Missouri Highway Patrol Background Check

Choose the MACHS portal before paying

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s CJIS Division offers a name-based check and a fingerprint-based check through MACHS. For personal identifiers, choose the Name Search Portal; for fingerprint collection and submission, choose the Fingerprint Search Portal. If a licensing body or employer specified a check, obtain its instructions first rather than buying the cheaper product and hoping it will be accepted.

A name search depends on the identifiers supplied and can produce a false match or miss. Fingerprints establish identity more reliably, but the permitted record content still depends on the requester and purpose. Neither product is a substitute for the hearing court’s actual judgment when the issue is what an order says.

What the public name check includes

The Patrol’s detailed instructions define open records to include convictions, arrests less than 30 days old, prosecutor-filed charges awaiting disposition, and suspended imposition of sentence during probation. The name portal does not return Missouri closed records or FBI history. Thus an entry may describe an unresolved charge rather than a conviction.

The name portal requires the person’s name and either exact birth date or Social Security number. Its instructions permit up to two maiden or alias names within one inquiry. Check spelling and identifying data before submission; the FAQ says an incorrect submitted search is not refundable and a corrected request requires another fee. Enter sensitive identifiers only through the official service.

Name-check price, response and retained copies

The Name Search FAQ and main check page both list $16 per person plus a payment-processing or convenience fee. A general CJIS FAQ still says $15; use the transaction-specific $16 guidance and confirm the checkout charge rather than mailing a payment based on the older conflicting amount.

Most online name results arrive immediately, but the portal asks users to allow 5–7 business days for research. Check Order History if payment succeeded without a response. Save the result within 90 days; afterward a new paid request is needed. A $5 notarized mailed response must be selected when ordering, not added later.

Fingerprint registration and the recipient matter

Ask the requesting organization whether you need its MACHS registration number. Eligible agencies use that number to select the authorized check and route the response. Register with MACHS before the IdentoGO appointment; all applicants using the vendor need registration. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID, and keep the receipt after the technician captures your photograph and fingerprints. For registration assistance, call 844-543-9712.

The fingerprint FAQ lists $20 for the Missouri search, $15 for an authorized FBI search and $12 for the vendor, with $5 for a notarized clearance letter. Only qualified entities may request FBI-file access. Reports returned directly to the individual contain Missouri open and closed information; fingerprinting alone does not authorize a personal FBI report through this route. Select notarized results in the original fingerprint order; that option cannot be added afterward.

Closed Missouri information can include dismissed charges, not-guilty outcomes and suspended-imposition-of-sentence records after probation. Access is purpose-limited, so the fuller response is not necessarily a list of convictions. The Patrol’s main fee page also identifies a reduced $14 state charge for specified foster-care and concealed-carry requests; that is an exception to the ordinary $20 state component, not a discount for any applicant.

Confirm the fingerprint total shown for your program

Official fingerprint pricing is internally inconsistent: the main page gives a $35 state/vendor total while also listing a $20 state charge and $12 vendor charge; the fingerprint FAQ uses those same components. It also lists a $47 authorized state-and-FBI total. Do not treat $35 as a reconciled quote. Confirm your registration-specific vendor total before payment, including any notarization.

Out-of-state applications and processing

For applicants outside Missouri, the Patrol accepts a completed FD-258 fingerprint card with the applicable fee at MSHP, CJIS Division, P.O. Box 9500, Jefferson City, MO 65102-9500. Its mail-card estimate is 4–6 weeks. Electronic submissions from out-of-state agencies are not accepted directly; the published alternative is to ask IdentoGO about card processing. Direct mailed fees must be paid by check or money order to State of Missouri - Criminal Record System Fund; the direct mail instructions exclude cash and cards. Nonstandard return postage is paid by the requester.

MACHS fingerprint checks are generally returned to the requesting entity within 7–10 business days after fingerprinting. Distinguish that estimate from the longer mailed-card route, and ask the receiving organization whether it has received the result before ordering again. A collection receipt confirms submission, not completion or clearance.

Read repository coverage and challenge an error

CJIS collects Missouri reports from law enforcement, prosecutors, courts and corrections. Its repository includes misdemeanors, felonies and selected municipal ordinance violations. The general FAQ says records extend to the 1940s, with mandatory reporting beginning in 1987. Historical scope and agency reporting mean a repository response should not be represented as every court record everywhere.

For inaccurate or incomplete information, contact the Record Check Processing Unit at 573-526-6153, option 3, with supporting documentation. If a name result is not yours, ask CJIS for challenge instructions. Compare the charge, arrest and final disposition with the originating court document; retain both the report and your correction response.