Under RSMo § 610.140, an expungement closes the record of your arrest, plea, trial, and conviction. For most purposes — job applications, housing, licensing — the law treats the offense as if it never happened, and in most situations you may lawfully answer "no" when asked if you've been convicted. For anyone who's been turned down for a job or an apartment over a decade-old mistake, it's life-changing.
Missouri has repeatedly expanded the list of expungeable offenses, and today most misdemeanors and a long list of felonies qualify. The general waiting periods are short: three years after completing your sentence for a felony, one year for a misdemeanor, with no new convictions during that time. Certain offenses remain off-limits — most dangerous felonies, most sex offenses requiring registration, and intoxication-related driving offenses have special rules (a first-offense DWI has its own ten-year expungement path).
Since Missouri legalized recreational marijuana by constitutional amendment, the courts have been ordered to automatically expunge many past marijuana offenses. "Automatic" hasn't always meant fast or complete, though — records slip through. If your marijuana case is still showing up on background checks, a petition can force the issue.
Expungement petitions get denied over technicalities: a missed agency, a miscounted waiting period, an offense filed under the wrong subsection. Mike has spent 25+ years in these courthouses — he knows how each county handles these petitions and how to present yours so it gets granted the first time. One phone call tells you if you qualify: 636.940.7771.
