Missouri
Final grade: B-
Exclusion Grade
D-
Relevance Grade
B
Due Process Grade
A+
Strengths
- Strong protections for due process.
- Repeals “good moral character” requirements and provisions that disqualify based on “crimes of moral turpitude” for multiple licenses, though it did not enact an overarching ban.
Areas of Improvement
- Expand protections to cover all licenses and all crimes.
- Block boards from considering non-conviction records and old convictions.
Updated July 2020
A 2020 reform significantly bolstered Missouri’s safeguards for ex-offenders seeking license, raising its final grade from a D- to a B-. Missouri is now one of a handful of states that earned a perfect score for its Due Process protections.
However, loopholes undermine the reform’s effectiveness. First, it exempts multiple professions, including teachers, accountants, podiatrists, dentists, physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, veterinarians, nurses, and real estate brokers. Second, although boards are now only permitted to disqualify applicants based on a crime that “directly relates to the duties and responsibilities for the licensed occupation,” violent or sexual crimes are exempt from that new standard.
Somewhat confusingly, the 2020 law effectively creates four different categories of directly related crimes. First, murder, rape, and child pornography are all considered to be “directly related” for all licenses. Second, drug delivery convictions are held to be directly related for real estate appraisal and nursing home administrators. Likewise, fraud convictions are deemed directly related for private investigators, architects, engineers, chiropractors, accountants, embalmers, funeral directors, real estate appraisal and nursing home administrators. Finally, boards must create their own lists of crimes that directly relate to the licenses they issue.
The new law also creates a time limit of sorts, declaring that any of the crimes specifically mentioned in the Fresh Start Act as directly related will no longer be considered as such after four years of a Missourian’s release from prison. However, since the new law exempts sexual and violent crimes from its directly related standard, this time limit truly only benefits those convicted of controlled-substance delivery or fraud charges who apply for one of the few licenses.
Statute: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 314.200 (1981), Mo. Rev. Stat. § 324.029 (2008), § 324.012
Exclusion
| Overarching ban on blanket bans | Yes, but excludes teachers, medical licenses, and white-collar professions |
| Ban on considering arrest records | No |
| Ban on considering post-conviction relief records | No |
| Time limit | No limit |
| Ban on vague, discretionary character standards | No, but the state repealed requirements for good moral character/lack of moral turpitude for multiple licenses |
Relevance
| Relationship between the crime and the license sought | "Directly relates to the duties and responsibilities for the licensed occupation," but exempts violent or sexual crimes |
| Required factors for consideration | |
| Rehabilitation | Yes |
| Time elapsed since crime was committed | Yes |
| Age when crime was committed | No |
| Employment History | No |
| Testimonials | No |
Due Process
| Petition Process | Yes |
| Burden of Proof | State bears burden of proof and requires clear and convincing evidence |
| Right to appeal | Yes |
| Written notice requirement | Yes |