Indiana Nursing Home Camera Laws: No Statute After SB 378 Died

Indiana has no law giving a nursing home resident or family the right to install a camera in a resident's room. The state came closest in 2021, when a real bill would have created that right, but it never received a committee hearing and has not been reintroduced since. This article covers that history, the general Indiana law that fills the gap today, and where to turn if a facility interferes with a camera.

This page addresses Indiana specifically. For the 18 states with an enacted electronic-monitoring statute, see the nursing home camera laws hub and the state-by-state comparison.

Does Indiana Have a Nursing Home Camera Law?

No. Indiana Code Title 16, Article 28 (Health Facilities), the state's nursing-home licensure article, was reviewed chapter by chapter, including its Miscellaneous Provisions chapter, and contains no provision on electronic monitoring or cameras. Article 28.5, which licenses assisted-living-equivalent "housing with services establishments," is only three short chapters and likewise has nothing on the subject.

Indiana did seriously consider this issue once. Senate Bill 378, introduced in 2021 by Sen. Linda Rogers, would have let residents of health facilities and residential care facilities consent to electronic monitoring of their own rooms, including who could consent on a resident's behalf, written conditions and restrictions, and a right to withdraw consent later. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services on first reading and never received a hearing; the 2021 session closed without further action. A full-text search of the Indiana General Assembly's bill database across every session since, through 2026, found no reintroduction of a nursing-home electronic-monitoring bill under any bill number. Indiana's current law is a genuine no-statute state, but not one that has never considered the question.

Indiana's General Recording and Surveillance Law

With no nursing-home-specific statute, two general Indiana laws apply instead. Indiana's wiretap chapter, IC 35-33.5, is one-party consent through its definitions rather than through a standalone consent section. IC 35-31.5-2-176 defines an "interception" as the recording or acquisition of the contents of an electronic communication "by a person other than a sender or receiver of that communication, without the consent of the sender or receiver," so a participant in a phone call or electronic communication may record it without telling the others. IC 35-31.5-2-110 then limits "electronic communication" to a transfer "transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, a radio, or an electromagnetic, a photoelectronic, or a photo-optical system," which leaves purely oral, in-person conversation outside the chapter. Face-to-face speech in a resident's room therefore sits outside the wiretap chapter's consent requirement altogether. IC 35-33.5-5-5 is the penalty provision for that chapter, making an unlawful interception a Level 5 felony; it is not the source of the consent rule. See our Indiana recording laws guide for the full framework.

A separate statute, IC 35-46-8.5-1, targets an unattended camera rather than a recorded conversation. It is a Class A misdemeanor, or a Level 6 felony with a prior conviction or an active protective order, to "knowingly or intentionally place... a camera or electronic surveillance equipment that records images or data of any kind while unattended on the private property of another person without the consent of the owner or tenant of the private property." Nothing in that text requires the camera to be concealed, so an openly placed device left running is within it. Indiana law does not resolve whether the nursing facility, as the property's owner, or the resident, as a fee-paying occupant, is the "owner or tenant" whose consent controls in this setting. Unlike the roughly 18 states with an enacted electronic-monitoring statute, Indiana has no provision expressly granting the resident that authority regardless of facility objection.

Facility Policy Fills the Gap

Because neither statute above resolves the question cleanly, and no Indiana statute creates a resident's right to a camera outright, a facility's own admission agreement and internal policy is what actually governs day to day. A facility can permit, condition, or prohibit a personal camera as a matter of contract. Federal nursing home rules under 42 CFR 483.10 protect resident privacy and dignity broadly, covering things such as visitation and personal communications, but say nothing about cameras or electronic monitoring, so no federal rule fills the gap either.

The Practical Risk of Installing a Camera Without Facility Agreement

A family that installs a camera over a facility's objection is taking on real, unresolved exposure under IC 35-46-8.5-1's owner-or-tenant consent language, since Indiana has never clarified which party's consent controls in a resident's room. Disclosing the camera does not by itself take it outside the statute, because the offense turns on recording while unattended without the required consent, not on concealment. Getting the facility's written acknowledgment, or at minimum open disclosure to staff and any roommate, is the more defensible path while Indiana law remains unresolved on this point.

Using Camera Footage as Evidence of Abuse or Neglect

Footage that appears to show abuse or neglect can support a report to Adult Protective Services or the ombudsman, and it can support a civil claim, though it is typically reviewed alongside medical records, staffing records, and the resident's care plan rather than on its own. For a broader look at how a nursing home abuse or neglect claim works, see Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect.

Where to Turn: Indiana's Long-Term Care Ombudsman

The Indiana Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program investigates complaints affecting the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents in nursing homes and assisted living, under authority tracing to the federal Older Americans Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3058g. A camera dispute, a facility's refusal to discuss monitoring, or a suspected retaliation concern are all within its scope.

Information last verified on 2026-08-31, drawn from Indiana Code Title 16, Articles 28 and 28.5, Title 35 Articles 31.5, 33.5, and 46.8.5, and Senate Bill 378's 2021 legislative record. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer and is general legal information, not legal advice for your specific situation.

Related Resources

• Nursing Home Camera Laws by State covers every state's regime, including the 18 states with an enacted statute.
• Nursing Home Camera Laws: State-by-State Comparison breaks down the 18 states with a full statutory right.
• Indiana Recording Laws covers Indiana's one-party consent framework in full.
• Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect covers how an abuse or neglect claim works once evidence, including camera footage, is in hand.
• US Recording Laws by State covers the general consent framework nationwide.

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Last updated: 2026-08-31.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to put a camera in a nursing home room in Indiana?

Indiana has no statute addressing the question either way. Whether a camera is allowed depends on the facility's own admission agreement and policy, since no state law grants or forbids the right.

Did Indiana ever try to pass a nursing home camera law?

Yes. Senate Bill 378 in 2021 would have let residents of health facilities and residential care facilities consent to electronic monitoring of their own rooms. It never received a committee hearing and died when that session closed. No successor bill has been introduced since.

Who has to consent to an unattended camera in an Indiana nursing home room?

Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1 requires the consent of the property's 'owner or tenant,' but Indiana law does not resolve whether that means the facility or the resident in this setting, which is a real, unresolved risk for a family installing a camera without the facility's agreement. The statute has no concealment element, so an openly placed camera that records while unattended is covered too.

Can I record conversations in an Indiana nursing home room?

Indiana's wiretap chapter is one-party consent, but it reaches only communications transmitted by wire, radio, or an electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system. Purely in-person, face-to-face speech in a resident's room falls outside that chapter's consent requirement.

What can I do if an Indiana facility refuses to let me install a camera?

Contact the Indiana Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which investigates complaints affecting resident rights at nursing homes and assisted living facilities and covers monitoring disputes.