Missouri DWI Expungement

A DWI from years ago can follow you around like a bad smell. Job applications, apartment applications, the volunteer form at your kid’s school. Every one of them asks, and every time you have to explain.

Here’s the good news: Missouri law lets you ask a judge to erase a first DWI. Not shrink it. Not hide it a little. Erase it. Most people have never heard of Missouri DWI expungement, and the ones who have usually get the rules wrong.

Let’s fix that.

The Law: RSMo § 610.130

Missouri’s DWI expungement law is RSMo § 610.130. It’s been around in one form or another since 1989 (it used to live at § 577.054).

It lets you petition the court that handled your case to expunge every record of your arrest, plea, trial, and conviction.

The general expungement statute, § 610.140, specifically refuses to touch intoxication-related traffic offenses. And Missouri’s 2026 “Clean Slate” law, which clears some records automatically, doesn’t cover DWIs either. So for a DWI, § 610.130 is the only road in, and you have to ask for it.

Who Qualifies

You have to check every box. Miss one and the answer is no.

1. Ten years have passed. At least ten years since you pled guilty or were convicted. Not nine and a half.
2. It was your first one. It has to be your first intoxication-related traffic offense (or boating offense, for my lake people).
3. It was a misdemeanor or a city/county ordinance violation. Felony DWIs are out.
4. Nothing since. No other DWI, BAC, or boating-while-intoxicated conviction since that first one.
5. No other “alcohol-related enforcement contacts.” That’s the statute’s term (it borrows the definition from § 302.525). Think administrative license suspensions and refusal revocations, here or in another state.
6. Nothing pending. No open DWI charge or alcohol-related enforcement action on the day of your hearing.
7. No CDL. If you have a commercial driver’s license, or you’re required to have one, in Missouri or any other state, this law does not apply to you. Period. Same if the original offense was in a commercial vehicle.
8. You haven’t used it before. You get one DWI expungement under this law. One. In your lifetime.

If you check all eight boxes, here’s the part I like: the statute says the court “shall” enter the order. That’s not “may.” If you prove you qualify, the judge doesn’t get to decide he just doesn’t like you.

“Shall” Doesn’t Mean “Automatic”

Now, before you start celebrating, there’s a catch hiding in that word “shall.” The judge has to grant it if the court determines, after a hearing, that you qualify. That means you have to prove it. Here’s how good people still walk out with a “no”:

• Something turns up on your record. The court looks at your driving record, not just your memory. An old administrative suspension, a refusal, or a DWI in another state you forgot about can knock out box 4, 5, or even box 2.
• A new problem pops up before the hearing. Get arrested for a DWI after you file but before the hearing date, and box 6 is gone. The statute looks at what’s pending at the time of the hearing.
• You filed too early. Nine years and eleven months is not ten years. The judge can’t round up.
• You filed in the wrong court. The petition goes to the court where you pled guilty or were sentenced. Not the one closest to your house.
• The paperwork can’t prove it. Older cases, especially from small municipal courts, can have thin or missing files. If you can’t show what the charge was and when it ended, you can’t show you qualify.
• Someone objects. The prosecutor or the Department of Revenue may show up and point out a problem. If they’re right, you lose.
• The charge wasn’t what you thought. If it was actually filed or resolved as a felony, or you picked up a CDL along the way, the law doesn’t reach you.

Here’s the flip side. The general expungement statute (§ 610.140) lets a judge weigh whether you’re a threat to public safety and whether expungement is consistent with the public welfare. Section 610.130 has none of that. No “I just don’t think you deserve it.” If you prove every box, the order has to issue. So the whole game is proving every box, and that’s where a lawyer earns his fee.

Who Doesn’t Qualify

Let me save you a phone call. You’re out if:

• You have two DWIs. Neither one can be expunged under this law.
• Your DWI was a felony (aggravated, persistent, or one where someone got hurt).
• You hold a CDL, even if you got it after the DWI.
• You already used your one DWI expungement.
• Fewer than ten years have passed. Mark your calendar and call me then.

One more twist. If your DWI was amended down to something like careless and imprudent driving, you may not be stuck with the ten-year wait at all. That reduced charge can go through the general expungement statute, and the Missouri Court of Appeals has held that the related DWI arrest records and Department of Revenue records get closed with it. That’s a conversation worth having.

What Expungement Actually Means

This is the best part, so read it twice.

When the judge signs the order, the records become confidential. They’re available only to the parties or to someone who gets a court order for good cause.

The statute says you are restored to the status you had before the arrest, “as if such event had never taken place.”

And here’s the big one. If someone asks whether you’ve ever been arrested or convicted, you can say no. The law says you can’t be charged with perjury or giving a false statement for not mentioning it. It also says no one is supposed to ask about an expungement under this section.

Two honest footnotes. First, the Department of Revenue keeps a record that you used your one expungement, so you can’t do it twice. Second, private background-check companies sometimes hang on to old data. If something pops up after your order, we send them the order.

A Quick Story

I’ll call him Dave. Dave got a DWI in St. Charles County back in 2013. Misdemeanor, first offense, paid his fine, did his classes, never so much as rolled a stop sign since.

Dave figured his DWI was a life sentence. Every job application, he checked the box and explained. Every time, he watched the interviewer’s face change.

Then a new job required a background check. Dave called me in a panic. We pulled his record, checked every box, filed the petition, and went to the hearing.

Today, Dave checks “No.” Legally.

What You Should Do Next

1. Find your date. Look up when you pled guilty or were convicted. Case.net is a good place to start.
2. Count to ten. If it’s been ten years or more, keep going.
3. Be honest about your history. Any other DWI, any refusal, any suspension? Write it down.
4. Check your license. CDL now, or a job that will require one? That’s a problem we need to talk through first.
5. Call a lawyer who does this. A petition with a missing piece gets denied, and you only get one shot at this law.

Quick Answers

Can a DWI be expunged in Missouri? Yes. A first misdemeanor DWI can be expunged under RSMo § 610.130 after ten years, if you have no later intoxication-related offenses or alcohol-related enforcement contacts and no CDL.

Does Missouri’s Clean Slate law expunge DWIs? No. The automatic process under RSMo § 610.141 covers only certain drug possession and paraphernalia convictions.

How long do I have to wait? At least ten years from your guilty plea or conviction.

Can I expunge a DWI if I have a CDL? No. Section 610.130 does not apply to anyone who holds or is required to hold a commercial driver’s license.

Is it automatic if I qualify? No. You file a petition and prove each requirement at a hearing. If you do, the court must grant it.

Know That You Have Options

A DWI from a decade ago shouldn’t still be standing between you and a job, an apartment, or a little peace of mind. If you qualify, Missouri law says you get your clean slate. You just have to ask for it the right way.

I’m Guss Markwell of Markwell Law, LLC in St. Peters. I’ve been helping people in St. Charles County and the St. Louis area deal with DWIs for years, from the arrest all the way to the expungement. Facing a new charge instead? Start with DWI Consequences.

Know that you have options! Call me at 636-486-1093 and ask an experienced attorney today.

This page is general information about Missouri law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it doesn’t make you my client.