Reporter toolkit
Everything a citizen reporter in Indiana needs to cover the people who work for us: your rights, the records, the guides and the standards. Free and open to everyone.
Covering public meetings
Indiana’s Open Door Law: notice, recording, executive sessions, minutes and what to do when a board shuts you out.
Letter makerRecords request letter
Fill in the blanks for a ready-to-send request under the Access to Public Records Act (IC 5-14-3).
GuideGet public records yourself
What to say at the courthouse, city hall or police records desk, the fees and the deadlines.
GuideInterviews and quotes
On the record, background, off the record. Recording calls. Quoting people exactly and fairly.
StandardsReporter standards and style
Our rules: be brave, be accurate, source every fact. Plus the house style for names, numbers and Indiana terms.
GuideVerify it
Court records, business filings, licenses, reverse image search and more.
Real dataFollow the money
Who funds the candidates, who lobbies the Statehouse and where tax dollars go.
Real dataYour government
Legislators’ votes, the 2026 bill tracker and local budgets.
Official records portals
Start with the primary record. These are the official sources our editors trust most.
- Local government moneyIndiana Gateway ↗
Budgets, annual financial reports, debt and employee pay for every county, city, town, township, school and library.
- AuditsState Board of Accounts ↗
Audit reports on local governments and state agencies, including findings of misspent money.
- Campaign moneyIndiana campaign finance ↗
State and local candidates and committees: who gave, who spent.
- Campaign moneyFEC data ↗
Federal candidates, PACs and outside spending.
- LobbyingLobbyist registration ↗
Who is registered to lobby the Statehouse and for whom.
- CourtsMyCase ↗
Indiana court cases by name, case number or attorney.
- BusinessesINBiz business search ↗
Who is behind a company: filings, officers, registered agents.
- Laws & billsIndiana General Assembly bills ↗
Every 2026 bill, its text, votes and status.
- Laws & billsIndiana Code ↗
The official code. Title 5 holds the public records and open meetings laws.
- ElectionsElection results ↗
Official Indiana election night and archived results.
- Property taxesDLGF referendums ↗
Local tax referendums and their official filings.
- Your rightsPublic Access Counselor ↗
Free help and formal complaints when records or meetings are kept from you.