Missouri Expungement Laws: How to Clear or Seal a Criminal Record

Missouri offers expungement by court petition under RSMo 610.140. Records of expunged crimes are closed and confidential, and the person's civil rights are restored. There are also special expungement laws for a first alcohol-related driving offense (610.130), for arrests based on false information and certain dismissed traffic cases (610.122), and for charges caused by identity theft or mistaken identity (610.145). Records of dismissed, nolle prossed or acquitted cases, and of suspended imposition of sentence, become closed records automatically. Marijuana offenses are expunged under the state constitution. The Governor can grant pardons.

When a case is nolle prossed or dismissed, the person is found not guilty, or imposition of sentence is suspended, the official records become closed records once the case is finally over. The court's judgment and the prosecutor's final action can still be accessed. A person may also petition to expunge the records of an arrest for an eligible crime in the county of arrest, no earlier than 18 months after the arrest, if they have not been charged or found guilty of any misdemeanor or felony in that time. Separate rules allow expungement of an arrest based on false information, and of charges brought because of identity theft or mistaken identity that were dismissed or ended in a not-guilty verdict.

Misdemeanors, municipal ordinance violations and infractions can be expunged by petition at least 1 year after the person completed the sentence or other disposition. The person must have no new misdemeanor or felony finding of guilt during that time (traffic violations don't count), must have paid all fines and restitution, and must have no pending charges. A lifetime limit applies: no more than 3 misdemeanors or jailable ordinance violations (any number of infractions). Excluded offenses include domestic assault, sex offenses requiring registration, intoxication-related traffic or boating offenses, offenses committed by commercial driver's license holders driving under that license, and a long list of specific offenses in the statute.

Felonies can be expunged by petition at least 3 years after the person completed the sentence or other disposition, with the same conditions as misdemeanors (no new guilty findings, all fines and restitution paid, no pending charges). The lifetime limit is 2 felonies. Not eligible: class A felonies, "dangerous felonies," offenses requiring sex offender registration, felonies where death is an element, felony assault, felony domestic assault, kidnapping, and the other specific offenses listed in the statute. Related crimes from the same course of conduct can be included in one petition and count as one.

Missouri has no general automatic expungement of convictions. Records of nolle prossed, dismissed and acquitted cases, and of suspended imposition of sentence, become closed records automatically when the case ends. Under the state constitution, courts were required to order expungement of past marijuana offenses without a petition (see marijuana_records).

Intoxication-related traffic and boating offenses cannot be expunged under the general expungement law. Instead, someone with a first intoxication-related traffic or boating offense that was a misdemeanor or ordinance violation may apply after at least 10 years, if they have had no further intoxication-related offense. The court must grant expungement if it finds no later intoxication-related offenses, no other alcohol-related enforcement contacts, and nothing pending. This is allowed only once in a lifetime and is not available to commercial driver's license holders or for commercial-vehicle DUI.

Juvenile court records, and the information and social records gathered by the court, are generally closed to inspection. They may be disclosed only by court order to people with a legitimate interest, unless the child is found to have committed an act that would be a class A felony or murder if committed by an adult, or another listed exception applies.

File a petition in the court where the person was charged or found guilty, listing every crime to be expunged. Name as defendants all law enforcement agencies, courts, prosecutors, central state repositories and others believed to hold the records; the order does not bind anyone left out. The clerk notifies the prosecutor, who has 30 days to object in writing; if there is an objection, the court holds a hearing within 60 days. If the person meets the time, record and payment requirements, saying in the petition that they are not a threat to public safety and that expungement serves justice creates a presumption that it is warranted, and the prosecutor must rebut it. Victims may be heard. The court must decide within 6 months of filing. A denied petition cannot be refiled for one year. Courts must provide a pro se petition form; the Missouri courts form for 610.140 petitions is CR 360.

After expungement, the records are closed, and court files are confidential except to the parties or by court order for good cause. The person's civil rights are restored as if the events had never happened, including the rights to vote, hold office and serve on a jury, and the order counts as a complete removal of the conviction for the federal firearms rule on misdemeanor domestic violence convictions. The person can answer "no" to employers asking about arrests or convictions, except employers required by law to exclude people with certain convictions (such as banks and insurers). The person must still disclose the expunged crime to courts, when charged with a new crime, and on applications for professional licenses, gaming licenses, firearms permits, and jobs with emergency services, law enforcement, casinos and the lottery. An expunged crime is not automatic grounds to disqualify an applicant, except for those legally required exclusions, and it can still count as a prior offense at sentencing.

The Governor may grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after conviction for all offenses except treason and impeachment, with conditions and limits the Governor sets, subject to laws on how to apply. The pardon power does not include the power to parole.

Yes. The 2022 constitutional amendment legalizing adult-use marijuana required the circuit courts to order expungement of misdemeanor marijuana offenses within six months for people no longer incarcerated or under supervision. Within twelve months, they were to order expungement of felony marijuana offenses (and offenses that are no longer crimes) for people who had completed their sentences. This excludes distribution to a minor, violent offenses and driving under the influence of marijuana. More serious felony marijuana offenses are expunged when the person completes incarceration, probation or parole. People currently in prison or on supervision for eligible marijuana offenses may petition (or, for probation and parole, have the sentence automatically vacated) with no filing fee. Expunged offenses are treated as if they never occurred, and the person may deny the record on employment and license applications.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division keeps Missouri criminal history records, available through the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS). A name-based search costs $16.00 (plus an online convenience fee; $5.00 more for a notarized response) and returns a possible match showing only open records. A fingerprint-based search returns a positive match with closed and open records: schedule a livescan appointment through the MACHS Fingerprint Search Portal or call IDEMIA at (844) 543-9712; the state fee is $20.00 plus IDEMIA's service fee, and results are usually mailed in 7-10 business days. Applicants outside Missouri can mail an FBI FD-258 fingerprint card with fees (check or money order to "State of Missouri - Criminal Record System Fund") to Missouri State Highway Patrol, CJIS Division, P.O. Box 9500, Jefferson City, MO 65102-9500 (about 4-6 weeks). Questions: (573) 526-6153. An FBI Identity History Summary is a separate request made to the FBI.