC offender locator |
| Fort Wayne Police Department public records | Police reports originating from Fort Wayne PD within Wayne County | Sheriff arrests; court records; IDOC status | Submit request through the Fort Wayne public records portal |
Sources used for this page, verified 2026-07-25:
- Indiana MyCase docket search — statewide court docket portal covering Wayne County Circuit and Superior Courts
- Indiana County Jail Public Portal — statewide jail booking search including Wayne County Sheriff bookings
- Wayne County Sheriff’s Office — booking records, jail division, and records-request contact
- Jail Division — Wayne County Sheriff’s Office — jail services, bonding, visitation, and commissary information
- Indiana Judicial Branch: Public Records — state guidance on court record access and expungement procedures
- IDOC Offender Locator — Indiana Department of Correction inmate search for post-conviction transfers
- Fort Wayne Police Department public records request — police reports from Fort Wayne PD within Wayne County
- Wayne County Clerk — Small Claims — Clerk office location and court division reference
- Indiana Roll of Attorneys — attorney search for expungement representation
- Indiana Public Defender Council — public defender locator for eligible petitioners
Found an error? Submit a correction — we review and update within 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions about Wayne County arrest records
What’s the fastest way to find my own Wayne County arrest record?
Search your name in MyCase — Indiana’s statewide court portal — to see any Wayne County Circuit or Superior Court case tied to your name. For the booking record specifically (what the Sheriff entered at the time of arrest), use the Indiana County Jail Public Portal. If you need a certified copy for legal purposes, contact the Wayne County Clerk of Court at the Wayne County Courthouse in Richmond. Confirm current fees before visiting; the office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
How do I get a Wayne County arrest record expunged under Indiana law?
Indiana’s expungement process is governed by Ind. Code § 35-38-9 (the Second Chance Law). If your arrest did not result in a conviction, you can petition one year after the arrest date. A misdemeanor conviction becomes eligible five years after conviction; a Class D or Level 6 felony, eight years after conviction. More serious felonies have longer waiting periods and may require the prosecutor’s written consent. File a verified petition in the Wayne County court where the case originated — all petitions for the same county must be filed together. Indiana allows effectively one petition per lifetime, so confirm your eligibility with the Wayne County Clerk or a licensed attorney before filing. The Indiana Roll of Attorneys search and the Indiana Public Defender Council are the official referral resources for legal help.
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