Indiana SCRA Benefits: 6% Cap on State Active Duty

Indiana did the thing most states skip: it put a real civil-relief act in its own Military Code instead of leaving Guard members to the federal statute that does not cover them on state orders. The threshold is 30 consecutive days of state active duty, and past it the core protections turn on.

What Indiana adds to the federal floor

Protection	Federal SCRA	Indiana
Guard on state active duty (30+ days)	✕ Not covered	✓ Covered (IC 10-16-20)
6% interest rate cap on pre-service debt	✓	✓ Extended to state-duty Guard
Default-judgment protection	✓	✓ Including the right to reopen
Dependent protections (Title II)	✓	✓ IC 10-16-20-3
Other states’ Guard ordered by their governor	—	✓ Recognized (IC 10-16-7-23)

The 30-day switch

The structure is straightforward. IC 10-16-7-23 defines the qualifying state active duty, and IC 10-16-20 supplies the relief once you cross 30 consecutive days on those orders. From there it tracks the federal model: cap pre-service interest at 6%, block a creditor from taking a default judgment without the court appointing counsel, and reopen one that was entered while you served. The rate-cap procedure is the same one you would run federally, so use the letter generator and cite IC 10-16-20.

One detail worth flagging: the dependent protections under IC 10-16-20-3. The federal SCRA’s Title II protections for family members are carried into the state act, which matters when a creditor or landlord pressures a spouse during a long activation.

The cross-border clause

Because Indiana defines state active duty to include orders from the governor of any state, a member of another state’s Guard serving in that status is recognized under the Indiana framework. If you are stationed near a state line or your civilian life sits in Indiana while you serve elsewhere, raise it.

The tax side is ordinary: Indiana taxes income but offers a military pay deduction, and a nonresident makes the standard duty-station election.

Run the Indiana stack

1. Indiana Guard crossing 30 consecutive days of state active duty: send written notice with your orders to every pre-service creditor and invoke the 6% cap under IC 10-16-20 (letter generator).
2. Sued or served while activated: cite the act, demand appointed counsel, and move to reopen any default judgment entered during service.
3. Family pressured by a creditor or landlord: invoke the dependent protections under IC 10-16-20-3.
4. On federal orders, run the full federal kit: 6% cap, lease exit, and foreclosure shields.
5. Stationed in Indiana from out of state: confirm the tax election and the state military pay deduction.

The law behind this: Ind. Code § 10-16-20

Indiana Servicemembers Civil Relief — 6% cap, default-judgment, and dependent protections for the Guard on state active duty of 30+ days — read the statute.