An experimental setup is proposed to perform creep indentation tests on thermoplastics. An infrared (IR) lamp is used to locally heat the sample, and a flat punch made of tungsten carbide is loaded on the sample surface. In order to show the capability of this test in evaluating the creep properties, creep indentation tests were carried out on PA66 and HDPE sheets at different temperatures and creep loads. Dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) and uniaxial creep tests were also performed at different temperatures to have a comparison with the indentation test results. Master curves were built for all the test results, and time shift factors were extracted. In all cases, the logarithm values of the shift factor were linearly dependent on the temperature. Small differences were found in the shift factors of the DMA and uniaxial test results, whereas high differences were observed in the case of the indentation results due to the nonuniformity of the temperature in the sample. However, indentation creep compliance is strictly correlated with tensile creep compliance, and equivalent tensile creep properties can be extracted. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:2431-2439, 2010. (C) 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers