County Coroner

The basics

Term

4 years. ^[4]

Term limit

No person may hold the office of clerk, auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff or coroner more than eight years in any period of twelve years (Indiana Constitution, Art. 6, Sec. 2). ^{[5, 6]}

Who may stand

Must have resided in the county at least one year before the election (Art. 6, Sec. 4), must keep residing in the county (the officer forfeits office on moving out), and must be registered to vote; candidates file a statement of economic interests. ^{[5, 7]} Must complete the 40-hour Coroners Training Board certification course (classroom plus supervised externship) within six months of taking office, then annual training; since July 2026 an untrained coroner or deputy may not conduct a death investigation or sign a death certificate (Class B misdemeanor), and the county must reimburse the training board if training is not completed on time. ^{[8, 9, 6]}

Training the law requires

40-hour initial certification and annual training. ^[8]

On the 2026 ballot

22 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Investigates deaths within the coroner's jurisdiction, determines cause, manner and mechanism of death, signs the verdict and report, and controls autopsy records. ^{[2, 3]}

What the officeholder decides

• Autopsy contracts and costs (rules amended in 2025-26), deputy coroner staffing and training, and overdose-death reporting. ^[6]

Who the officeholder answers to

• The county council fixes the officer's salary and the number and pay of deputies and staff in an annual salary ordinance; an elected officer's pay may not be changed during the year for which it is fixed. ^{[11, 12, 13]}
• Each officer files an itemized budget estimate before the Thursday after the first Monday in August and a positions/compensation statement before July 2; the council adopts the budget by Nov. 1. ^{[14, 15, 16]}
• The officer appoints deputies and staff within the positions the council authorizes, and keeps final authority over discipline of employees under the officer's supervision (new in 2026). ^{[17, 18]}
• Contracts an elected officer signs must be in the county's name and submitted to the commissioners for execution or review; the commissioners may void a contract signed without that review. ^{[19, 20]}
• The commissioners must order pay withheld if training is not certified. ^[9]

What it pays, and who sets that

• Set by the council; through Dec. 31, 2026 a physician coroner must be paid 1.5 times the non-physician rate (that rule expires Jan. 1, 2027). Pay is often part-time level. ^{[10, 11]}
• Varies widely; many counties pay a part-time salary.
• In the 18 of 22 counties where a salary line could be identified in the 2026 budget, elected-official pay lines ran from $7,381 to $58,500 (median $20,199). From county budget lines; verify against each county's salary ordinance. ^[1]

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

• Have you completed (or when will you complete) the state coroner certification?
• How does the office decide when to order an autopsy, and who performs it?
• How will you staff death calls at night and on weekends?

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.