|                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                               |  |
| Indiana                                                       | 35-1544218 |
| (State or other jurisdiction ofincorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |

|                                          |
|------------------------------------------|
|                                          |  |
| 200 East JacksonMuncie, Indiana          |  47305-2814 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |

|                                             |
|---------------------------------------------|
|                                             |  |
| Title of Each Class                         | Name of each exchange on which registered |
| Common Stock, $0.125 stated value per share | The NASDAQ Stock Market |

|                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------|
|                                               |  |
| Documents                                     | Part of Form 10-K into which incorporated |
| Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive | Part III (Items 10 through 14) |
| Proxy Statement for Annual Meeting of         |   |
| Shareholders to be held May 4, 2015           |   |

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|             |
|-------------|
|             |  |
| Exhibit No: | Description of Exhibits: |

|       |
|-------|
|       |  |
| 2.1   | Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger between First Merchants Corporation and Community Bancshares, Inc. dated July 21, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed July 22, 2014). |
| 2.2   | Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger between First Merchants Corporation and C Financial Corporation dated as of January 5, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed January 6, 2015) |
| 3.1   | First Merchants Corporation Articles of Incorporation, as amended (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2011) |
| 3.2   | Bylaws of First Merchants Corporation dated October 28, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2009) |
| 3.3   | First Merchants Corporation Articles of Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation for the Series B Preferred Stock (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed on September 23, 2011) |
| 4.1   | First Merchants Corporation Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of First Merchants Capital Trust II dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.2   | Indenture dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.3   | Guarantee Agreement dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.4   | Form of Capital Securities Certification of First Merchants Capital Trust II (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.5   | First Merchants Corporation Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 filed on August 21, 2009) |
| 4.6   | Upon request, the registrant agrees to furnish supplementally to the Commission a copy of the instruments defining the rights of holders of its (a) 5.00% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2028 in the aggregate principal amount of $5 million and (b) 6.75% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2028 in aggregate principal amount of $65 million.  (Incorporated by reference to the registrant's Form 8-K filed on November 4, 2013) |
| 10.1  | First Merchants Corporation Senior Management Incentive Compensation Program, dated February 26, 2015 (1) |
| 10.2  | First Merchants Corporation Equity Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended, effective January 1, 2015 (1) |
| 10.3  | First Merchants Corporation 2009 Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, effective January 1, 2015 (1) |
| 10.4  | Voting Agreement dated July 21, 2014, by and among First Merchants Corporation and certain shareholders of Community Bancshares, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 22, 2014) |
| 10.5  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Michael C. Rechin dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.6  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Mark K. Hardwick dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.7  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Michael J. Stewart dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.8  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with John J. Martin dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.9  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Kimberly J. Ellington dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.10 | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Jeffery B. Lorentson dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.11 | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, effective February 11, 2014, with Stephan H. Fluhler (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on May 12, 2014) (1) |
| 10.12 | Resolution of the Board of Directors of First Merchants Corporation on director compensation dated December 4, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to the registrant's Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 2007) (1) |
| 10.13 | First Merchants Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan and amendments thereto (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 1997) (1) |
| 10.14 | First Merchants Corporation Defined Contribution Supplemental Retirement Plan dated January 1, 2006 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on February 6, 2007) (1) |

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|         |
|---------|
|         |  |
| 10.15   | First Merchants Corporation Participation Agreement of Michael C. Rechin dated January 26, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on February 6, 2007) (1) |
| 10.16   | First Merchants Corporation 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan effective July 1, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on May 11, 2009) (1) |
| 10.17   | 2011 Executive Deferred Compensation Plan, effective January 1,  2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed on November 3, 2011) (1) |
| 10.18   | Voting Agreement dated January 5, 2015, by and among First Merchants Corporation and certain shareholders of C Financial Corporation (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed January 6, 2015) |
| 21      | Subsidiaries of registrant (2) |
| 23      | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (2) |
| 24      | Limited Power of Attorney (2) |
| 31.1    | Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes - Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 31.2    | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes - Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 32      | Certifications Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 99.1    | Financial statements and independent registered public accounting firm’s report for First Merchants Corporation 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (2004) (2) |
| 101.INS | XBRL Instance Document (3) |
| 101.SCH | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document (3) |
| 101.CAL | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.LAB | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.PRE | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document (3) |
|    |   |
|    |   |
|    |   |
|    | (1) Management contract or compensatory plan |
|    | (2) Filed herewith. |
|    | (3) Furnished herewith. |

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|        |
|--------|
|        |  |  |  |
|   | FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION |   |
|   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   | By: | /s/ Michael C. Rechin |   |
|   | Michael C. Rechin, |   |
|   | President and Chief Executive Officer |   |
|   |   |   |   |

|                                  |
|----------------------------------|
|                                  |  |
| /s/ Michael C. Rechin            | /s/ Mark K. Hardwick |
| Michael C. Rechin, President and | Mark K. Hardwick, Executive Vice |
| Chief Executive Officer          | President and Chief Financial Officer |
| (Principal Executive Officer)    | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
|                             |   |
| /s/ Michael R. Becher*           | /s/ Michael C. Rechin |
| Michael R. Becher, Director      | Michael C. Rechin, Director |
|                             |   |
| /s/ Roderick English*            | /s/ Charles E. Schalliol* |
| Roderick English, Director       | Charles E. Schalliol, Director |
|                             |   |
| /s/ F. Howard Halderman*         | /s/ Patrick A. Sherman* |
| F. Howard Halderman, Director    | Patrick A. Sherman, Director |
|                             |   |
| /s/ William L. Hoy*              | /s/ Terry L. Walker* |
| William L. Hoy, Director         | Terry L. Walker, Director |
|                             |   |
| /s/ Gary J. Lehman*              | /s/ Jean L. Wojtowicz* |
| Gary J. Lehman, Director         | Jean L. Wojtowicz, Director |
|                             |   |
|                             |   |
|                             |   |

|   |
|---|
|   |  |
| * | By Mark K. Hardwick as Attorney-in Fact pursuant to a Limited Power of Attorney executed by the directors listed above, which Power of Attorney was filed with Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to the initial Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 27, 2015. |

|        |
|--------|
|        |  |  |  |
|   | By: | /s/ Mark K. Hardwick |   |
|   | Mark K. Hardwick |   |
|   | As Attorney-in-FactSeptember 30, 2015 |   |

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|             |
|-------------|
|             |  |
| Exhibit No: | Description of Exhibits: |

|       |
|-------|
|       |  |
| 2.1   | Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger between First Merchants Corporation and Community Bancshares, Inc. dated July 21, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed July 22, 2014). |
| 2.2   | Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger between First Merchants Corporation and C Financial Corporation dated as of January 5, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed January 6, 2015) |
| 3.1   | First Merchants Corporation Articles of Incorporation, as amended (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2011) |
| 3.2   | Bylaws of First Merchants Corporation dated October 28, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2009) |
| 3.3   | First Merchants Corporation Articles of Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation for the Series B Preferred Stock (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed on September 23, 2011) |
| 4.1   | First Merchants Corporation Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of First Merchants Capital Trust II dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.2   | Indenture dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.3   | Guarantee Agreement dated as of July 2, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.4   | Form of Capital Securities Certification of First Merchants Capital Trust II (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 3, 2007) |
| 4.5   | First Merchants Corporation Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form S-3 filed on August 21, 2009) |
| 4.6   | Upon request, the registrant agrees to furnish supplementally to the Commission a copy of the instruments defining the rights of holders of its (a) 5.00% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2028 in the aggregate principal amount of $5 million and (b) 6.75% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2028 in aggregate principal amount of $65 million.  (Incorporated by reference to the registrant's Form 8-K filed on November 4, 2013) |
| 10.1  | First Merchants Corporation Senior Management Incentive Compensation Program, dated February 26, 2015 (1) |
| 10.2  | First Merchants Corporation Equity Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended, effective January 1, 2015 (1) |
| 10.3  | First Merchants Corporation 2009 Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, effective January 1, 2015 (1) |
| 10.4  | Voting Agreement dated July 21, 2014, by and among First Merchants Corporation and certain shareholders of Community Bancshares, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on July 22, 2014) |
| 10.5  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Michael C. Rechin dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.6  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Mark K. Hardwick dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.7  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Michael J. Stewart dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.8  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with John J. Martin dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.9  | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Kimberly J. Ellington dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.10 | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, as amended, with Jeffery B. Lorentson dated June 1, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 10-Q filed on August 9, 2011) (1) |
| 10.11 | First Merchants Corporation Change of Control Agreement, effective February 11, 2014, with Stephan H. Fluhler (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on May 12, 2014) (1) |
| 10.12 | Resolution of the Board of Directors of First Merchants Corporation on director compensation dated December 4, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to the registrant's Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 2007) (1) |
| 10.13 | First Merchants Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan and amendments thereto (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 1997) (1) |
| 10.14 | First Merchants Corporation Defined Contribution Supplemental Retirement Plan dated January 1, 2006 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on February 6, 2007) (1) |
| 10.15 | First Merchants Corporation Participation Agreement of Michael C. Rechin dated January 26, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on February 6, 2007) (1) |
| 10.16 | First Merchants Corporation 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan effective July 1, 2009 (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed on May 11, 2009) (1) |
| 10.17 | 2011 Executive Deferred Compensation Plan, effective January 1,  2011 (Incorporated by reference to registrant’s Form 8-K filed on November 3, 2011) (1) |
| 10.18 | Voting Agreement dated January 5, 2015, by and among First Merchants Corporation and certain shareholders of C Financial Corporation (Incorporated by reference to registrant's Form 8-K filed January 6, 2015) |

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|             |
|-------------|
|             |  |
| Exhibit No: | Description of Exhibits: |

|         |
|---------|
|         |  |
| 21      | Subsidiaries of registrant (2) |
| 23      | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (2) |
| 24      | Limited Power of Attorney (2) |
| 31.1    | Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes - Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 31.2    | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes - Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 32      | Certifications Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (2) |
| 99.1    | Financial statements and independent registered public accounting firm’s report for First Merchants Corporation 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (2004) (2) |
| 101.INS | XBRL Instance Document (3) |
| 101.SCH | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document (3) |
| 101.CAL | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.LAB | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document (3) |
| 101.PRE | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document (3) |
|    |   |
|    |   |
|    |   |
|    | (1) Management contract or compensatory plan |
|    | (2) Filed herewith. |
|    | (3) Furnished herewith. |