Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 75 lets any Indiana court accept a civil case at filing, but allows a party to challenge that choice and force a transfer to one of ten categories of county with a stronger connection to the case, with strict deadlines, cost-shifting, and a right to immediate appeal.
(A)Venue. Any case may be venued, commenced and decided in any court in any county, except, that upon the filing of a pleading or a motion to dismiss allowed by Rule 12(B)(3), the court, from allegations of the complaint or after hearing evidence thereon or considering affidavits or documentary evidence filed with the motion or in opposition to it, shall order the case trans- ferred to a county or court selected by the party first properly filing such motion or pleading if the court determines that the county or court where the action was filed does not meet pre- ferred venue requirements or is not authorized to decide the case and that the court or county selected has preferred venue and is authorized to decide the case. Preferred venue lies in:
(1)the county where the greater percentage of individual defendants included in the com- plaint resides, or, if there is no such greater percentage, the place where any individual defendant so named resides; or
(2)the county where the land or some part thereof is located or the chattels or some part thereof are regularly located or kept, if the complaint includes a claim for injuries thereto or relating to such land or such chattels, including without limitation claims for recovery of possession or for injuries, to establish use or control, to quiet title or determine any interest, to avoid or set aside conveyances, to foreclose liens, to partition and to assert any matters for which in rem relief is or would be proper; or
(3)the county where the accident or collision occurred, if the complaint includes a claim for injuries relating to the operation of a motor vehicle or a vehicle on railroad, street or interurban tracks; or
(4)the county where either the principal office of a defendant organization is located or the office or agency of a defendant organization or individual to which the claim relates or out of which the claim arose is located, if one or more such organizations or individuals are included as defendants in the complaint; or
(5)the county where either one or more individual plaintiffs reside, the principal office of a governmental organization is located, or the office of a governmental organization to which the claim relates or out of which the claim arose is located, if one or more gov- ernmental organizations are included as defendants in the complaint; or
(6)the county or court fixed by written stipulations signed by all the parties named in the complaint or their attorneys and filed with the court before ruling on the motion to dis- miss; or
(7)the county where the individual is held in custody or is restrained, if the complaint seeks relief with respect to such individual’s custody or restraint upon his freedom; or
(8)the county where a claim in the plaintiff’s complaint may be commenced under any statute recognizing or creating a special or general remedy or proceeding; or
(9)the county where all or some of the property is located or can be found if the case seeks only judgment in rem against the property of a defendant being served by pub- lication; or
(10)the county where either one or more individual plaintiffs reside, the principal office of any plaintiff organization or governmental organization is located, or the office of any such plaintiff organization or governmental organization to which the claim relates or out of which the claim arose is located, if the case is not subject to the requirements of sub- sections (1) through (9) of this subdivision or if all the defendants are nonresident indi- viduals or nonresident organizations without a principal office in the state. The pleading or motion permitted by this rule must be filed within the time prescribed for the party making it by Rules 6 and 12 and any other applicable provision of these rules.
(1)Whenever a claim or proceeding is filed which should properly have been filed in another court of this state, and proper objection is made, the court in which such action is filed shall not then dismiss the action, but shall order the action transferred to the court in which it should have been filed.
(2)The person filing the action shall, within twenty (20) days, pay such costs as are chargeable upon a change of venue and the papers and records shall be certified to the court of transfer in like manner as upon change of venue and the action shall be deemed commenced as of the date of filing the action in the original court.
(3)If the party filing the action does not pay the costs of transfer within twenty (20) days of the order transferring venue, the original court shall dismiss the action without prejudice and shall order payment of reasonable attorney fees to the party making proper objection.
(C)Assessment of costs, traveling expenses and attorneys’ fees in resisting venue. When the case is ordered transferred under the provisions of this rule or Rule 21(B) the court shall order the parties or persons filing the complaint to pay the filing costs of refiling the case in the proper court and pay mileage expenses reasonably incurred by the parties and their attorneys in resisting the venue; and if it appears that the case was commenced in the wrong county by sham pleading, in bad faith or without cause, the court shall order payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by parties successfully resisting the venue.
(D)Other venue statutes superseded by this rule. Any provision of these rules and any special or general statute relating to venue, the place of trial or the authority of the court to hear the case shall be subject to this rule, and the pro- visions of any statute fixing more stringent rules thereon shall be ineffective. No statute or rule fixing the place of trial shall be deemed a requirement of jurisdiction.
(E)Appeal. An order transferring or refusing to transfer a case under this rule shall be an interlocutory order appealable pursuant to Appellate Rule 14(A)(8); provided, however, that the appeal of an interlocutory order under this rule shall not stay proceedings in the trial court unless the trial court or the Court of Appeals so orders.
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect April 1, 2002. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 75 starts from a permissive baseline: a civil case may be filed, tried, and decided in any Indiana court, in any county. Nobody has to prove upfront that they picked the “right” county. That baseline shifts only if a defendant objects — by a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(B)(3) or a similar pleading — and shows that the chosen county does not qualify as a county of “preferred venue.” If the objection succeeds, the court must transfer the case to a county the objecting party selects, so long as that county qualifies under the rule and is authorized to hear the case.
Section (A) lists ten categories that qualify as preferred venue, and none of them outranks the others — a case can rightly sit in more than one preferred county at once. The categories track where the dispute is centered: the county where most individual defendants live (or where any one does, if there’s no majority); the county where land or personal property tied to the claim sits; the county where a vehicle accident happened; the county tied to a defendant organization’s office; the county tied to a governmental defendant, favoring the plaintiff’s residence; a county the parties fixed by written agreement before the transfer motion is decided; the county where a restrained or custodied person is held; a county set by another statute creating a special proceeding; the county where property sits in an in-rem case served by publication; and, as a catch-all, the plaintiff’s county when none of the other nine categories fits or every defendant is a nonresident without an Indiana office. A party has to raise the venue objection within the time Rules 6 and 12 allow, or lose the point.
Section (B) covers a narrower problem — a case filed in the wrong court altogether, not just the wrong county. The court does not dismiss; it transfers the case, and the case keeps its original filing date for purposes like a statute of limitations. But the party who filed has twenty days to pay the transfer costs, or the original court dismisses the case without prejudice and orders that party to pay the objecting party’s reasonable attorney fees. Section (C) covers cost-shifting more broadly: whoever loses a venue fight under this rule, or under Rule 21(B), pays the refiling costs and the mileage the other side spent resisting venue, and if the case was filed in the wrong county through a sham pleading, bad faith, or no real reason at all, that party also owes the winning side’s attorney fees.
The last two sections round out the rule. Section (D) makes Rule 75 override any other venue statute — a stricter statutory venue requirement gives way to this rule, and a venue defect is never treated as a defect in the court’s underlying authority to hear the case. Section (E) lets either side appeal a ruling on transfer right away, before the rest of the case is resolved, though the appeal does not pause the trial court proceedings unless a court orders otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file an Indiana lawsuit in any county I choose?
At the outset, yes. Rule 75(A) allows a case to be filed, commenced, and decided in any Indiana court and any county. That choice only gets tested if a defendant files a timely motion or pleading objecting to venue and showing the county does not qualify as a county of preferred venue.
What does “preferred venue” mean under Rule 75?
It is the list of ten categories in Rule 75(A) that connect a case to a particular county — things like where most defendants live, where property in dispute sits, where an accident happened, or where a defendant organization’s office is located. None of the ten categories ranks above another, so more than one county can qualify as a county of preferred venue for the same case.
What happens if a case gets filed in the wrong court, not just the wrong county?
Rule 75(B) says the court does not dismiss the case. It transfers the case to the right court, and the filer has twenty days to pay the transfer costs. If those costs go unpaid within twenty days, the original court dismisses the case without prejudice and orders the filer to pay the other side’s reasonable attorney fees.
Who pays the costs when a case is transferred for improper venue?
Rule 75(C) puts the refiling costs and the other side’s reasonable travel expenses on the party who filed in the wrong county. If that party filed there through a sham pleading, in bad faith, or without any real cause, the court also orders payment of the winning party’s reasonable attorney fees.
Can a state statute set a stricter venue rule than Rule 75?
No. Rule 75(D) makes this rule control over any other rule or statute addressing venue, the place of trial, or a court’s authority to decide a case. A statute that tries to impose a stricter venue requirement does not apply, and a venue problem is never treated as a jurisdictional one.
Can I appeal a ruling on venue right away, or do I have to wait until the case is over?
Rule 75(E) allows an immediate appeal of an order transferring, or refusing to transfer, a case under this rule. That appeal does not pause the trial court case unless the trial court or the Court of Appeals specifically orders a stay.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 75). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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