Indiana GPS Tracking Laws: Is It Legal to Put a Tracker on a Car? (2026)

Until 2023, a stalker could plant a GPS device in an Indiana victim's car and police had no tracking crime to charge. That changed on July 1, 2023, when Millie's Law took effect. Indiana now makes it a crime to place a tracking device on a person or their property without knowledge or consent.

The law is named for Millie Parke, an Indiana woman who survived a near-fatal attack by an ex-boyfriend who had hidden a GPS tracker in her car. The General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 161 unanimously in 2023, and Governor Holcomb signed it that May.

This guide explains what Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1 actually prohibits, who is allowed to track a vehicle, how the law treats AirTags, and what penalties apply. It is part of our GPS Tracking Laws by State series.

Is It Legal to Put a GPS Tracker on a Car in Indiana?

If the car is yours, yes. If it belongs to someone else and they have not consented, no. Since July 1, 2023, that is a crime in Indiana.

Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1(c)(2) makes it unlawful surveillance to knowingly or intentionally place a tracking device "on an individual or on property owned or used by an individual" without the individual's knowledge or consent. A car someone drives every day is plainly property they own or use, so slipping a tracker under the bumper or into a door pocket fits the statute directly.

Notice the phrase "owned or used." The victim does not have to hold the title. Tracking someone through a car they borrow, lease, or drive for work can still trigger the statute, because the law protects the person being tracked, not just the registered owner.

The baseline offense is a Class A misdemeanor. With a prior conviction or an active protective order in the picture, it becomes a felony, and using a tracker to stalk someone is a more serious felony still. The details are below.

Millie's Law: Indiana's Tracking Device Crime (IC 35-46-8.5-1)

Before 2023, IC 35-46-8.5-1 only covered unattended cameras and surveillance equipment left on private property. Senate Enrolled Act 161, known as Millie's Law, amended it to add tracking devices and rewired three other parts of the criminal code at the same time.

The offense works like this. A person who knowingly or intentionally places a tracking device on an individual, or on property owned or used by an individual, without that individual's knowledge or consent, commits unlawful surveillance, a Class A misdemeanor.

Under subsection (d), the charge is elevated to a Level 6 felony in two situations:

• The person has a prior unrelated conviction for unlawful surveillance, a crime of domestic violence, stalking, or invasion of privacy.
• The person is the subject of a protective order.

The protective order trigger matters in practice. Domestic violence cases are exactly where covert tracking shows up, and an abuser who plants a tracker while under a protective order starts at the felony level, not the misdemeanor.

Millie's Law also wrote a sweeping definition of tracking device into the Indiana Code, recodified in 2024 at IC 35-31.5-2-337.6. A tracking device is any electronic or mechanical device that allows a person to remotely determine or track the position or movement of another person or an object. The definition expressly includes devices that store geographic data for later access, devices that allow real-time monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cell phones or any electronic device that communicates with a cell phone, including through an installed app.

Who Can Legally Track a Vehicle in Indiana

Subsection (a) of the statute lists the exceptions, and two of them do most of the work in everyday disputes.

The family member exception. A person may use a tracking device to determine the location of a family member. Parents tracking a teenager's car or phone are squarely inside this exception, and so, on the face of the statute, is one spouse tracking another. But the exception has a built-in kill switch: it does not apply if the person doing the tracking is the subject of a protective order obtained by that family member. An estranged spouse who gets a protective order cuts off the family exception entirely.

The ownership and contractual interest exception. A person may place a tracking device on property in which they have an ownership or contractual interest. This is what makes it lawful for businesses to track their own fleet vehicles, for lenders and buy-here-pay-here dealers to install GPS units under a financing agreement, and for you to put a tracker on your own car. This exception also has a protective order limit: it does not apply if the person is subject to a protective order and the property is likely to be used by the person who obtained that order. A husband who co-owns the family SUV loses the right to track it once his wife has a protective order against him and she is the one driving it.

The statute also exempts law enforcement officers acting with a search warrant or the property owner's consent, criminal justice monitoring (probation, parole, home detention, community corrections, bail, diversion, or a court order), devices installed as original equipment by a vehicle manufacturer, electronic toll collection systems, and communications providers whose tracking is disclosed in their terms of use or privacy policy.

On the law enforcement point, federal law adds its own layer. In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012), the US Supreme Court held that attaching a GPS device to a suspect's vehicle and monitoring its movements is a Fourth Amendment search. The Court did not decide whether such a search could be reasonable without a warrant, because the government had not raised that argument in the lower courts.

Can My Employer Track My Car in Indiana?

Indiana has no statute requiring employers to give notice of or get consent for GPS tracking, so the answer comes from the general tracking law.

Company-owned and company-leased vehicles are covered by the ownership and contractual interest exception. Your employer can lawfully put a GPS unit on a van or truck it owns, and most fleet operators do.

Your personal car is different. Your employer has no ownership interest in it, so secretly attaching a tracker would fall under the criminal statute like anyone else's conduct. In practice, employers that track personal vehicles do it through disclosed mileage or dispatch apps you agree to install. Your agreement supplies the knowledge and consent the statute requires. If you are asked to install one, get the policy in writing and confirm whether tracking is limited to work hours.

AirTags and Item Trackers

Some state tracking laws were written for hardwired GPS units and have struggled to keep up with Bluetooth item trackers. Indiana drafted around the problem.

The definition in IC 35-31.5-2-337.6 includes any electronic device that communicates with a cell phone "by means of an application installed on or accessed through" the phone. That is a description of an Apple AirTag, a Tile, or a Samsung SmartTag in all but name. Dropping an AirTag into someone's purse or magnet-mounting one inside a wheel well is treated exactly like planting a dedicated GPS tracker.

Your phone is also your early warning system. iPhones alert you when an unknown AirTag is moving with you, and modern Android phones have built-in unknown tracker alerts. If you get one of these alerts and find a device, treat it as evidence and document it before anything else.

Penalties and Enhancements

Millie's Law created a ladder of consequences rather than a single charge.

Two of these deserve a closer look.

First, the stalking upgrade. Stalking in Indiana is normally a Level 6 felony. Under IC 35-45-10-5(b)(9), added by Millie's Law, the offense jumps to a Level 5 felony whenever it "was committed or facilitated by the use of a tracking device." There is no requirement that the device was planted illegally; using any tracker to stalk is enough.

Second, the general enhancement. IC 35-50-2-19 lets prosecutors seek an additional fixed term of imprisonment for any offense, not just stalking, if they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant used a tracking device to commit or facilitate it. A burglar who AirTags a victim's car to learn when the house is empty faces extra time on top of the burglary sentence.

Federal law can also reach tracking cases. The federal stalking statute, 18 U.S.C. 2261A, covers using an electronic device to surveil someone in ways that cause fear or substantial emotional distress, and federal prosecutors have used it in AirTag stalking cases.

Civil Options and Protective Orders

Millie's Law is a criminal statute. It does not create a private right of action, so there is no statutory lawsuit for tracking victims in Indiana.

Victims still have civil tools. Indiana courts recognize invasion of privacy claims, and the intrusion branch of that tort fits covert location monitoring: an intentional intrusion into someone's private affairs that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Trespass to chattels is another theory when someone physically attached hardware to your vehicle.

The more practical tool is usually a protective order under Indiana's Civil Protection Order Act. Courts can order a stalker or abuser to stay away and stop all surveillance, and a protective order transforms the criminal landscape: it kills the family member and property interest exceptions, and it converts any new tracking from a misdemeanor into a Level 6 felony. Our Indiana restraining order guide explains the process step by step.

What to Do If You Find a Tracker on Your Car

1. Do not destroy it. The device is evidence, and its serial number can identify who bought and registered it.
2. Photograph everything. Capture the tracker exactly where you found it, then photograph its markings and serial number.
3. Call the police. Report it to your local department or county sheriff. Since July 2023, planting it is a chargeable crime, and police can subpoena the manufacturer's account records.
4. Document the pattern. Write down every time someone showed up where you were or knew your movements. That record supports both the tracking charge and a stalking charge.
5. Consider a protective order. It cuts off the statutory exceptions and elevates any further tracking to a felony.
6. Have the vehicle swept. A mechanic can check wheel wells, bumpers, the OBD port, and under the dash for hardwired units.

If your situation also involves hidden cameras or secret audio recording, see our Indiana recording laws guide and our overview of surveillance camera laws.

Sources

1. Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1, Unlawful Photography, Surveillance, and Tracking on Private Property
2. Indiana Code 35-31.5-2-337.6, Tracking Device Defined
3. Indiana Code 35-45-10-5, Criminal Stalking
4. Indiana Code 35-50-2-19, Tracking Device Sentence Enhancement
5. Senate Enrolled Act 161 (2023), Indiana General Assembly
6. United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012)
7. 18 U.S.C. 2261A, Federal Stalking Statute

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. If you are dealing with unwanted tracking or stalking, contact local law enforcement and consult a licensed Indiana attorney.

More Indiana Laws

• Indiana Dashcam Laws
• Indiana Data Privacy Laws
• Indiana Drone Laws
• Indiana Employee Monitoring Laws
• Indiana Recording Laws
• Indiana Restraining Order Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to put a GPS tracker on someone's car in Indiana?

Yes. Since July 1, 2023, placing a tracking device on an individual or on property they own or use, without their knowledge or consent, is unlawful surveillance under IC 35-46-8.5-1, a Class A misdemeanor. It becomes a Level 6 felony if the person has certain prior convictions or is the subject of a protective order.

What is Millie's Law?

Millie's Law is the common name for Senate Enrolled Act 161 (2023), which added tracking devices to Indiana's unlawful surveillance statute. It is named for Millie Parke, an Indiana woman who survived an attack by an ex-boyfriend who had hidden a GPS tracker in her car. It took effect July 1, 2023.

Can I put a tracker on my spouse's car in Indiana?

The statute contains an exception allowing a person to track a family member, which includes a spouse, and a separate exception for property you own or have a contractual interest in. Both exceptions end if a protective order is involved. Tracking a spouse who has a protective order against you is a Level 6 felony, and tracking that supports a stalking case can be charged as a Level 5 felony.

Can I track my teenager's car or phone in Indiana?

Yes. The family member exception in IC 35-46-8.5-1(a)(4) allows parents to use tracking devices to determine the location of their children, and parents typically also own the vehicle or phone, which triggers the ownership exception.

Are AirTags illegal in Indiana?

Owning and using an AirTag to track your own belongings is legal. Using one to track a person without their knowledge or consent is a crime. Indiana's tracking device definition expressly covers electronic devices that communicate with a cell phone through an app, which describes AirTags, Tiles, and SmartTags.

What is the penalty for GPS tracking someone in Indiana?

The base offense is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $5,000 fine. It rises to a Level 6 felony, with 6 months to 2.5 years, for repeat offenders or anyone subject to a protective order. Stalking facilitated by a tracker is a Level 5 felony carrying 1 to 6 years, and IC 35-50-2-19 can add more time when a tracker is used in any crime.

Can my employer track my car in Indiana?

Employers can track vehicles they own or lease under the ownership and contractual interest exception. They cannot secretly track your personal car. Employer tracking of personal vehicles is normally done through disclosed apps you consent to, and Indiana has no statute requiring any particular notice beyond that consent.

Do police need a warrant to put a GPS tracker on my car?

In United States v. Jones (2012), the US Supreme Court held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and monitoring its movements is a Fourth Amendment search. The Court did not decide whether that search could be reasonable without a warrant, because the government had not raised the argument below. Indiana's statute exempts officers who have a search warrant or the property owner's consent.