Statute of Limitations for Class D / 4th Degree Felony in Indiana

5 min read

Published March 22, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

In Indiana, the statute of limitations (SOL) sets a deadline for the State to file criminal charges. For a Class D felony (often described as a “4th degree felony” in everyday language), the default timing rule comes from Indiana’s general SOL statute for felonies.

For this jurisdiction, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found. That means the discussion below uses the general/default period rather than a shorter or longer deadline tied to a particular type of charge.

Note: This page describes the general rule for Indiana felonies. SOL issues can turn on case-specific facts (for example, when the alleged offense was discovered and how the court rules on tolling).

If you want a quick, practical estimate, DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator is built to help you apply the general time period to known dates.

Limitation period

General/default SOL for felonies (Indiana)

Default SOL period: 5 years
Applies to: Indiana felony charges under the general SOL framework

Indiana Code § 35-41-4-2 is the governing statute for the general SOL periods in Indiana criminal cases. Under that framework, the SOL is measured in years and is intended to limit how long prosecutors can wait after the offense to initiate proceedings.

What date matters for the calculation?

Most SOL calculations start from the date of the offense (the date the charged conduct occurred). In real case work, parties may dispute:

the exact date of the offense,
whether the charge involves conduct that occurred across multiple dates,
and whether any tolling (pauses) or interruptions apply.

DocketMath’s calculator expects you to plug in your best available offense date, then returns a deadline based on the general 5-year rule.

How outputs change with inputs

Your result will typically move in predictable ways:

Calculator input you change	Effect on SOL deadline
Offense date moves earlier	The SOL deadline moves earlier (less time remains)
Offense date moves later	The SOL deadline moves later (more time remains)
You use a later reference date for “today”	You’ll see whether the SOL is already beyond the deadline

Because the underlying statute is a fixed 5-year period under the general rule, the main driver is the offense date (and whether the calculator is used to assess elapsed time versus projected deadline).

Key exceptions

Indiana’s SOL law can involve circumstances that alter the effective time window. Even when the default is 5 years, exceptions can make the deadline longer or create a dispute over whether the clock should run uninterrupted.

Below are the exception concepts you should be prepared to account for when using a calculator or reviewing a charging timeline:

Tolling or pauses
- Certain events can pause the SOL clock.
- Practical impact: the prosecutor’s “deadline” can effectively be extended beyond the naïve “offense date + 5 years.”
**Interruptions (event resets)
- Some procedural steps can affect whether time is counted continuously.
- Practical impact: the effective deadline may differ from a strict calculation based only on the offense date.
Multiple dates / continuing conduct
- When conduct spans time, determining the relevant “offense date” can be contested.
- Practical impact: the starting point for the 5-year measurement may be argued.
Specific statutory rules that override the general default
- Your provided note indicates no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for the “Class D / 4th degree felony” scenario.
- Practical impact: start with the general 5-year period, then verify whether the case facts trigger a different statutory outcome.

Warning: SOL calculations are sensitive to procedural posture. If a case involves amended charges, refiled actions, or unusual procedural history, the “offense date + 5 years” shortcut may not match the legal deadline.

Statute citation

The general SOL period for Indiana felony charges is set out in:

Indiana Code § 35-41-4-2 (General statute of limitations)
Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/2022/title-35/article-41/chapter-4/section-35-41-4-2/?utm_source=openai

Bottom line from this statute for the scenario described

General/default SOL period: 5 years
Application here: This page applies the general rule because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for the “Class D / 4th degree felony” label.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps convert the statute’s time period into a working deadline you can test against key dates in your record.

What you’ll typically enter

Use the calculator here: **/tools/statute-of-limitations

Common inputs include:

Offense date (the date the charged conduct occurred)
Reference date (often “today” or a specific filing date you want to compare)
Optionally, any date the case record uses as a key marker (depending on the calculator’s fields)

How to interpret results (practically)

Once you enter dates, the tool will:

compute a deadline using the 5-year general rule, and
indicate whether the reference date falls before or after that computed SOL deadline.

Here’s a simple way to sanity-check the output:

If the filing/reference date is earlier than the computed deadline, the action is typically within the default SOL window.
If it is later than the computed deadline, it is typically outside the default SOL window.

Note: If the case involves alleged tolling/interruptions or disputed dates, treat the calculator result as a baseline estimate under the general rule—not a final legal determination.