How to file to clear a record in Missouri

How to ask a Missouri court to clear your record, what it costs and which forms to use.

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

File a petition in the court where you were charged or found guilty, naming as defendants every agency and court that holds the records.

Main remedy
Petition for expungement (RSMo 610.140)
Cost
No special expungement surcharge since August 28, 2023.

Filing step by step in Missouri

Petition for expungement (RSMo 610.140)

File a petition in the court where you were charged or found guilty, naming as defendants every agency and court that holds the records. The prosecutor has 30 days to object; if it does, a hearing is held within 60 days. If you meet the time and record requirements, the law presumes expungement is warranted and the prosecutor must rebut it; victims may be heard. The court must rule within 6 months.

Law: RSMo 610.140.14

Source: each court must make a pro se petition form available — ask the circuit clerk

Cost
No special expungement surcharge since August 28, 2023. Ordinary civil filing and service costs charged by the court still apply.
If you can't pay
If you cannot afford the costs, ask the court to let you proceed as a poor person; costs may also be waived when a legal aid office or law school clinic represents you.

Law: RSMo 610.140.14; RSMo 514.040

Expungement of a first intoxication-related traffic or boating offense (RSMo 610.130)

Apply to the court where you pleaded guilty or were sentenced; the court holds a hearing.

Expungement of an arrest based on false information or mistaken/stolen identity (RSMo 610.122, 610.123, 610.145)

File a verified petition with fingerprints in the civil division of the circuit court in the county of arrest, naming the agencies that hold the records. For identity cases, apply to the court where the charge was last pending; costs are not charged to you.

Court self-help

Checklist: what to gather before you file

Records that are not eligible in Missouri

  • Petition for expungement (RSMo 610.140): Class A felonies; dangerous felonies; offenses requiring sex-offender registration; felonies with death as an element; felony assault, any domestic assault, and felony kidnapping; chapter 566 sex offenses and a long list of other named offenses (many weapons, child-endangerment, public-corruption and election offenses); intoxication-related traffic or boating offenses; traffic offenses by commercial driver's license holders; most unlawful-use-of-weapon offenses. Since January 1, 2025, offenses that were 'previously listed' or are successors to listed offenses are also excluded.
  • Expungement of a first intoxication-related traffic or boating offense (RSMo 610.130): Commercial driver's license holders.
  • Expungement of an arrest based on false information or mistaken/stolen identity (RSMo 610.122, 610.123, 610.145): Intoxication-related traffic offenses; commercial drivers; arrests where you received a suspended imposition of sentence.

Law: RSMo 610.140 (as amended by 2024 S.B. 754, effective Jan. 1, 2025); RSMo 610.130; RSMo 610.122, 610.123, 610.145

After your record is cleared

After expungement your civil rights are fully restored, and you may answer 'no' when an employer asks if you were ever arrested, charged or convicted, if you have no other public record. You must still disclose it to a court when asked or when charged with a new crime, and on applications for state professional licenses, gaming licenses or firearm permits, and for jobs in law enforcement, emergency services, gaming, banks and credit unions, insurance, or with any employer that federal or state law requires to exclude certain convictions. An expunged crime cannot be an automatic bar except for those regulated jobs, and it can count as a prior offense in later sentencing.

Law: RSMo 610.140.9-11

Get your own record in Missouri

Missouri State Highway Patrol, Criminal Justice Information Services Division (central repository)

Name-based search through the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) for $16 plus a small convenience fee (shows only open records), or a fingerprint-based search for $20 (shows closed and expunged records too); fingerprinting is scheduled through MACHS with IDEMIA, or mail an FD-258 card with a check or money order to 'State of Missouri - Criminal Record System Fund'. Notarized results cost $5 more.

Letter: ask the state records office for a copy of your record

In nearby states

  • Illinois: The Illinois State Police charges $60 to process each court order to expunge or seal (ISP fee schedule).
  • Arkansas: No filing fee: the clerk may not collect a fee for filing a uniform petition to seal.
  • Iowa: You must attach an Iowa DCI criminal history record check, which costs $15.

Steps to file in Missouri

  1. Gather your papers

    Collect your case numbers, final court papers and proof of payment. Checklist: what to gather before you file.

  2. Use the court's forms

    The court's self-help pages explain each form: Missouri State Highway Patrol — Criminal Record Checks.

  3. Turn in the petition

    File the petition with the clerk and follow the court's rules for notice to the prosecutor.

Free help in Missouri

Questions about filing in Missouri

When can I ask to clear my record in Missouri?

Misdemeanor, municipal violation or infraction: 1 year, counted from completion of the sentence or other authorized disposition; Felony: 3 years, counted from completion of the sentence or other authorized disposition; Arrest with no charges: 18 months, counted from the arrest; First DWI/BWI misdemeanor: 10 years, counted from the plea or conviction.

How much does it cost to clear a record in Missouri?

Petition for expungement: No special expungement surcharge since August 28, 2023. Ordinary civil filing and service costs charged by the court still apply.

How do I get a copy of my criminal record in Missouri?

Name-based search through the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) for $16 plus a small convenience fee (shows only open records), or a fingerprint-based search for $20 (shows closed and expunged records too); fingerprinting is scheduled through MACHS with IDEMIA, or mail an FD-258 card with a check or money order to 'State of Missouri - Criminal Record System Fund'. Notarized results cost $5 more.

Is there free help to clear a record in Missouri?

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Legal Aid of Western Missouri and Mid-Missouri Legal Services.

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