Expunging a Missouri Receiving Stolen Property Charge
Receiving stolen property is no longer a separate offense in Missouri. It was repealed and folded into the stealing statute, which matters if you are trying to work out what is actually on your record.
- Statute
- § 570.030
- How it is graded
- Class D misdemeanor up to a Class B felony, graded by the value of the property, because it is now prosecuted as stealing
How expungement works for this charge
Missouri repealed the old receiving stolen property section, § 570.080, in the 2014 criminal code rewrite, effective January 1, 2017. The conduct did not stop being a crime: it moved into the stealing statute at § 570.030, which now covers anyone who "receives, retains or disposes of property of another knowing that it has been stolen." So a case charged today is a stealing case and follows the stealing analysis, graded on the value of the property. A conviction from before 2017 will still appear on your record under the old section, and that is fine, an expungement petition works from the conviction as it was entered. Either way the practical trap is the same one stealing has: these cases usually carry restitution to the original owner, and the waiting period does not begin until that balance is cleared on the court file.
Often eligible
- Older convictions entered under the repealed § 570.080
- Misdemeanor-level cases after the 1-year waiting period
- Class C, D and E felony cases after 3 years
- Cases where restitution has been paid in full
What disqualifies a case
- Counts elevated to a Class A or B felony
- Outstanding restitution on the case
- Already having used both lifetime felony expungements
There are exceptions in both directions and the law changes. Don’t rule yourself out on a list. Let us check the actual record.
The rules that apply to every Missouri expungement
- Waiting periods. Three years for a felony, one year for a misdemeanor or ordinance violation, measured from the day you complete the entire disposition, including probation, parole, fines and restitution.
- Lifetime limits. Up to two felonies and three misdemeanors or ordinance violations that carry possible jail time. Infractions are unlimited and don’t count against either cap.
- It is never automatic. Even when you qualify on paper, the court must also find that you have no pending charges, that all obligations are satisfied, that you are not a threat to public safety, and that expungement serves the interests of justice. The burden is on you, which is what the petition is for.
Different rules apply to first-time alcohol-related driving offenses, which run under § 610.130 with a ten-year wait, once per lifetime.
Questions about receiving stolen property expungement
Is receiving stolen property still a crime in Missouri?
My conviction says receiving stolen property. Can it still be expunged?
Yes. A conviction entered before 2017 stays on your record under the section that existed then. The petition works from the conviction as it was entered, and the ordinary waiting periods and lifetime caps apply.
I did not know it was stolen. Does that help?
That is a defence at trial, not a factor in expungement. Once there is a conviction, eligibility turns on the class, the timing and your record, not on what you knew.
General information about Missouri law, not legal advice, and not a prediction about your case. Eligibility depends on the exact statute, your disposition, your record and the court’s discretion. Reviewed by Andrew Popplewell.
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