Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View RecordsBackground Checks
Missouri Background Check
Choose a Missouri name or fingerprint background check, understand public-record limits, and match the submission to an agency requirement.
Let the purpose determine the method
For a public Missouri name-based check, use the Highway Patrol’s Missouri Automated Criminal History Site, MACHS. The current MSHP criminal-record page lists the name-based personal-identifier search at $16 per request, with an online convenience fee. Name-based results identify possible matches; fingerprint checks provide positive identification.
If an employer or licensing agency sent you for fingerprints, obtain its registration number before starting the MACHS fingerprint wizard. Follow that agency’s submission instructions so the result goes through the required channel.
Read the scope before interpreting a result
The public name-check route returns open records. The Patrol includes convictions, arrests less than 30 days old, pending charges filed by a prosecutor, and suspended impositions of sentence while probation is active. Closed-record access is a separate authorized process; selecting a public search does not unlock it.
Missouri’s repository is built from information reported by the state’s law-enforcement agencies and courts. Treat the result as that repository’s response to the supplied identifiers, not a guarantee that every relevant document or out-of-state event has been searched.
Resolve identity or outcome questions before relying on the report
Compare the identifying details carefully. If a common name or inconsistent birth date leaves doubt, do not label the result as belonging to the person; use the fingerprint method appropriate to the request.
For the actual court outcome, locate the case in Case.net. An accessible attached document is opened through a linked docket entry; an entry without a usable link does not guarantee that the underlying document is available online. Ask the case’s clerk for the order you need if it is unavailable there.
Missouri Background Check task checklist
-
✓
Choose name or fingerprint search
Use the requesting organization’s instructions and the identity certainty required.
-
✓
Use the current MSHP fee page
The official page currently lists $16 for a name-based personal-identifier search.
-
✓
Read open-record scope before interpreting
A public name check does not expose every closed record.
-
✓
Resolve identity uncertainty
Use fingerprints when positive identification is required rather than relying on a common-name match.
-
✓
Use Case.net or the clerk for the court outcome
The repository response is not the filed judgment or order.
Use the current MACHS option that matches the decision you need to make
| Method | Current official detail | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Name-based MACHS search | MSHP currently lists $16 per personal-identifier search, plus a convenience fee for the online portal. | The result is a possible name-based match and returns open-record information. |
| Fingerprint search | MSHP lists a $20 state fingerprint fee; authorized FBI searches have an additional fee. | Fingerprints provide positive identification and may be required by the requesting entity. |
Because the current official page supersedes older fee references, verify the live MSHP instructions before payment. For a court-specific disposition or filing, use the case and court record rather than treating the repository summary as the underlying document.
For a fingerprint appointment, follow the MACHS registration instructions and the requesting entity’s registration information. The Highway Patrol states that fingerprint-based results are generally mailed to the qualified entity or applicant after processing. Do not assume the fingerprint vendor can interpret the criminal history or change the destination selected by the authorized request process.