A Missouri background check starts at $15 for a name-based criminal record search through the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s online MACHS portal, with results usually returned within days. Fingerprint-based checks cost $32 for a state search or $44 if bundled with an FBI check, and they take seven to ten business days. Which one you need depends on why you’re running it: a name search shows only open records like convictions and pending charges, while a fingerprint search pulls your full criminal history, including dismissals and not-guilty verdicts.
Which Background Check You Actually Need
Missouri runs background checks through several agencies, and picking the wrong one wastes time and money.
For a general criminal record search, whether on yourself or someone else, use the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) through the Missouri State Highway Patrol.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check This is the check most people mean when they say “background check.”
If you work with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities, your employer will almost certainly send you to the Family Care Safety Registry (FCSR), run by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. It bundles several screenings into one registration.
A child abuse and neglect screening is separate. It searches the records held by the Department of Social Services, Children’s Division, and shows whether someone has been named as a perpetrator in a substantiated case.
An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal check, not a state one. You need it for immigration matters, international adoption, some professional licenses, and overseas employment.
Name-Based Criminal Record Check
The name-based search is the cheapest and fastest option, and any member of the public can request one. It uses your name, date of birth, and Social Security number to query Missouri’s criminal record database.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check
The fee is $15 per request. Submit online through the MACHS Name Search Portal and pay by credit card for electronic results. If you mail your request, pay by check or money order made out to “State of Missouri – Criminal Record System Fund.” Cash and credit cards are not accepted for mailed requests.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check
A name search only returns open record information. That means convictions, arrests less than 30 days old, charges still awaiting court disposition, and any suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) still within the probation period. It will not show dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, or older arrests that never led to charges.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check
Fingerprint-Based Criminal Record Check
A fingerprint check returns closed record information, meaning your full criminal history. It includes every arrest regardless of outcome, dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, completed SIS records, and even expunged records that remain visible to law enforcement. Employers, licensing boards, and government agencies often require a fingerprint check for this reason.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check
You register through the MACHS Fingerprint Portal and then go to an IDEMIA location, the state’s contracted fingerprinting vendor. IDEMIA has processing centers throughout Missouri, and you can find locations and schedule appointments through the portal. As of April 2026, the state fee is $20 and the IDEMIA vendor fee is $12, for a $32 total on a state-only search. Add an FBI check processed through the state system and the combined total is $44.2Missouri Automated Criminal History Fingerprint Portal. Missouri Automated Criminal History Fingerprint Portal
Turnaround is generally seven to ten business days. Results are mailed to you or to the qualified entity that requested the check.1Missouri State Highway Patrol. Criminal Record Check
Family Care Safety Registry
Caregivers in Missouri register with the FCSR through the Department of Health and Senior Services. Common registrants are childcare workers, foster parents, and home health aides. The registry checks multiple databases and hands your employer a consolidated result.
Online registration costs $15 plus a $0.55 credit card processing fee. Mailing a paper form avoids the processing fee.3FCSR-BSEES – MO.gov. FCSR-BSEES – MO.gov
Child Abuse and Neglect Screening
A child abuse and neglect check searches the Children’s Division’s records at the Department of Social Services. It shows whether the person has been identified as a perpetrator in a substantiated case.
The common way to request it is through the Caregiver Background Screening form (MO 300-1590), submitted to the MSHP. The child abuse and neglect file check itself carries no charge, but the form requires the caregiver’s signed authorization witnessed by a notary. Both the requestor and the caregiver must sign. The Children’s Division sends its response separately from any criminal record results.4Missouri State Highway Patrol. Caregiver Background Screening
FBI Identity History Summary
You can request an FBI check directly from the Bureau for $18. Submit fingerprints electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office, or mail a completed FD-258 fingerprint card. Personal checks, business checks, and cash are not accepted for direct FBI requests. Fee waivers are available for applicants who cannot afford the cost; contact the FBI before submitting.5FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
If your employer or licensing board is an authorized entity, they may route the FBI check through Missouri’s MACHS fingerprint system instead and bundle it with your state check.
Fixing Errors on Your Record
If a name-based search returns results that belong to someone else, you can file a Criminal History Identity Challenge with the MSHP. It’s a fingerprint verification: the Highway Patrol compares your prints against the record to confirm whether it actually matches you.
You have three ways to get the prints taken. Go to an IDEMIA processing center. Have local law enforcement print you on a civil fingerprint card (FD-258). Or visit the MSHP’s public window at 1510 E. Elm in Jefferson City, where they’ll fingerprint you and process the results while you wait, at no charge.4Missouri State Highway Patrol. Caregiver Background Screening
This process confirms whether the prints match the record. It will not, by itself, remove identifying information from another person’s record. If the mismatch is the result of identity theft, you’d need to file under Missouri’s identity theft statute.
Child abuse and neglect findings are challenged separately, through the DSS Children’s Division Central Registry.
Expunging Old Convictions
Missouri law lets you petition to expunge many offenses from your record. The governing statute is Missouri Revised Statutes Section 610.140.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 610.140
Waiting periods are relatively short: at least three years after completing your sentence for a felony, and one year for a misdemeanor, municipal violation, or infraction. During the waiting period you cannot pick up any new misdemeanor or felony convictions.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 610.140
Several categories of offense can’t be expunged:
- Class A felonies
- Dangerous felonies as defined in Missouri law
- Sex offenses that require registration
- Felonies where death is an element of the offense
- Assault and domestic assault felonies, and felony kidnapping
- Intoxication-related traffic or boating offenses
- Commercial driver violations
Lifetime limits apply. You can expunge up to two felonies and up to three misdemeanors or ordinance violations that carry jail time. Infractions have no cap.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 610.140
You file the petition in the court that handled the case and name as defendants every law enforcement agency, court, and prosecutor that may hold a copy of the record. The petition must include your full name, sex, race, driver’s license number, current address, the specific offenses you want expunged, arrest dates, arresting agencies, and case numbers. You submit fingerprints on a standard fingerprint card at filing. The court may hold a hearing no sooner than 30 days after you file. If the petition is denied because you didn’t meet the eligibility criteria, you have to wait a year before refiling.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 610.140
Your Rights When an Employer Runs the Check
When an employer uses a third-party company to run your background check, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you specific protections. Before ordering the report, the employer has to give you a written disclosure, in a standalone document, saying that a background check may be obtained. You must authorize the check in writing before it’s pulled.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681b
If something in the report might cost you the job, the employer can’t just reject you and move on. Before taking any adverse action, they have to give you a copy of the report and a written summary of your rights, so you can review it and flag errors first.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know
After a final adverse decision, the employer has to notify you again with the name and contact information of the background check company, a statement that the company didn’t make the hiring decision, and notice of your right to dispute inaccurate information and get a free copy of the report within 60 days.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know Skipping any of these steps is a federal violation.