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Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.321 (2026)

Juvenile court records, confidentiality, exceptions

✓ current as of May 2026
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  211.321.  Juvenile court records, confidentiality, exceptions — records of peace officers, exceptions, release of certain information to victim. — 1.  Records of juvenile court proceedings as well as all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty for the court shall not be open to inspection or their contents disclosed, except by order of the court to persons having a legitimate interest therein, unless a petition or motion to modify is sustained which charges the child with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a class A felony under the criminal code of Missouri, or capital murder, first degree murder, or second degree murder or except as provided in subsection 2 of this section.  In addition, whenever a report is required under section 557.026, there shall also be included a complete list of certain violations of the juvenile code for which the defendant had been adjudicated a delinquent while a juvenile.  This list shall be made available to the probation officer and shall be included in the presentence report.  The violations to be included in the report are limited to the following:  rape, sodomy, murder, kidnapping, robbery, arson, burglary or any acts involving the rendering or threat of serious bodily harm.  The supreme court may promulgate rules to be followed by the juvenile courts in separating the records.

  2.  In all proceedings under subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 211.031, the records of the juvenile court as well as all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty for the court shall be kept confidential and shall be open to inspection only by order of the judge of the juvenile court or as otherwise provided by statute.  In all proceedings under subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of section 211.031 the records of the juvenile court as well as all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty for the court shall be kept confidential and may be open to inspection without court order only as follows:

  (1)  The juvenile officer is authorized at any time:

  (a)  To provide information to or discuss matters concerning the child, the violation of law or the case with the victim, witnesses, officials at the child's school, law enforcement officials, prosecuting attorneys, any person or agency having or proposed to have legal or actual care, custody or control of the child, or any person or agency providing or proposed to provide treatment of the child.  Information received pursuant to this paragraph shall not be released to the general public, but shall be released only to the persons or agencies listed in this paragraph;

  (b)  To make public information concerning the offense, the substance of the petition, the status of proceedings in the juvenile court and any other information which does not specifically identify the child or the child's family;

  (2)  After a child has been adjudicated delinquent pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of section 211.031, for an offense which would be a felony if committed by an adult, the records of the dispositional hearing and proceedings related thereto shall be open to the public to the same extent that records of criminal proceedings are open to the public.  However, the social summaries, investigations or updates in the nature of presentence investigations, and status reports submitted to the court by any treating agency or individual after the dispositional order is entered shall be kept confidential and shall be opened to inspection only by order of the judge of the juvenile court;

  (3)  As otherwise provided by statute;

  (4)  In all other instances, only by order of the judge of the juvenile court.

  3.  Peace officers' records, if any are kept, of children shall be kept separate from the records of persons eighteen years of age or over and shall not be open to inspection or their contents disclosed, except by order of the court.  This subsection does not apply to children who are transferred to courts of general jurisdiction as provided by section 211.071 or to juveniles convicted under the provisions of sections 578.421 to 578.437.  This subsection does not apply to the inspection or disclosure of the contents of the records of peace officers for the purpose of pursuing a civil forfeiture action pursuant to the provisions of section 195.140.

  4.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the release of information and data to persons or organizations authorized by law to compile statistics relating to juveniles.  The court shall adopt procedures to protect the confidentiality of children's names and identities.

  5.  The court may, either on its own motion or upon application by the child or his or her representative, or upon application by the juvenile officer, enter an order to destroy all social histories, records, and information, other than the official court file, and may enter an order to seal the official court file, as well as all peace officers' records, at any time after the child has reached his or her eighteenth birthday if the court finds that it is in the best interest of the child that such action or any part thereof be taken, unless the jurisdiction of the court is continued beyond the child's eighteenth birthday, in which event such action or any part thereof may be taken by the court at any time after the closing of the child's case.

  6.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the release of general information regarding the informal adjustment or formal adjudication of the disposition of a child's case to a victim or a member of the immediate family of a victim of any offense committed by the child.  Such general information shall not be specific as to location and duration of treatment or detention or as to any terms of supervision.

  7.  Records of juvenile court proceedings as well as all information obtained and social records prepared in the discharge of official duty for the court shall be disclosed to the child fatality review panel reviewing the child's death pursuant to section 210.192 unless the juvenile court on its own motion, or upon application by the juvenile officer, enters an order to seal the records of the victim child.

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(L. 1957 p. 642 § 211.310, A.L. 1969 H.B. 227, A.L. 1980 S.B. 512, A.L. 1989 H.B. 502, et al., A.L. 1993 H.B. 562, A.L. 1994 S.B. 595, A.L. 1995 H.B. 174, et al., A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453, A.L. 2018 S.B. 793 merged with S.B. 800)

Effective 1-01-21

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 23 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1967–2024 · leading case: Mason v. State, 368 S.W.3d 182 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012).
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Mason v. State, 368 S.W.3d 182 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 29× “In ruling on the defendant’s writ, the Southern District of this court found that the circuit court had exceeded its power in ordering release of all of the defendant’s juvenile offenses and held that: Before § 211.321 assumed its present form as amended by Laws of 1980, a judge…”
In the Interest of: A.C.G. Juv. Officer & Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div. v. A.G. (Nat. Mother), 499 S.W.3d 340 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× ““Section 211.321 governs Missouri’s juvenile court records, the confidentiality of those records, and exceptions to Missouri’s general policy of confidentiality.”
State Ex Rel. Arbeiter v. Reagan, 427 S.W.2d 371 (Mo. 1968). · cites it 10× “" Section 211.321 is in full as follows: "1.”
In re S.B.A., 530 S.W.3d 615 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “3d at 475 ; section 211.321,2(2). Under these circumstances, and similar to our Court’s holding in N.”
State v. Goldman, 140 S.W.3d 280 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 8× “Section 211.321 2 provides in relevant part: 1.”
State ex rel. Whittaker v. Webber, 605 S.W.2d 179 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980). · cites it 7× “Relator states that the report contains information disclosing the prior juvenile record of relator, that the record was not obtained pursuant to court order and that including the record in the presentence report violates § 211.321, RSMo 1978. 1 We issued our preliminary writ…”
State Ex Rel. A. M. T. v. Weinstein, 411 S.W.2d 267 (Mo. Ct. App. 1967). · cites it 4× “We have related the above as a prelude to a discussion of whether the attorney for relators, in executing his entry of appearance as counsel for relators and requesting permission to examine the legal and social file in the case, which request was made in accordance with the…”
State v. Scott, 651 S.W.2d 199 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 3× “of state’s witness, Odum, that he [appellant] was a principal in the case” and (2) overruling appellant’s motion to suppress the introduction of the fingerprint secured at the scene with the fingerprint of appellant taken when he was á juvenile three years earlier and the…”
State ex rel. Palmer v. Keet, 627 S.W.2d 928 (Mo. Ct. App. 1982). · cites it 9× “ugh its probation officers, to obtain from the juvenile records of defendant and orders and authorizes the juvenile officer of Greene County, Missouri to release to the Missouri Probation and Parole Office, acting through its probation officers, the probation office [sic] being…”
M.A.A. v. Juv. Officer, 271 S.W.3d 625 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “All juveniles involved in this case are identified by their initials, consistent with § 211.321, RSMo 2000. For convenience, however, fictitious first names have been assigned to each juvenile, other than Appellant, and each is designated by that fictitious name throughout.”
In the Interest of J.A.C., 716 S.W.2d 813 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 4× “” Section 211.321 1 pertaining to juvenile court records provides in its pertinent part that 1.”
State v. Salmon, 563 S.W.3d 725 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “While Section 211.321 *733 provides that juvenile records are generally confidential, Section 211.”
Show all 23 citing cases →
— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.321(1) — 3 cases
State Ex Rel. Arbeiter v. Reagan, 427 S.W.2d 371 (Mo. 1968). “" Section 211.321 is in full as follows: "1.”
State ex rel. Whittaker v. Webber, 605 S.W.2d 179 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980). “Relator states that the report contains information disclosing the prior juvenile record of relator, that the record was not obtained pursuant to court order and that including the record in the presentence report violates § 211.321, RSMo 1978. 1 We issued our preliminary writ…”
State ex rel. Palmer v. Keet, 627 S.W.2d 928 (Mo. Ct. App. 1982). “ugh its probation officers, to obtain from the juvenile records of defendant and orders and authorizes the juvenile officer of Greene County, Missouri to release to the Missouri Probation and Parole Office, acting through its probation officers, the probation office [sic] being…”
— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.321(2) — 2 cases
State Ex Rel. Arbeiter v. Reagan, 427 S.W.2d 371 (Mo. 1968). “" Section 211.321 is in full as follows: "1.”
State v. Conner, 607 S.W.2d 784 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980).
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