By State › Indiana

Indiana: Laws & Legal Considerations

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Rainwater harvesting: unrestricted below a specific volume threshold

Indiana places no state-level restriction on residential rainwater harvesting up to a defined annual volume, a cleaner numeric threshold than most states covered on this site use.

RuleIndiana
Source water Rooftop or other catchment
Permit required No, for systems collecting up to 100,000 gallons annually
Above that threshold Typically requires a DNR permit
Permitted uses Non-potable: irrigation and similar uses
Downstream impact If a system could measurably reduce downstream flow or affect neighboring properties, the DNR may require additional documentation regardless of volume

Where to find it: the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (in.gov/dnr) administers permits above the threshold.

Water rights: standard riparian doctrine

Indiana follows the same general riparian rights framework as most Midwestern and Eastern states covered on this site.

ConceptHow it works in Indiana
Who holds the right Landowners adjacent to a natural water source
Governing principle Reasonable use, without unreasonably diminishing flow or quality for other riparian owners
Larger uses Reviewed by the DNR when downstream or neighboring impact is a realistic concern

Where to find it: the Indiana Department of Natural Resources administers water rights and permitting.

Permitless carry, with a genuinely free optional license

Indiana adopted permitless carry in 2022, and unlike every other permitless state covered on this site, it went a step further by eliminating the state fee for its optional license entirely rather than just keeping it low.

RequirementDetail
Standard Permitless ("constitutional") carry, open or concealed, for anyone 18+ legally eligible to possess a firearm
Optional License to Carry Handgun (LTCH) No state fee at all for a 5-year or lifetime license (fingerprinting fees may still apply locally)
Why get the optional license anyway Useful for reciprocity in states that require a permit from Indiana residents

A genuinely different posture from every other permitless state covered so far

Arizona’s optional permit costs $60, Ohio’s optional permit costs $67; Indiana’s costs nothing at the state level. This is a small but real distinction: Indiana isn’t just permitless, it’s also removed the financial barrier to the optional license most other permitless states still charge for.

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