Mo. Rev. Stat. § 43.503 — MO Code / Chapter 43 / Section 43.503
43.503 Arrest, charge and disposition of misdemeanors and felonies to be sent to ...
Status: in_force

43.503. Arrest, charge and disposition of misdemeanors and felonies to be sent to highway patrol — referrals to prosecuting or circuit attorneys to be submitted — procedure for certain juveniles — duties of court clerks — certain departments to provide information to central repository. — 1. For the purpose of maintaining complete and accurate criminal history record information, all police officers of this state, the clerk of each court, the department of corrections, the sheriff of each county, the chief law enforcement official of a city not within a county and the prosecuting attorney of each county or the circuit attorney of a city not within a county shall submit certain criminal arrest, charge, and disposition information to the central repository for filing without undue delay in the form and manner required by sections 43.500 to 43.651 .

2. All law enforcement agencies making misdemeanor and felony arrests as determined by section 43.506 shall furnish without undue delay, to the central repository, fingerprints, photograph, and if available, any other unique biometric identification collected, charges, appropriate charge codes, and descriptions of all persons who are arrested for such offenses on standard fingerprint forms supplied or approved by the highway patrol or electronically in a format and manner approved by the highway patrol and in compliance with the standards set by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Automated Fingerprint Identification System or its successor program. All such agencies shall also notify the central repository of all decisions not to refer such arrests for prosecution. An agency making such arrests may enter into arrangements with other law enforcement agencies for the purpose of furnishing without undue delay such fingerprints, photograph, and if available, any other unique biometric identification collected, charges, appropriate charge codes, and descriptions to the central repository upon its behalf.

3. In order for the Missouri office of prosecution services to maintain complete and accurate statewide reports as required by section 56.750 , on or before January 1, 2028, and thereafter, all police officers of this state, the sheriff and each deputy sheriff of each county, and the chief law enforcement official of a city not within a county and his or her officers shall submit referrals for any traffic violation, ordinance violation, or misdemeanor or felony offense referred to a prosecuting or circuit attorney in the form and manner approved by the Missouri office of prosecution services as required by subdivision (7) of subsection 1 of section 56.750 . At a minimum, any referral to a prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney for a felony offense shall include a probable cause statement and an investigative report. Any law enforcement agency that violates this subsection shall be ineligible to receive state or federal funds that would otherwise be paid to such agency for law enforcement, safety, or criminal justice purposes.

4. In instances where an individual less than seventeen years of age and not currently certified as an adult is taken into custody for an offense which would be a felony if committed by an adult, the arresting officer shall take fingerprints for the central repository. These fingerprints shall be taken on fingerprint cards supplied by or approved by the highway patrol or transmitted electronically in a format and manner approved by the highway patrol and in compliance with the standards set by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Automated Fingerprint Identification System or its successor program. The fingerprint cards shall be so constructed that the name of the juvenile should not be made available to the central repository. The individual's name and the unique number associated with the fingerprints and other pertinent information shall be provided to the court of jurisdiction by the agency taking the juvenile into custody. The juvenile's fingerprints and other information shall be forwarded to the central repository and the courts without undue delay. The fingerprint information from the card shall be captured and stored in the automated fingerprint identification system operated by the central repository. In the event the fingerprints are found to match other tenprints or unsolved latent prints, the central repository shall notify the submitting agency who shall notify the court of jurisdiction as per local agreement. Under section 211.031 , in instances where a juvenile over fifteen and one-half years of age is alleged to have violated a state or municipal traffic ordinance or regulation, which does not constitute a felony, and the juvenile court does not have jurisdiction, the juvenile shall not be fingerprinted unless certified as an adult.

5. Upon certification of the individual as an adult, the certifying court shall order a law enforcement agency to immediately fingerprint and photograph the individual and certification papers will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency with the order for fingerprinting. The law enforcement agency shall submit such fingerprints, photograph, and certification papers to the central repository within fifteen days and shall furnish the offense cycle number associated with the fingerprints to the prosecuting attorney or the circuit attorney of a city not within a county and to the clerk of the court ordering the subject fingerprinted. If the juvenile is acquitted of the crime and is no longer certified as an adult, the prosecuting attorney shall notify within fifteen days the central repository of the change of status of the juvenile. Records of a child who has been fingerprinted and photographed after being taken into custody shall be closed records as provided under section 610.100 if a petition has not been filed within thirty days of the date that the child was taken into custody; and if a petition for the child has not been filed within one year of the date the child was taken into custody, any records relating to the child concerning the alleged offense may be expunged under the procedures in sections 610.122 to 610.126 .

6. The prosecuting attorney of each county or the circuit attorney of a city not within a county or the municipal prosecuting attorney shall notify the central repository on standard forms supplied by the highway patrol or in a manner approved by the highway patrol of his or her decision to not file a criminal charge on any charge referred to such prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney for criminal charges. All records forwarded to the central repository and the courts by prosecutors or circuit attorneys as required by sections 43.500 to 43.530 shall include the state offense cycle number of the offense, the charge code for the offense, and the originating agency identifier number of the reporting prosecutor, using such numbers as assigned by the highway patrol.

7. The clerk of the courts of each county or city not within a county or municipal court clerk shall furnish the central repository, on standard forms supplied by the highway patrol or in a manner approved by the highway patrol, with a record of all charges filed, including all those added subsequent to the filing of a criminal court case, amended charges, and all final dispositions of cases for which the central repository has a record of an arrest or a record of fingerprints reported pursuant to sections 43.500 to 43.506 . Such information shall include, for each charge:

(1) All judgments of not guilty, acquittals on the ground of mental disease or defect excluding responsibility, judgments or pleas of guilty including the sentence, if any, or probation, if any, pronounced by the court, nolle pros, discharges, releases and dismissals in the trial court;

(2) Court orders filed with the clerk of the courts which reverse a reported conviction or vacate or modify a sentence;

(3) Judgments terminating or revoking a sentence to probation, supervision or conditional release and any resentencing after such revocation; and

(4) The offense cycle number of the offense, and the originating agency identifier number of the sentencing court, using such numbers as assigned by the highway patrol.

8. The clerk of the courts of each county or city not within a county shall furnish, to the department of corrections or department of mental health, court judgment and sentence documents and the state offense cycle number and the charge code of the offense which resulted in the commitment or assignment of an offender to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections or the department of mental health if the person is committed pursuant to chapter 552 . This information shall be reported to the department of corrections or the department of mental health at the time of commitment or assignment. If the offender was already in the custody of the department of corrections or the department of mental health at the time of such subsequent conviction, the clerk shall furnish notice of such subsequent conviction to the appropriate department by certified mail, return receipt requested, or in a manner and format mutually agreed to, within fifteen days of such disposition.

9. Information and fingerprints, photograph and if available, any other unique biometric identification collected, forwarded to the central repository, normally obtained from a person at the time of the arrest, may be obtained at any time the subject is in the criminal justice system or committed to the department of mental health. A law enforcement agency or the department of corrections may fingerprint, photograph, and capture any other unique biometric identification of the person unless collecting other unique biometric identification of the person is not financially feasible for the law enforcement agency, and obtain the necessary information at any time the subject is in custody. If at the time of any court appearance, the defendant has not been fingerprinted and photographed for an offense in which a fingerprint and photograph is required by statute to be collected, maintained, or disseminated by the central repository, the court shall order a law enforcement agency or court marshal to fingerprint and photograph immediately the defendant. The order for fingerprints shall contain the offense, charge code, date of offense, and any other information necessary to complete the fingerprint card. The law enforcement agency or court marshal shall submit such fingerprints, photograph, and if available, any other unique biometric identification collected, to the central repository without undue delay and within thirty days and shall furnish the offense cycle number associated with the fingerprints to the prosecuting attorney or the circuit attorney of a city not within a county and to the court clerk of the court ordering the subject fingerprinted.

10. The department of corrections and the department of mental health shall furnish the central repository with all information concerning the receipt, escape, execution, death, release, pardon, parole, commutation of sentence, granting of executive clemency, legal name change, or discharge of an individual who has been sentenced to that department's custody for any offenses which are mandated by law to be collected, maintained or disseminated by the central repository. All records forwarded to the central repository by the department as required by sections 43.500 to 43.651 shall include the offense cycle number of the offense, and the originating agency identifier number of the department using such numbers as assigned by the highway patrol.

(L. 1986 H.B. 873 & 874 § 2, A.L. 1990 H.B. 974, A.L. 1992 S.B. 638, A.L. 1993 S.B. 180, A.L. 1995 H.B. 174, et al., A.L. 1998 H.B. 1095, A.L. 2001 S.B. 267, A.L. 2003 S.B. 184, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453, A.L. 2009 H.B. 62, A.L. 2018 H.B. 1350, A.L. 2025 H.B. 495) Severability clause, see § 1.1001