Missouri Public Records

How the Missouri Sunshine Law works

Missouri's public records law is the Sunshine Law, Chapter 610 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (§ 610.010 to 610.200). Public records are open to the public for inspection and copying unless a law provides otherwise, and the exceptions are to be read narrowly (§ 610.011). Each public body must appoint a custodian of records, and requests go to that custodian (§ 610.023).

Deadline: each request must be acted on as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third business day after the custodian receives it. If access is not given right away, the custodian must explain the delay and give the place and earliest date the record will be available; production may take longer than three days for reasonable cause. A denial must cite the law it rests on, in writing on request, within three business days (§ 610.023).

Fees: paper copies up to 9 by 14 inches cost no more than ten cents a page, plus duplicating time at the average clerical pay rate and research time at actual cost. You can ask for an estimate first, and fees can be waived in the public interest. A request is treated as withdrawn if fees are not paid within 90 days, or 150 days when fees top $1,000 (§ 610.026).

Appeals: any aggrieved person, taxpayer or citizen, the Attorney General or a prosecuting attorney can sue in the circuit court of the county where the public body has its main office. Knowing violations carry a civil penalty up to $1,000 and purposeful ones up to $5,000, with costs and attorney fees. Suits must be filed within one year after the violation can be found and never more than two years after it (§ 610.027). The Attorney General also takes Sunshine Law complaints.

What you cannot get in Missouri

• Closed records: public bodies may close records on litigation and attorney advice, personnel records (names, positions, salaries and length of service stay open), welfare cases of identifiable people, and security or investigative information whose release could endanger someone (§ 610.021).
• Police investigations: incident and arrest reports are open, but investigative reports and police video stay closed until the investigation is inactive. An arrest report closes if no charge is filed within 30 days (§ 610.100).
• Cases that end without a conviction: records of cases that are nolle prossed, dismissed, end in acquittal or in a suspended imposition of sentence are closed once the case ends, except the court's judgment or the prosecutor's final action (§ 610.105).
• Juvenile court records are not open to inspection except by court order, with exceptions for the most serious felony charges (§ 211.321).
• Vital records may not be disclosed except as the law allows; death records more than fifty years old may be released on request (§ 193.245).

Expungement in Missouri

Missouri clears records by expungement under § 610.140 RSMo. The petition is filed in the court where the person was charged or found guilty, and it must name as defendants the agencies the petitioner believes hold the records.

• Waiting period: at least three years for a felony, or one year for a misdemeanor, municipal violation or infraction, after completing the sentence or other disposition, with no new misdemeanor or felony in that time, all fines and restitution paid and no pending charges.
• Arrests with no charge: a petition can be filed in the county of arrest 18 months after the arrest if no charge was filed and no new offense occurred.
• Not eligible: class A felonies, dangerous felonies, offenses that require sex offender registration, felonies where death is an element, felony assault, domestic assault, kidnapping, intoxication related traffic or boating offenses and a long list of named sections.
• Lifetime limits: no more than three misdemeanors or ordinance violations and two felonies; any number of infractions.

The prosecutor has 30 days to object, and the court must rule within six months of filing. Separate rules cover arrests based on false information (§ 610.122) and charges filed under a stolen or mistaken identity (§ 610.145).

How to get your own Missouri criminal record

The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division is the central repository for Missouri criminal history.

1. For a name based check, use the MACHS Name Search Portal. The fee is $16 plus a convenience fee. It returns open records only: convictions, arrests less than 30 days old, charges awaiting a court decision and suspended sentences still on probation.
2. For a fingerprint based search, which can include closed records, register on the MACHS Fingerprint Portal and book fingerprinting with IDEMIA, the state vendor. The state fee is $20; the Patrol states processing takes seven to ten business days, and results are mailed.
3. To apply by mail, fill in the Request for Criminal Record Check (SHP-158), add an FD-258 fingerprint card for a fingerprint search, and send a check or money order to the Criminal Record System Fund at MSHP CJIS Division, P.O. Box 9500, Jefferson City, MO 65102. No cash or credit cards. Open and closed record results are mailed only to the applicant.
4. A notarized results letter costs $5 more. Fees and details are on the Patrol's Criminal Record Check page.

Missouri record laws to know

• § 610.100 RSMo: police incident and arrest reports are open records; investigative reports and police video close until the case is inactive.
• § 610.120 RSMo: who may see closed criminal records, such as criminal justice agencies and qualified entities screening care providers.
• § 43.530 RSMo: fees the Highway Patrol central repository charges for name based and fingerprint based criminal history checks.
• § 589.400 RSMo: who must register as a sex offender with the registration official of the county of residence.