Squatters Rights in Indiana: 10-Year Adverse Possession Law
Indiana's traditional standard is 10 years of open, notorious, hostile, exclusive, continuous possession. A major 2025 law created a fast affidavit-based removal process and, notably, barred new adverse possession claims from being filed after June 30, 2025.
Last reviewed July 8, 2026 — statutes and case law independently verified against official sources
Indiana vs Neighboring States: Quick Comparison
- Statutory Period
- 10 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Standard process
- Statutory Period
- 20 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
- Statutory Period
- 15 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
- Statutory Period
- 21 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Standard process
Data verified for 2026. Laws subject to change, verify with official state statutes.
The Path to Adverse Possession in Indiana
A visual summary of what a claimant must complete, start to finish.
How Adverse Possession Works in Indiana
To claim ownership of property through adverse possession in Indiana, a claimant must possess the land for 10 years while meeting the legal requirements established under state law.
Legal Basis and Statutory Period
Indiana’s adverse possession law is codified under Ind. Code § 32-21-7-1; SB 157 of 2025. The standard statutory period is 10 years of continuous, open, and hostile possession.
Property Tax Requirements
Indiana's adverse possession statute does not offer a tax-based reduction.
Color of Title Rules
Indiana does not require color of title for a 10-year adverse possession claim.
Key Legal Requirements
- Actual possession
- Open and notorious possession
- Hostile possession
- Exclusive possession
- Continuous possession for 10 years
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Recent Law Changes in Indiana
2025: Senate Bill 157, signed May 6, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, created an affidavit-based process requiring law enforcement to remove a squatter within 48 hours absent credible evidence of a legal right to occupy. The bill also eliminated new adverse possession claims filed after June 30, 2025 — a significant change from the traditional 10-year framework that should be verified directly against current Indiana law, since it may affect whether new claims can be initiated at all going forward.
Indiana Adverse Possession Procedures
Making an Adverse Possession Claim
To establish adverse possession in Indiana, a claimant typically must:
- File a quiet title action in the circuit or superior court of the county where the property is located
- Provide clear and convincing evidence of 10 continuous years of possession under Ind. Code § 32-21-7-1
- Demonstrate control, intent, notice, and duration, the four elements set out in Fraley v. Minger (2005): using the land as a true owner normally would, intending to claim it as one's own, giving the legal owner actual or constructive notice, and doing so continuously for the full 10 years
- Prove payment of all taxes and special assessments the claimant reasonably and in good faith believed were due on the property throughout the claimed period
- Present evidence such as witness testimony, tax records, photographs, surveys, and documentation of improvements
- Obtain a court judgment granting legal title to the property
Indiana requires only 10 years, but the mandatory tax-payment element makes it one of the harder claims to prove in practice. Following a successful quiet title action, record the judgment with the county recorder to establish clear title. Governmental entities and certain tax-exempt organizations are excused from the tax-payment requirement in limited circumstances.
Defending Against Squatters
Indiana property owners can protect against adverse possession claims by:
- Regularly inspecting property boundaries
- Posting "No Trespassing" signs around the property perimeter
- Maintaining accurate property surveys and documentation
- Providing written permission for any allowed use of the property
- Keeping property tax payments current on the entire parcel as described in your deed
- Taking legal action against unauthorized users before the statutory period expires
- Documenting property visits and inspections
- Considering a property management service for vacant properties
Any action that interrupts the continuity of possession will restart the 10-year statutory period and prevent an adverse possession claim from maturing.
Removing Squatters
Indiana significantly streamlined squatter removal in 2025 with Senate Enrolled Act 157 (SB 157), which created a new expedited process:
- Expedited removal (Ind. Code ch. 32-31-12): a property owner can execute a sworn, notarized affidavit stating the occupant is a "squatter" — someone who never had a rental agreement, permission, or other property interest authorizing their occupancy
- Submit the affidavit to local law enforcement, which is generally required to dispatch officers to remove the squatter within 48 hours (longer only if needed for public safety)
- Officers will remove the squatter unless they discover credible evidence the person is not actually a squatter (for example, a former tenant or someone with an expired lease)
- For cases falling outside the expedited process (such as disputes with a former tenant or someone claiming an ownership interest), file an ejectment action in circuit or superior court under Ind. Code § 32-30-2
- If the court rules in the owner's favor, the sheriff enforces the judgment restoring possession
- Criminal trespass charges can also be pursued under Ind. Code § 35-43-2-2, which specifically addresses unauthorized occupancy of vacant or abandoned structures
Indiana law prohibits "self-help" evictions such as changing locks, removing doors, or shutting off utilities. Misusing the expedited squatter affidavit against a legitimate tenant carries serious consequences: a mandatory $25,000 civil penalty and potential Level 6 felony perjury charges.
Notable Indiana Adverse Possession Cases
Fraley v. Minger (2005)
829 N.E.2d 476 (Ind. 2005)
In a quiet title dispute over roughly 2.5 acres, a landowner challenged a lower court's award of the land to neighbors by adverse possession, arguing their own uncertainty about who held title and their inquiries about buying the land defeated the required hostility. The Indiana Supreme Court rejected that argument and used the case to restate adverse possession as four elements — control, intent, notice, and duration — holding that title vests automatically once all four are satisfied for the statutory period, regardless of what the possessor does or says afterward.
Daisy Farm Limited Partnership v. Morrolf (2009)
915 N.E.2d 480 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009)
A farm claimed it had adversely possessed a disputed strip of land, arguing it sincerely but mistakenly believed the property taxes it paid covered that strip's true boundaries. The Indiana Court of Appeals held that a claimant's subjective, mistaken belief about which boundaries its tax payments covered was not enough to satisfy the statute's tax-payment element, reinforcing that Indiana's tax-payment requirement demands more than a good-faith assumption unconnected to the actual parcel description.
Celebration Worship Center, Inc. v. Tucker (2015)
26 N.E.3d 1074 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), aff'd, Ind. S. Ct. No. 22S01-1506-PL-401 (June 29, 2015)
A church sued neighboring homeowners to stop them from using a grassy strip along a gravel driveway, and the homeowners countered that they and the prior owner had acquired the strip by adverse possession. The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed judgment for the homeowners, holding that their reasonable, good-faith belief that their property tax payments covered the disputed strip satisfied Indiana's tax-payment element by clear and convincing evidence, even though it later turned out the taxing authority's records didn't perfectly match the true boundary.
Morgan v. White (2016)
No. 41A05-1512-PL-2267 (Ind. Ct. App. June 30, 2016)
Neighbors in Johnson County had informally treated a chain-link fence as their property line for years, with each family maintaining the land on their side of it, until one owner trimmed bushes he believed were encroaching and the other side sued for trespass. Applying the Fraley v. Minger framework, the Court of Appeals affirmed that the family who had maintained the land up to the fence had satisfied control, intent, notice, and duration, awarding them title to the strip up to the fence line.
Frequently Asked Questions About Indiana Adverse Possession
How long must someone occupy my property in Indiana to claim adverse possession?
Indiana requires 10 continuous years of actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile possession under Ind. Code § 32-21-7-1, and the claimant must also have paid all property taxes they reasonably and in good faith believed were due on the land for that entire period. The "30-day squatter's rights" claim is a myth.
Does Indiana require payment of property taxes for adverse possession?
Yes, this is a mandatory element in Indiana, not just supporting evidence. Under Ind. Code § 32-21-7-1, the claimant must pay all taxes and special assessments reasonably and in good faith believed to be due on the property throughout the 10-year period. Courts have gone back and forth on how forgiving this standard is: Daisy Farm Limited Partnership v. Morrolf (2009) rejected a claim based on a mistaken belief about which taxes covered the land, while Celebration Worship Center v. Tucker (2015) accepted a reasonable good-faith belief even though it didn't perfectly track the true boundary.
What are the elements of adverse possession in Indiana?
Since Fraley v. Minger (2005), Indiana courts apply four elements: control (using the land the way a true owner normally would), intent (intending to claim it as one's own), notice (using it in a way that gives the legal owner actual or constructive notice), and duration (satisfying all of this continuously for 10 years). Every element must be proven by clear and convincing evidence.
Can I legally remove squatters from my property in Indiana?
Yes, and Indiana made this significantly easier in 2025. Under the new expedited removal law (Ind. Code ch. 32-31-12, created by SB 157), you can submit a sworn, notarized affidavit to law enforcement, who must generally remove a true squatter within 48 hours. For situations that don't qualify (like disputes with former tenants), an ejectment action under Ind. Code § 32-30-2 is still available. "Self-help" evictions like changing locks remain illegal.
Can someone claim adverse possession against government-owned land in Indiana?
No, land owned by government entities generally cannot be adversely possessed in Indiana. Interestingly, the tax-payment element also works in the other direction: a governmental entity or certain tax-exempt organizations claiming land adversely possessed from a private owner can be excused from the usual tax-payment requirement in specific circumstances defined by Ind. Code § 32-21-7-1.
Can trespassers gain rights to my property after 30 days in Indiana?
No. This is a common misconception. Indiana requires 10 years of continuous, open, notorious, exclusive, and hostile possession, plus proof of good-faith tax payments for the entire period, to establish adverse possession. Short-term occupancy of any length creates no ownership rights, and Indiana's 2025 squatter-removal law now gives owners a fast, affidavit-based path to remove true squatters well before any such claim could mature.
Will law enforcement remove a squatter from my property in Indiana?
Yes, if the person is a true squatter, and Indiana now has one of the fastest police-removal mechanisms in the country. Under Ind. Code ch. 32-31-12 (effective July 1, 2025, via Senate Enrolled Act 157), a "squatter" is defined narrowly as someone who never had a rental agreement, the owner's permission, or any other legal interest in the property; the owner signs a sworn affidavit to that effect, and the law enforcement agency must dispatch officers to remove the person within 48 hours (longer only for public-safety reasons). Officers will carry out the removal unless they find credible evidence the person isn't actually a squatter — for example, a former tenant or someone with an expired lease — in which case the matter shifts to civil court. Anyone with such a claim must instead be removed through an ejectment action under Ind. Code § 32-30-2, with the sheriff enforcing the resulting judgment, or through criminal trespass charges under Ind. Code § 35-43-2-2 for unauthorized occupancy of vacant structures; misusing the affidavit against a genuine tenant carries a mandatory $25,000 civil penalty and potential felony perjury charges.
This information is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Adverse possession claims are highly fact-specific. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state before relying on this information.