Petition for Administrative Review: PAR Form 56961 and 15-Day Deadline

To challenge a state agency decision in Indiana, file an Indiana Petition for Administrative Review — State Form 56961 — with the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OALP) within 15 days of receiving the agency’s notice.¹ You can submit it through OALP’s online portal or download the Word or PDF version and mail it to OALP at 100 N. Senate Avenue, Suite N802, Indianapolis, IN 46204.² Filing quickly matters more than perfect wording; you can develop your arguments as the case moves forward, but you cannot recover a missed deadline.

When the Form Applies

Under Indiana’s Administrative Orders and Procedures Act, anyone directly targeted by an agency order, harmed by it, or entitled to review under another law can petition for a formal review.¹ Common triggers include:

Licensing decisions — denial, grant, renewal, suspension, revocation, or transfer of a professional or occupational license, driver’s licenses from the BMV, hunting and fishing licenses from the Department of Natural Resources, and professional registrations under Title 25.³
Financial and status determinations, including loans, grants of property or services, tax incentives, bond approvals, determinations of tax liability, and agency status determinations.⁴
Environmental permits and licenses from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, including construction permits, wastewater treatment plant operator licenses, and solid waste facility permits.³
State agency personnel decisions.

When It Does Not Apply

State Form 56961 is not the right form for Family and Social Services Administration benefit appeals — Medicaid eligibility, SNAP, TANF, child care facility licensing, tax intercept, or vocational rehabilitation. Those follow a separate track through the Division of Family Resources using State Form 53932.⁵ Health care disputes under the Healthy Indiana Plan, Hoosier Healthwise, or Hoosier Care Connect go to your health plan first. Special education due process hearings under IDEA are filed through the ICHAMP system, not on this form.²

The 15-Day Deadline

For most agency orders, you have 15 days from the date you receive notice of the decision to file your petition.¹ A separate statute may set a longer window for certain agencies or order types, so read the notice letter carefully — it should specify your deadline. When you file online, OALP’s system records the exact date and time of submission and uses that timestamp to assess timeliness.⁶

What To Gather Before You Start

OALP estimates the form takes 10 to 15 minutes if you have everything ready.² Pull these together first:

The agency’s notice of action. It contains the cause number or order identifier, the effective date, and the name of the issuing agency, all of which go on the form.
Your contact information: full legal name, mailing address, phone, and email. If you are filing for an entity, its name and details too.
Attorney or representative details, if you have one: name, Indiana attorney number, firm, and contact information. You are not required to have an attorney.²
A clear, factual explanation of how the agency’s decision harmed you and, if you can identify it, the law that entitles you to review.
The outcome you want — reversal, modification, reinstatement, or reconsideration.

Filling Out State Form 56961

The form has four substantive sections and a certification.⁶ The online and paper versions ask for the same information.

Section 1: Petitioner Contact Information

Enter your name (or entity name), date of birth (optional for individuals), phone, email, and full mailing address. The form asks your preferred method of communication and whether you need an interpreter or a reasonable accommodation. At the bottom, indicate whether you have an attorney or representative.

Section 2: Attorney or Representative Information

Skip this section if you are representing yourself. Otherwise, list your attorney’s name, Indiana attorney number, firm, phone, email, and mailing address. Non-attorney representatives go here as well.

Section 3: Details About the Agency Action

This is the section that determines whether your petition survives an initial review. Enter any cause number, order number, or other identifier from the notice. Record the date you received the notice and the effective date of the action. Identify the issuing agency and the county where the action was taken.

The form then asks three questions that mirror the standing requirements in Indiana Code 4-21.5-3-7:¹

Is the action directed to you? If the order names you or your entity, say yes and explain briefly.
Are you harmed by the action? Describe the concrete effect: lost license, denied permit, financial penalty, or another specific consequence.
Are you entitled to review under any law? Cite the statute if you know it. If not, focus on the first two questions; you qualify if the order targets you directly or you can show harm.

Keep this section factual. Specific errors — wrong information in your file, evidence the agency ignored, a regulation misapplied — carry far more weight than general objections.

Section 4: Desired Outcome

Say what you want to happen. Typical requests include reversing the decision, reinstating a license or benefit, reducing a penalty, or remanding the matter for a new determination. This section also contains the field to request a stay of the agency action’s effectiveness.

Certification

Sign and date the form. Your signature certifies under penalty of perjury that the information is true, complete, and correct to the best of your knowledge.⁶ Electronic submission serves as your signature online.

How To Submit the Petition

You have two options:²

Online through OALP’s filing portal. Electronic submission waives the statutory requirement for service by U.S. mail or personal delivery, and the petition is considered filed at the date and time of submission. This is the fastest option and creates an automatic timestamp.
Paper: download the Word or PDF form from OALP’s website, fill it out, and mail it to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, 100 N. Senate Avenue, Suite N802, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Once your case enters OALP’s INcite system, file-stamped copies come back through electronic service. If you do not have an email on file, you can request stamped copies from OALP.⁷

Requesting a Stay

Filing the petition does not automatically pause the agency’s decision. For IDEM environmental orders, the action is automatically stayed for 15 days after the appeal is filed.⁸ For every other type of agency action, the decision takes effect on schedule unless you request a stay. Section 4 of Form 56961 includes a field where you can ask for one; check that box and explain why the action should be paused while the review is pending.

If a decision will cause immediate harm — a license revocation that ends your income, a penalty that closes a business — asking for a stay is worth the effort even when it is not guaranteed. The alternative is that the order takes effect while you wait.

What Happens After Filing

OALP assigns your case to an administrative law judge (ALJ) who was not involved in the original agency decision.¹ The ALJ sets deadlines for document exchanges and schedules the hearing. Expect a scheduling order laying out when each side must present evidence and any pre-hearing steps.

You carry the burden of proof. It is your job to show, with records and testimony, that the agency got it wrong; the agency does not have to justify its decision to you first. Bring the original application or submission that led to the decision, correspondence with the agency, and any evidence the agency failed to consider or misinterpreted.

If Your Petition Is Denied

If the agency denies your petition without a hearing, it must serve you with written notice explaining the denial and describing the procedures and deadlines for challenging it.¹ You have 15 days from the denial notice to request reconsideration in writing from the agency’s ultimate authority. Your request must state that you filed a petition, that you were denied review without an evidentiary hearing, and that you qualify for review. An ALJ then holds a preliminary hearing to decide whether you meet the statutory requirements.

Representation and Costs

You have the right to legal representation, but an attorney is not required.² Many people file and argue their own petitions, especially for straightforward disputes like a license denial based on incorrect information. Complex cases involving environmental permits, large financial determinations, or professional license revocations are usually worth an attorney familiar with Indiana administrative law.

OALP does not charge a filing fee. The main costs, if any, are attorney fees and the expense of hearing transcripts if you need them later.

Judicial Review After a Final Order

If you exhaust the administrative process and still disagree with the final order, Indiana Code 4-21.5-5 provides for judicial review in state court. You must complete every available agency-level remedy first; a lawsuit filed while administrative steps remain will be dismissed. The final order you receive from OALP should include instructions on your next steps and the time limit for seeking court review, so read it carefully when it arrives.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 4-21.5-3-7 – Review; Petition; Denial of Petition; Preliminary Hearing
2
State of Indiana. Individuals or Entities: File a Petition for Review
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 4-21.5-3-4 – Notice Required; Licenses
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 4-21.5-3-5 – Notice Required; Certain Licensing and Other Determinations
5
State of Indiana. Resources for FSSA Appeals
6
State of Indiana. Petition for Administrative Review by the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings
7
Indiana Office of Administrative Law Proceedings. Indiana Office of Administrative Law Proceedings
8
State of Indiana. Guide to IDEM Administrative Appeals