Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Missouri

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.

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.