Missouri 407
The Guide to County Court Records
Missouri
Administration
The Supreme and
Appellate Courts
Time Zone:
CST
Capital:
Jefferson City, Cole County
# of Counties:
114
State Web:
www.mo.gov
Court Web:
www.courts.mo.gov
State Court Administrator, 2112 Industrial Dr., PO Box 104480, Jefferson City, MO,
65109; 573-751-4377, Fax: 573-751-5540.
The Supreme Court is the court of last resort. The Missouri Court of Appeals is the
intermediate appellate court and handles appeals from the Circuit Courts and all other
appeals except those in the Supreme Court's exclusive jurisdiction. Appellate and Supreme
Court opinions are available at the web page.
The Missouri Courts
Court
Type
How Organized
Jurisdiction Highpoints
Circuit *
General
106 Courts (with
Divisions) in 45 Districts
Felony, Misdemeanor, Civil, Small Claims,
Eviction, Family, Probate, Juvenile
Municipal
Limited
470
Ordinance
* = profiled in this book
Details on the
Court Structure
The Circuit Courts are the primary trial courts in Missouri, and they have general
jurisdiction over almost all civil and criminal matters. Each circuit court consists of
divisions including associate circuit, small claims, municipal, criminal, family, probate and
juvenile. The type of case determines the division to which a particular case is assigned.
At one time, every county had an Associate Circuit Court. Over the past few years the
Associate Courts has been consolidated into the Circuit Court, with the Associate Court
beginning a division of the Circuit Court. Since 01/01/2010, all Associate Courts are
supposedly absorbed into the Circuit Court as Divisions. Herein we have segregated the
Associate Courts when record keeping, fees and phone numbers indicated are completely
comingled with the Circuit Court.
The Municipal Court has original jurisdiction on municipal ordinance violations.
Record Searching Facts You Need to Know
Fees and Record
Searching Tips
Online Access is
Statewide for Trial
Courts
Many Circuit Courts do not accept mail or fax requests to perform criminal record searches
and refer requesters to the MO State Highway Patrol Criminal Records Division. Those
courts which will do a name search charge between $1.00 and $10.00, or no fee at all.
All courts participate in the Missouri CaseNet online system (see below). The public access
terminals found in the court houses generally reflect the same content as found on the
CaseNet access. However, since few identifiers are given, often an onsite search is needed
to view file to confirm identity is needed.
Available at https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/base/welcome.do is Missouri CaseNet, an
online system for access to civil, paternity, adult & child protection, and criminal docket
data. The system includes all Circuit Courts, City of St. Louis, the Eastern, Western, and
Southern Appellate Courts, the Supreme Court, and Fine Collection Center. Cases can be
searched case number, filing date, or litigant name. A number of Municipal Courts also
participate. CaseNet search results show full name and address, but usually only the year of
birth (click on Parties and Attorneys at case result page). Note the following statement
408 Missouri
The Guide to County Court Records
found at the web page: “The information available on Case.net is provided as a service and
is not considered an official court record.” However, the CaseNet system is what the
county court house public access terminals show on their screens. It is generally thought
that a search on the online version of CaseNet is equivalent to a search of the public access
terminal at the courthouse. The advantage of being at the courthouse is one can look at case
files to try and determine the true identity since Casenet does not provide the full DOB.
Since June 29, 2012, final judgment documents on domestic relations cases are longer
available on Casenet. Not all courts have electronic documents available, only those using
the Document Management System (DMS) within the Judicial Information System (JIS). If
a document is available for viewing and printing it shows as a blue hyperlink on the screen.
Note some individual courts offer access to probate records outside of CaseNet.
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