Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 568
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 568.040 (2026)

Criminal nonsupport, penalty

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MO-REVrevisor.mo.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

  568.040.  Criminal nonsupport, penalty — definitions — payment of support as a condition of parole — expungement of records, when — prosecuting attorneys to report cases to family support division. — 1.  A person commits the offense of nonsupport if he or she knowingly fails to provide adequate support for his or her spouse; a parent commits the offense of nonsupport if such parent knowingly fails to provide adequate support which such parent is legally obligated to provide for his or her child or stepchild who is not otherwise emancipated by operation of law.

  2.  For purposes of this section:

  (1)  "Arrearage":

  (a)  The amount of moneys created by a failure to provide support to a child under an administrative or judicial support order;

  (b)  Support to an estranged or former spouse if the judgment or order requiring payment of spousal support also requires payment of child support and such estranged or former spouse is the custodial parent; or

  (c)  Both paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision.

­­

­

The arrearage shall reflect any retroactive support ordered under a modification and any judgments entered by a court of competent jurisdiction or any authorized agency and any satisfactions of judgment filed by the custodial parent;

  (2)  "Child" means any biological or adoptive child, or any child whose paternity has been established under chapter 454, or chapter 210, or any child whose relationship to the defendant has been determined, by a court of law in a proceeding for dissolution or legal separation, to be that of child to parent;

  (3)  "Good cause" means any substantial reason why the defendant is unable to provide adequate support.  Good cause does not exist if the defendant purposely maintains his inability to support;

  (4)  "Support" means food, clothing, lodging, and medical or surgical attention;

  (5)  It shall not constitute a failure to provide medical and surgical attention, if nonmedical remedial treatment recognized and permitted under the laws of this state is provided.

  3.  Inability to provide support for good cause shall be an affirmative defense under this section.  A defendant who raises such affirmative defense has the burden of proving the defense by a preponderance of the evidence.

  4.  The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issues raised by subdivision (5) of subsection 2 of this section.

  5.  The offense of criminal nonsupport is a class A misdemeanor, unless the total arrearage is in excess of an aggregate of twelve monthly payments due under any order of support issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or any authorized administrative agency, in which case it is a class E felony.

  6.  (1)  If at any time an offender convicted of criminal nonsupport, or an offender who has plead guilty to a charge of criminal nonsupport, is placed on probation or parole, there may be ordered as a condition of probation or parole that the offender commence payment of current support as well as satisfy the arrearages.  Arrearages may be satisfied first by making such lump sum payment as the offender is capable of paying, if any, as may be shown after examination of the offender's financial resources or assets, both real, personal, and mixed, and second by making periodic payments.  Periodic payments toward satisfaction of arrears when added to current payments due shall be in such aggregate sums as is not greater than fifty percent of the offender's adjusted gross income after deduction of payroll taxes, medical insurance that also covers a dependent spouse or children, and any other court- or administrative-ordered support, only.

  (2)  If the offender fails to pay the support and arrearages under the terms of his or her probation, the court may revoke probation or parole and then impose an appropriate sentence within the range for the class of offense that the offender was convicted of as provided by law, unless the offender proves good cause for the failure to pay as required under subsection 3 of this section.

  (3)  (a)  An individual whose children were the subject of a child support order and the obligation of such individual to make child support payments has been terminated under subsection 3 of section 452.340, who has been found guilty of a felony offense for criminal nonsupport under this section, and who has successfully completed probation after a plea of guilty or conviction may petition the court for expungement of all recordations of his or her arrest, plea, trial, or conviction.  If the court determines after hearing that such person:

  a.  Has not been convicted of any subsequent offense, unless such offense is eligible for expungement under a different section;

  b.  Does not have any other felony pleas of guilt, findings of guilt, or convictions, unless such felony pleas of guilt, findings of guilt, or convictions are eligible for expungement under a different section;

  c.  Has paid off all arrearages; and

  d.  Has no administrative child support actions pending at the time of the hearing on the application for expungement with respect to all children subject to orders of payment of child support

­­

­

the court shall enter an order of expungement.  In addition, the court may consider successful completion of a criminal nonsupport court program under section 478.1000, or any other circumstances or factors deemed relevant by the court.

  (b)  Upon granting the order of expungement, the records and files maintained in any court proceeding in an associate or a circuit division of the circuit court under this section shall be confidential and only available to the parties or by order of the court for good cause shown.

  (c)  The effect of such order shall be to restore such person to the status he or she occupied prior to such arrest, plea, or conviction, and as if such event had never taken place. No person for whom such order has been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his or her failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, plea, trial, conviction, or expungement in response to any inquiry made of him or her for any purpose whatsoever and no such inquiry shall be made for information relating to an expungement under this section.

  (d)  A person shall only be entitled to one expungement under this section.  Nothing in this section shall prevent the director of the department of social services from maintaining such records as to ensure that an individual receives only one expungement under this section for the purpose of informing the proper authorities of the contents of any record maintained under this section.

  7.  During any period that a nonviolent offender is incarcerated for criminal nonsupport, if the offender is ready, willing, and able to be gainfully employed during said period of incarceration, the offender, if he or she meets the criteria established by the department of corrections, may be placed on work release to allow the offender to satisfy his or her obligation to pay support.  Arrearages shall be satisfied as outlined in the collection agreement.

  8.  Beginning August 28, 2009, every nonviolent first- and second-time offender then incarcerated for criminal nonsupport, who has not been previously placed on probation or parole for conviction of criminal nonsupport, may be considered for parole, under the conditions set forth in subsection 6 of this section, or work release, under the conditions set forth in subsection 7 of this section.

  9.  Beginning January 1, 1991, every prosecuting attorney in any county which has entered into a cooperative agreement with the family support division within the department of social services regarding child support enforcement services shall report to the division on a quarterly basis the number of charges filed and the number of convictions obtained under this section by the prosecuting attorney's office on all IV-D cases.  The division shall consolidate the reported information into a statewide report by county and make the report available to the general public.

  10.  Persons accused of committing the offense of nonsupport of the child shall be prosecuted:

  (1)  In any county in which the child resided during the period of time for which the defendant is charged; or

  (2)  In any county in which the defendant resided during the period of time for which the defendant is charged.

­­--------

(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 1990 S.B. 834, A.L. 1993 S.B. 253, A.L. 2009 S.B. 140, A.L. 2011 H.B. 111, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491, A.L. 2016 H.B. 2332, A.L. 2017 S.B. 34)

(2015) Criminal nonsupport statute is constitutional under due process standards because a defendant may be made to bear the burden of pleading and proving the affirmative defense of inability to provide support for good cause.  State v. Meacham, 470 S.W.3d 744 (Mo.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 105 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1979–2025 · leading case: State of Missouri v. Christopher C. Claycomb, 470 S.W.3d 358 (Mo. 2015).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State of Missouri v. Christopher C. Claycomb, 470 S.W.3d 358 (Mo. 2015). · cites it 42× “Claycomb’s argument that the State must present evidence of a lack of in-kind support in order to make a prima facie case of lack of support under section 568.040. He cites no authority for the proposition that the State must prove a negative, and to so hold would be…”
State v. Salazar, 236 S.W.3d 644 (Mo. 2007). · cites it 36× “David Salazar appeals his conviction for criminal nonsupport under section 568.040. [1] The conviction was premised upon a finding that Salazar failed to provide adequate support "for his child.”
State v. Reed, 181 S.W.3d 567 (Mo. 2006). · cites it 32× “4 Succinctly stated, “[a dissolution] decree with a provision for child support is not a prerequisite to a prosecution under [section 568.040], and by the same token the existence of such a support decree does *570 not bar a prosecution under that section.”
State v. Holmes, 399 S.W.3d 809 (Mo. 2013). · cites it 20× “He argues the trial court erred in overruling his motion for judgment of acquittal claiming section 568.040, RSMo. Supp.2011, is unconstitutional because it makes lack of good cause an element of the crime of criminal nonsupport but then shifts the burden of proving good cause…”
State of Missouri v. Dennis E. Meacham, 470 S.W.3d 744 (Mo. 2015). · cites it 24× “Russell, Judge Dennis Meacham (Father) was charged with criminal nonsupport in violation of section 568.040, RSMo Supp. 2011. He filed a motion to dismiss the information as a violation of his due process rights under the United States and Missouri constitutions.”
State v. Sellers, 77 S.W.3d 2 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 11× “Charlene Sellers appeals her conviction following jury trial for criminal nonsupport, section 568.040, RSMo 2000, and 60 day sentence in the county jail.”
State v. French, 79 S.W.3d 896 (Mo. 2002). · cites it 9× “Germaine French was convicted of two counts of criminal nónsupport under section 568.040, RSMo 1994, which occurred during consecutive six-month periods in 1997 and 1998.”
State ex rel. Sanders v. Sauer, 183 S.W.3d 238 (Mo. 2006). · cites it 14× “The criminal nonsupport statute, section 568.040, RSMo 2000, states in pertinent part: [A] parent commits the crime of nonsupport if such parent knowingly fails to provide, without good cause, adequate support which such parent is legally obligated to provide for his child or…”
State v. LATALL, 271 S.W.3d 561 (Mo. 2008). · cites it 6× “Facts Latall was charged by information with the class A misdemeanor of criminal nonsupport in violation of section 568.040 [1] . At trial, Latall testified in his own defense and indicated that, at the time that he ceased making child support payments in 2004, he was unemployed.”
State v. Davis, 675 S.W.2d 410 (Mo. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 9× “The defendant appeals a jury conviction for criminal nonsupport of his minor son, a Class A misdemeanor, § 568.040 RSMo 1978, 1 and his sentence of one year imprisonment in the county jail.”
State v. Duggar, 806 S.W.2d 407 (Mo. 1991). · cites it 8× “Ruling § 568.040, RSMo 1986, unconstitutionally vague for failure to define the term “minor” child, the trial court dismissed an information charging defendant with failure to support his child.”
Callier v. Dir. of Revenue, 780 S.W.2d 639 (Mo. 1989). · cites it 6× “However, Section 568.040 does define the offense of "criminal nonsupport".”
Show all 105 citing cases →
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 568.040(1): 1 case
Biermann v. Biermann, 657 S.W.2d 65 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.