Under current Missouri law, to successfully obtain an expungement and get your criminal record “expunged,” you must meet the following 5 requirements:

(1)   The offense or offenses on your record that you want expunged are eligible for expungement.

• • You can check to see if your offense is eligible here: Common Offense Eligibility Lookup List

(2)   Expungement would not cause you to exceed Missouri law’s limit of ONE felony record and TWO misdemeanor records total for your lifetime.

• • BUT there are some exceptions to this limit!
    
    • If you have multiple felonies and/or misdemeanors, but they were all charged in the same case or around the same time, they may only count as one record for expungement purposes. If they meet this test, the record is the highest level offense among them.
    • Expungements from other states do NOT count towards this limit!
    • Marijuana expungements following its decriminalization in Missouri do NOT count towards this limit!
    • DUI, Nonsupport, Minor in Possession, and Arrest Expungements (if expunged under a statute other than 610.140) do NOT count toward this limit!

(3)   You have satisfied the “Clean Waiting Period” for each offense you seek to expunge

• • For felonies — at least 3 years must have passed since you completed your sentence, and in the past 3 years, you have not been found guilty of any misdemeanor or felony offense(s) (excluding most traffic violations).
  • For misdemeanors and infractions— same requirements as felonies, but one-year period instead of three.

(4)   You do not still owe any fines, court costs, fees, or restitution on the case(s) you want to expunge.

• • There are multiple different categories of case-related debt and it can be easy to think you have paid everything off when in actuality you have not. The easiest way to check whether you have any outstanding case-related debt is to search your case here: Missouri Case Net. Once you find your case, click on the Case Number. Then look for the $, click on it, and a pop-up window will show you your case balance.

(5)   You do not have any charges pending.

• • Active warrants, open/unresolved cases, unpaid traffic tickets, etc = charges pending.

To become a client of the Clinic, you must also meet an additional sixth requirement:

(6)   You cannot afford to hire an attorney (~$2,000) AND:

• • You qualify for the Court’s Fee Waiver based on a review of your finances OR
  • You can afford to pay the Court Filing Fees, which can total up to $450 per expungement 

As a clinic of limited resources, we only represent eligible individuals who cannot afford to hire their own attorney but who either can pay the filing fees or qualify for the Court’s fee waiver. If we determine that you are eligible for expungement, we will review your financial information to determine if we can “certify” to the Court you qualify for the waiver. 

If you think you may be eligible for our services, fill out an Intake Application today!