St. Louis Arrest Record Search

St. Louis arrest records are maintained by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and processed through the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court. As an independent city, St. Louis operates separately from St. Louis County for law enforcement and court purposes. This creates a unique setup compared to most Missouri cities. Arrest records from St. Louis are public under the Missouri Sunshine Law and can be accessed through several online and in-person methods. This page covers where to find these records, what tools are available, and what the law says about public access.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police and Arrest Records

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is the main law enforcement agency in the city. Its headquarters is at 1915 Olive St, St. Louis, MO 63103. The phone number is (314) 444-5555. When officers make an arrest, the booking information goes into the department's records system. This includes the suspect's name, date of birth, charges, arresting officer, and booking date.

Under Section 610.100 RSMo, arrest records in St. Louis are open for 30 days after the arrest. If the prosecutor files charges within that time, the record stays open. No charges means the record closes to public view after the 30-day window. This rule applies across all of Missouri, but it matters a lot in St. Louis given the high volume of arrests the city sees each year.

You can request arrest records from the police department by visiting in person or sending a written request. There is a fee for copies. Phone inquiries may get you basic information, but detailed reports typically require a formal request on paper.

St. Louis Division of Corrections

St. Louis operates its own Division of Corrections, which is separate from the state prison system. The city's jails hold people who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or serving short sentences. The Division of Corrections maintains an inmate search tool that lets you look up who is currently in city custody. This is not the same as a full arrest record search. It only shows people currently being held.

For historical arrest records, you need to go through the police department or the court system. The inmate search is useful if you need to find out whether someone was recently arrested and is still in jail. It updates regularly but does not keep a permanent archive of past bookings.

Searching Arrest Records Online

The Case.net portal is the best free tool for finding St. Louis arrest records that led to criminal charges. You can search by name, case number, or date range. Case.net shows filings from the 22nd Judicial Circuit, which covers the City of St. Louis. It displays charges, hearing dates, and case outcomes. The tool is free and does not need an account to use.

Keep in mind that Case.net only shows cases where the prosecutor filed charges. An arrest that did not result in charges will not appear on Case.net. For those records, you need to contact the police department directly.

The Missouri Automated Criminal History Site offers statewide criminal background checks. A name-based search costs $15. MACHS pulls data from the central repository maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol under Chapter 43 RSMo. St. Louis Metro Police report their arrest data to this system, so it captures St. Louis arrests alongside records from every other agency in the state.

The state image below shows one of Missouri's statewide record search tools that covers St. Louis arrest data along with records from the rest of the state.

This statewide portal is one of several ways to access arrest data that originates from St. Louis law enforcement agencies.

The 22nd Judicial Circuit Court

St. Louis has its own circuit court. The 22nd Judicial Circuit handles all criminal cases arising from arrests made within the city. This includes felonies, misdemeanors, and municipal violations. The circuit court is located at the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.

Criminal cases in the 22nd Circuit follow the standard Missouri court process. After an arrest, the Circuit Attorney's Office reviews the case and decides whether to file charges. If charges are filed, the case goes through arraignment, pretrial hearings, and either trial or plea. All of these steps generate court records that link back to the original arrest.

The Missouri Courts website has information about the 22nd Circuit, including contact details and local court rules. You can also find information about the court's self-help resources for people who need to navigate the system without a lawyer.

Missouri Sunshine Law and St. Louis Arrest Records

The Missouri Sunshine Law governs public access to government records, including arrest records from St. Louis agencies. Under Chapter 610 RSMo, arrest records are considered open records with some limits. The 30-day rule under Section 610.100 is the main limit. Beyond that, closed records include juvenile arrests, sealed cases, and expunged records.

Any person can submit a Sunshine Law request to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. You do not need to live in St. Louis. The agency must respond within three business days. Fees for copies are allowed but must be reasonable. If a request is denied, the agency must cite the specific legal basis. You can file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General if you believe a denial was improper.

Statewide Resources for St. Louis Records

The Missouri State Highway Patrol maintains the central criminal records repository. The Missouri Department of Corrections offender search covers people sentenced to state prison. The Department of Public Safety oversees law enforcement agencies across the state. All of these tools can be used alongside local St. Louis resources to build a complete picture of someone's arrest and criminal history.

The state repository gets data from every law enforcement agency in Missouri. That means a search through MACHS can turn up arrests from St. Louis along with arrests from any other jurisdiction in the state. This is useful if you are not sure where an arrest took place.

Legal Assistance in St. Louis

Legal Services of Missouri has offices in St. Louis that provide free legal help to low-income residents. The Missouri Bar Association runs a referral service if you need to hire a private attorney. Missouri Legal Help has self-help guides that cover topics like expungement, which lets people petition to have certain arrest records removed from public databases.

Expungement has expanded in Missouri in recent years. More offense types now qualify. If you have an old St. Louis arrest that you want cleared, a lawyer can review your case and tell you whether you meet the requirements. The petition goes through the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court.

Filing Jurisdiction

St. Louis is an independent city in Missouri. It does not sit inside any county. Criminal cases from St. Louis arrests are filed in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, which is the city's own court. This is different from St. Louis County, which has its own separate court system (the 21st Judicial Circuit). If an arrest happened in St. Louis County rather than the City of St. Louis, you would search St. Louis County court records instead.

Nearby Cities

Other cities near St. Louis also maintain their own arrest records through their local police departments and county court systems.

• Florissant is north of St. Louis in St. Louis County.
• O'Fallon is west of St. Louis in St. Charles County.
• St. Charles sits across the Missouri River from St. Louis.
• St. Peters is in St. Charles County, west of the metro area.