How to search Missouri court records

Missouri runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. There's no charge and no account required — results are visible to anyone who searches.

statewide free criminal data

Open the official Missouri portal →

What's actually there

Case.net provides free statewide access to Missouri court case information.

Other official lookups for Missouri

MDOC offender search

How Missouri's courts are organized

Missouri's trial court is the circuit court. The state is divided into 46 judicial circuits, each covering one or more counties. Circuit courts have general jurisdiction over almost all civil and criminal matters. Inside each circuit, associate circuit judges hear a narrower set of cases, including smaller civil claims, misdemeanors and infractions, and felony cases in their early stages. The Missouri Constitution requires at least one associate circuit judge per county.

Municipal divisions are part of the circuit court system and handle city ordinance cases. Cities of 400,000 or more people must have one, and smaller communities may choose to create one.

Appeals go to the Missouri Court of Appeals, which has three districts (Eastern, Western and Southern), and then to the Supreme Court of Missouri. Case.net, the Judiciary's free online system, covers cases in courts that use the statewide case management software.

Searching Missouri Case.net

Case.net is free and searches public case information filed in Missouri courts by case number, litigant name or filing date. For public case documents filed on or after July 1, 2023, Case.net also allows remote viewing of the documents themselves. Case.net says documents filed before that date can be viewed by the public only at public access terminals in local courthouses.

Only courts that have put in the case management software under the Missouri Court Automation Program appear, and only cases that are public under Missouri law can be seen. A court or municipal division that has not joined the program will not show up, so if a name search finds nothing, that does not mean no case exists.

Only cases deemed public under Missouri statutes are shown.
Records expunged under section 610.140 become confidential and are available only to the parties or by court order.
Municipal division coverage depends on whether that division uses the statewide system.

Getting copies and certified copies

Copies and certified copies come from the circuit clerk in the county where the case was filed, or from the municipal division clerk for a city case. Case.net shows the court and case number you will need for the request. The Judiciary pages that could be read for this guide did not list statewide copy or certification fees, so ask the clerk for the current charge before ordering.

Expunged records

Missouri's general expungement law is section 610.140 of the Revised Statutes. You may apply to any court where you were charged or found guilty, which includes municipal, associate circuit and circuit courts. When the petition is filed, at least three years must have passed for a felony, or one year for a misdemeanor, municipal violation or infraction, since you completed the sentence or other disposition. You also must not have been found guilty of another misdemeanor or felony in that time, with many traffic offenses not counted. The petition must name every agency that holds the records, and the prosecutor has 30 days to object.

Many offenses are excluded, and there are lifetime limits: no more than two felonies and three misdemeanors or jailable ordinance violations, though any number of infractions can be expunged. Related crimes from the same course of conduct count as one. A separate law, section 610.130, lets a person expunge a first misdemeanor intoxication-related traffic or boating offense after ten years. The courts publish a pro se petition form, as the statute requires. For advice about your record, talk to a lawyer or a legal aid office.

Tip: check the municipal division too

In Missouri, a case brought under a city ordinance is heard in that city's municipal division, not in the county's associate circuit court. If you are checking a record in a county with many small cities, make sure your Case.net search covers the municipal divisions too, and contact any division that is not on Case.net directly.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Missouri

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Missouri court records online?

Yes. Missouri's statewide search is free to use, with no account or subscription required.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Missouri's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

Missouri runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.

Links move. If the Missouri portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.