A failure to appear warrant in Indiana authorizes police to arrest you on sight, and missing court is itself a separate crime under Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 — a Class A misdemeanor if your original charge was a misdemeanor, a Level 6 felony if it was a felony.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 – Failure to Appear The warrant also puts your bond, your driver’s license, and your standing in the original case at risk. The fastest way to limit the damage is to talk to a criminal defense attorney and move to recall the warrant before you are picked up.
The New Criminal Charge You Now Face
Skipping a scheduled court date is not just a scheduling problem. Under Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9, a person released from lawful detention on the condition of appearing at a specified time and place who intentionally fails to show up commits the crime of failure to appear.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 – Failure to Appear
The tier tracks the original case:
- If the original charge was a misdemeanor, failure to appear is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor
- If the original charge was a felony, failure to appear is a Level 6 felony, carrying six months to two and a half years in prison (advisory sentence of one year) and a fine of up to $10,000.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Class D Felony; Level 6 Felony
These penalties stack on top of the original charge. The statute is explicit that it is no defense that the underlying case is later dismissed or that you were never convicted of the original crime. The failure to appear charge stands on its own.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 – Failure to Appear
One boundary worth knowing: this statute does not cover violations of a suspended sentence, probation, or parole. Those are handled under separate provisions.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 – Failure to Appear
What Happens to Your Bond
If you posted bail, missing court starts the forfeiture clock. Under Indiana Code 35-33-8-7, the court must declare the bond forfeited between 120 and 365 days after the missed appearance. Unless the court finds justification for the absence, it then enters judgment against you for the full bail amount without any additional pleadings or hearings, and any deposited funds go to Indiana’s common school fund.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-8-7 – Failure to Appear; Pending Civil Action or Unsatisfied Judgment; Same Transaction or Occurrence; Forfeiture; Order for Payment; Judgment; Transfer of Funds
Future bail also gets harder. Indiana Code 35-33-8-5 lets the court revoke bail entirely on clear and convincing proof that you failed to appear at any critical stage, and it can raise bail based on evidence of a high risk of nonappearance. A record of missed appearances is one of the specific factors a court must weigh when setting a new bail amount.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-8-4 – Amount of Bail; Order; Indorsement
Does the Warrant Expire?
That depends on the original charge. Under Indiana Code 35-33-2-4, a misdemeanor arrest warrant expires 180 days after it is issued. A felony arrest warrant does not expire, and neither does a rearrest warrant for any offense.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-2-4 – Expiration; Reissuance
Waiting it out is not a strategy. A felony warrant follows you indefinitely, shows up on background checks, surfaces during routine traffic stops, and reaches across state lines if it is entered into the National Crime Information Center database. Even on a misdemeanor, the 180-day expiration does not close the case: the court can reissue the warrant, and the underlying failure to appear charge keeps running.
Driver’s License Suspension
If your original charge involved a traffic offense, missing court also costs you your driving privileges. Under Indiana Code 9-30-3-8, when a court notifies the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that a defendant failed to appear on a traffic offense, the BMV must suspend that person’s driving privileges. The suspension stays in effect until you appear in court or the case is otherwise resolved.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-3-8 – Failure to Appear or Answer; Issuance of Suspension
This applies to moving traffic offenses and certain traffic infractions, not to every criminal case. Driving while that suspension is active adds a new criminal charge on top of everything else.
How to Clear the Warrant
Call a criminal defense attorney before you do anything else. An attorney can contact the court, and can often arrange a voluntary surrender or a new hearing date rather than leaving you to be arrested during a traffic stop.
The standard mechanism is a motion to recall or quash the warrant. The motion asks the court to withdraw the warrant so you can address the case without being arrested on sight. Courts evaluate these motions based on the reason for the missed appearance and the evidence backing it up. Medical records, documentation of a family emergency, or proof that you never received notice of the hearing all strengthen the request.
If the court grants the motion, it usually sets a new hearing date and may add conditions to keep you on the schedule: more frequent check-ins, GPS monitoring, or a higher bond. Turning yourself in voluntarily is the strongest signal you can send. Judges notice the difference between a defendant who appears on their own and one who is brought in on a warrant.
Defenses to the Failure to Appear Charge
The word “intentionally” in Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 does real work. The state has to prove the absence was intentional, not accidental or unavoidable.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-9 – Failure to Appear Several situations can defeat that element:
- Lack of proper notice. If you were never properly served with notice of the court date under Indiana Trial Rule 4.1, you cannot have intentionally skipped it. Wrong addresses, service errors, and missing follow-up mailings all matter here.8Indiana Rules of Court. Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure Rule 4.1 – Summons Service on Individuals
- Medical emergency. A hospitalization or sudden serious illness that kept you from appearing supports an argument that the failure was not intentional. Hospital records and doctor’s notes are essential.
- Circumstances beyond your control. Being incarcerated in another jurisdiction at the time of the hearing, a natural disaster, or a similar genuinely unavoidable event can negate intent.
These defenses do double duty. They can defeat the new criminal charge, and they can persuade the court to recall the warrant and skip bond forfeiture. Indiana Code 35-33-8-7 lets the court decline to enter a forfeiture judgment if it finds justification for the missed appearance, so a documented reason matters on the bond side as well.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-8-7 – Failure to Appear; Pending Civil Action or Unsatisfied Judgment; Same Transaction or Occurrence; Forfeiture; Order for Payment; Judgment; Transfer of Funds
Collateral Consequences
An open warrant does not stay in the courtroom. Background checks routinely reveal active warrants. Employers in fields that require security clearances, professional licenses, or positions of trust may disqualify candidates with outstanding warrants or an FTA conviction on record.
Housing runs into the same wall. Landlords screen applicants, and an active warrant or a history of missed court dates is difficult to explain past in a competitive rental market. An unresolved warrant narrows your options for income and housing at the same time, which makes the underlying legal problem harder to address.
The warrant also weakens your position in the original case. Prosecutors are less willing to offer favorable pleas to a defendant who has already been unreliable, and judges may impose harsher sentences when a pattern of noncooperation sits in the record. The longer the warrant stays open, the more it shapes every future decision in the case.