Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 589
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400 (2026)

Registration of certain offenders with registration official of county of residence

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  589.400.  Registration of certain offenders with registration official of county of residence — time limitation — registration requirements — fees — temporary residents — nonresident workers, higher education students and workers. — 1.  Unless exempt from registering under section 589.401, sections 589.400 to 589.425 shall apply to:

  (1)  Any person who, since July 1, 1979, has been or is hereafter adjudicated for an offense that would classify the person as a tier I offender, tier II offender, or tier III offender in this state;

  (2)  Any person who, since July 1, 1979, has been committed to the department of mental health as a criminal sexual psychopath;

  (3)  Any person who, since July 1, 1979, has been found not guilty as a result of mental disease or defect of any offense that would classify the person as a tier I offender, tier II offender, or tier III offender;

  (4)  Any juvenile certified as an adult and transferred to a court of general jurisdiction who has been adjudicated for an offense that would classify the juvenile as a tier I offender, tier II offender, or tier III offender;

  (5)  Any juvenile fourteen years of age or older at the time of the offense who has been adjudicated for an offense which is equal to or more severe than aggravated sexual abuse under 18 U.S.C. Section 2241, which shall include any attempt or conspiracy to commit such offense.  Juveniles registering under this subdivision shall be assigned a tier under the provisions of section 589.414 and eligible for removal when meeting all other qualifications in sections 589.400 to 589.425.  The tier assignment under section 589.414 shall be only for the purposes of registration visit frequency and removal eligibility and shall not otherwise affect the analysis of whether registration is required under this section;

  (6)  Any person who is a resident of this state who has, since July 1, 1979, been or is hereafter adjudicated in any other state, territory, the District of Columbia, or foreign country, or under federal, tribal, or military jurisdiction for an offense which, if committed in this state, would constitute an offense that would classify the person as a tier I offender, tier II offender, or tier III offender, or has been or is required to register in another state, territory, the District of Columbia, or foreign country, or has been or is required to register under tribal, federal, or military law .  Persons registering under this subdivision shall be assigned a tier under the provisions of section 589.414 and eligible for removal when meeting all other qualifications in sections 589.400 to 589.425.  The tier assignment under section 589.414 shall be only for the purposes of registration visit frequency and removal eligibility and shall not otherwise affect the analysis of whether registration is required under this section; or

  (7)  Any person who has been or is required to register in another state, territory, the District of Columbia, or foreign country, or has been or is required to register under tribal, federal, or military law and who works or attends an educational institution, whether public or private in nature, including any secondary school, trade school, professional school, or institution of higher education on a full-time or on a part-time basis or has a temporary residence in Missouri.  Persons registering under this subdivision shall be assigned a tier under the provisions of section 589.414 and eligible for removal when meeting all other qualifications in sections 589.400 to 589.425.  The tier assignment under section 589.414 shall be only for the purposes of registration visit frequency and removal eligibility and shall not otherwise affect the analysis of whether registration is required under this section.

  2.  Any person or juvenile to whom sections 589.400 to 589.425 apply shall, within three business days of adjudication, release from incarceration, placement upon probation, release from commitment to the division of youth services, release from the department of mental health, or release from other placement, register with the registration official of the county or city not within a county in which such person or juvenile resides unless such person has already registered in that county for the same offense.  Any person or juvenile to whom sections 589.400 to 589.425 apply if not currently registered in their county of residence shall register with the registration official within three business days.  The registration official shall forward a copy of the registration form required by section 589.407 to a city, town, village, or campus law enforcement agency located within the county of the registration official.

  3.  The registration requirements shall be as follows:

  (1)  Fifteen years if the offender is a tier I offender;

  (2)  Twenty-five years if the offender is a tier II offender; or

  (3)  The life of the offender if the offender is a tier III offender.

  4.  (1)  The registration period shall be reduced as described in subdivision (3) of this subsection for a sex offender who maintains a clean record for the periods described under subdivision (2) of this subsection by:

  (a)  Not being adjudicated of any offense for which imprisonment for more than one year may be imposed;

  (b)  Not being adjudicated of any sex offense;

  (c)  Successfully completing any periods of supervised release, probation, or parole; and

  (d)  Successfully completing an appropriate sex offender treatment program certified by a jurisdiction or the attorney general, regardless of whether such program was court ordered or voluntary.  If records of program completion are unavailable and completion of such program was required as a term of probation, an order discharging the offender from probation or other record acknowledging satisfactory completion of probation shall constitute prima facie evidence that the offender successfully completed the necessary sex offender treatment program unless rebutted by evidence to the contrary.

  (2)  In the case of a:

  (a)  Tier I offender, the period during which the clean record shall be maintained is ten years;

  (b)  Tier III offender adjudicated delinquent for the offense which required registration in a sex offender registry under sections 589.400 to 589.425, the period during which the clean record shall be maintained is twenty-five years.

  (3)  In the case of a:

  (a)  Tier I offender, the reduction is five years;

  (b)  Tier III offender adjudicated delinquent, the reduction is from life to that period for which the clean record under paragraph (b) of subdivision (2) of this subsection is maintained.

  5.  For processing an initial sex offender registration, the registration official may charge the offender registering a fee of up to ten dollars.

  6.  For processing any change in registration required pursuant to section 589.414, the registration official may charge the person changing their registration a fee of five dollars for each change made after the initial registration.

  7.  Any person with a primary residence outside this state who has a temporary residence in this state in which he or she resides for more than a part-time period shall register with the registration official in the jurisdiction of the temporary residence in accordance with this section for the duration of such person's temporary residency.

  8.  Any person who is not a resident of this state and not currently registered due to temporary residence under subsection 7 of this section and who works, including work as a volunteer or intern, or is a nonresident student shall register for the duration of such person's employment, including participation as a volunteer or intern, or attendance at any school of higher education, whether public or private, including any secondary school, trade school, professional school, or institution of higher education on a full-time or part-time basis, as long as the status requiring registration remains active.  Such registration shall occur in the county or city not within a county where the status requiring registration occurs.  If more than one county or city not within a county meets the requirement, priority shall be in the following order:

  (1)  The county of work;

  (2)  The county of school; and

  (3)  The county of volunteering or any other required status,

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with registration being required at only the highest priority county or city not within a county where the registerable status remains.

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(L. 1997 H.B. 883, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1405, et al., A.L. 2000 S.B. 757 & 602, A.L. 2002 S.B. 758 merged with S.B. 969, et al., A.L. 2003 S.B. 5 merged with S.B. 184, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1055, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1698, et al., A.L. 2008 S.B. 714, et al., A.L. 2009 H.B. 62, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491, A.L. 2018 S.B. 655 merged with S.B. 793, A.L. 2026 H.B. 2273 et al., A.L. 2026 H.B. 2637 & 3155 merged with  S.B. 982)

Revisor's note: This section was amended by H.B. 2273, et al., H.B. 2637 & 3155, and S.B. 982, 2026. H.B. 2637 & 3155 and S.B. 982 repealed the version amended by H.B. 2273, et al. and amended this section effective 8-28-26.

Severability clause, see § 1.1005

(2023) Section mandates lifetime registration requirement in Missouri if the offender "has been" subject to federal registration requirements under Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, even if that federal obligation has expired.  Smith v. St. Louis County Police, 659 S.W.3d 895 (Mo.banc).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 100 cases (23 in the last 5 years), 2000–2025 · leading case: R.W. v. Sanders, 168 S.W.3d 65 (Mo. 2005).
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R.W. v. Sanders, 168 S.W.3d 65 (Mo. 2005). · cites it 13× “filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of Missouri’s sex offender registration statutes, section 589.400, et seq. 1 The circuit court denied relief.”
State v. Moore, 90 S.W.3d 64 (Mo. 2002). · cites it 12× “if she wanted him to teach her how to perform oral sex and denied soliciting or requesting sex from T.”
State v. Holden, 278 S.W.3d 674 (Mo. 2009). · cites it 14× “When Holden was released in 2001, he began complying with the registration requirements for sexual offenders pursuant to sections 589.400 [1] et seq. In 2007, Holden was charged with failing to register a change of address within ten days pursuant to section 589.”
F.R. v. St. Charles Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, 301 S.W.3d 56 (Mo. 2010). · cites it 10× “[3] Sections 589.400, RSMo Supp. 1998. [4] Sections 589.”
RICKY LEE STROSNIDER v. COLONEL RONALD REPLOGLE, Missouri State High. Patrol Superintendent, Defendant-Respondent, & RANDY MARTIN, Crawford Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, & J. KENT HOWALD, Crawford Cnty. Prosecutor, Defendants-Respondents., 502 S.W.3d 756 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 17× “See section 589.400. 1 Plaintiffs sole point on appeal claims “[t]he trial court erred as a matter of law .”
In RE: Graham Kersting v. Superintendent Ron Reploge, Missouri State High. Patrol, 492 S.W.3d 600 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 7× “Sections 589.400 to 589.425 shall • apply to: (1) Any person who, since July 1, 1979, has been or is hereafter convicted of, been found guilty of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to committing, attempting to commit, or conspiring to commit a felony offense of chapter 566,…”
Peters v. Jackson Cnty. Sheriff, 543 S.W.3d 85 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 12× “He did not bring his claim for relief under section 589.400, which has narrow removal provisions for certain offenders.”
Doe v. Toelke, 389 S.W.3d 165 (Mo. 2012). · cites it 5× “The trial court entered a declaratory judgment finding that, as applied to Doe, Missouri’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), sections 589.400 to 589.420, RSMo Supp.2011, violates the bar against the enactment of retrospective state laws set forth in article I, section 13 of…”
United States v. Kebodeaux, 570 U.S. 387 (2013). · cites it 2× “2007); Mo. Rev. Stat. §§589.400 to 589.425 (2003 and Supp.”
State v. Smith, 2010 WI 16, 780 N.W.2d 90. · cites it 2× “2009) (kidnapping); Missouri: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400 (2) (2000 & Supp.”
State v. Younger, 386 S.W.3d 848 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 6× “1 provides that “Sections 589.400 to 589.425 6 shall apply to: (1) “Any person who, since July 1, 1979, has been .”
Petrovick v. State, 537 S.W.3d 388 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 4× “The court found that Petrovick “is not a current or potential threat to the public safety,” The judgment also found that he “was never found in violation for failure to register as a sex offender,” and that he “has been in compliance with Section 589.400 RSMo. since he became…”
Show all 100 citing cases →
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400(1): 1 case
R.W. v. Sanders, 168 S.W.3d 65 (Mo. 2005). “filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of Missouri’s sex offender registration statutes, section 589.400, et seq. 1 The circuit court denied relief.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400(1)(7): 1 case
State v. BOEJI, 352 S.W.3d 625 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011).
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400(2): 1 case
State v. Smith, 2010 WI 16, 780 N.W.2d 90. “2009) (kidnapping); Missouri: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400 (2) (2000 & Supp.”
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 589.400(7): 5 cases
F.R. v. St. Charles Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, 301 S.W.3d 56 (Mo. 2010). “[3] Sections 589.400, RSMo Supp. 1998. [4] Sections 589.”
Doe v. Neer, 649 F. Supp. 2d 952 (E.D. Mo. 2009).
Keeney v. Fitch, 458 S.W.3d 838 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).
Allen R. Killian v. Missouri State High. Patrol, 481 S.W.3d 55 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).
Jerome Keeney, Jr. v. Tim Fitch, Superintendent of Police, St. Louis Cnty. & Colonel Ronald Replogle, Superintendent, Missouri High. Patrol, Defendants/Respondents., No. ED101981 (Mo. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2015).
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.