Jury Duty Excuse Letter in Missouri
A short letter asking the court to excuse you from jury duty or postpone it. Follow the instructions on your summons first, because courts handle these requests differently, and keep following the summons until the court answers.
What Missouri law says
| Who can be excused from jury duty | On timely request to the court, these people must be excused: anyone who served on a state or federal jury in the past two years; nursing mothers with a doctor's statement; people whose absence from work would materially harm public safety, health or welfare; people for whom service would be an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship (such as no substitute caregiver, inability to pay daily living costs, or illness), with documentation; health care providers certifying service would harm their patients; certain religious employees; and anyone 75 or older. Missing work alone is not a hardship, and a hardship ruling must be obtained before the date you are due to appear. Source: RSMo §494.430 |
|---|---|
| Penalty for skipping jury duty | A person who willfully fails to appear for jury service without getting a postponement or excuse, or who fails to return the juror qualification form, is in civil contempt and can be ordered to show cause. After a hearing, the court may impose a fine of up to $500 and/or order community service at least as long as the jury service would have been. The court may excuse the sanction for good cause. Source: RSMo §494.450 |
| Jury duty pay and your job | An employer may not fire, discipline, threaten or take adverse action against an employee for receiving or responding to a jury summons, and a fired employee may sue within 90 days for lost wages, other damages, reinstatement and attorney's fees. An employer may not require or ask the employee to use annual, vacation, personal or sick leave for jury service; the statute does not require the employer to pay wages. Small employers (five or fewer full-time employees) get an automatic postponement if another employee is already summoned for the same period. Jurors receive at least $6 per day plus state mileage, more if the county opts in (at least $18 per day, or $50 per day from the third day under an alternative county system). Source: RSMo §§494.460, 494.455 |
Fill it in
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[today's date]
[your name]
[your mailing address]
[your phone or email]
To: [court or jury office name and address, from your summons]
Re: Jury summons. Juror number: [juror number from your summons]. Reporting date: [date you are told to report].
Dear [jury commissioner, clerk or judge named on your summons]:
I received a jury summons for the date above. I am asking to be [excused from / postponed from] jury service because [your reason, in one or two plain sentences].
I have attached [documents supporting your request, such as a doctor's note, or none].
If my service can be postponed, I can serve on these dates: [dates you are available].
Please tell me in writing whether my request is approved. I understand that I must follow the summons until I hear from the court.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Jury Duty Excuse Letter for other states · Missouri tenant rights
Last verified against official sources: October 23, 2026.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.