How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Missouri

The public records law that gets you the video

Missouri Sunshine Law, RSMo chapter 610

3 business days, or explain the delay

The Sunshine Law covers every public governmental body, including any department or division of the state, a county or a municipal government (RSMo 610.010(4)), and a public record is any record, “whether written or electronically stored,” that the body retains (RSMo 610.010(6)), so police and agency video is covered. The law must be liberally construed and its exceptions strictly construed (RSMo 610.011.1). Each body must appoint a custodian of records and make the custodian’s identity and location available on request (RSMo 610.023.1). Deadline: each request must be acted on as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the third business day after the custodian receives it; if access is not granted immediately, the custodian must give a detailed explanation of the cause for further delay and the place and earliest time and date the record will be available, and the period may exceed three days for reasonable cause (RSMo 610.023.3). The Attorney General’s Sunshine Law guide says the day the custodian receives the request does not count, and that a body may ask you to use its form but cannot require it; a written request (letter or email) that cites Chapter 610 is the recommended practice. If records come in a requested format the body has available, it must provide that format (RSMo 610.023.3). A record with both open and closed material must be separated and the open part released (RSMo 610.024). Fees: for video, recordings, discs and similar items, the fee may include only the cost of copies, staff time at no more than the average hourly rate of pay for the staff making the copies, programming if necessary, and the cost of the medium; paper copies up to 9 by 14 inches are capped at 10 cents per page, and research time may be charged at actual cost (RSMo 610.026.1). You may ask for an estimate first, fees may be waived or reduced in the public interest, and the body may require payment before it fills the request; since August 28, 2025 a request is treated as withdrawn if the fees are not paid within 90 days of the request for payment, or 150 days if the fees exceed $1,000 (RSMo 610.026.1(1), 610.026.2). The Missouri Supreme Court held that attorney review time may not be charged as research time (Gross v. Parson, 624 S.W.3d 877 (Mo. banc 2021), noted under 610.026). The Attorney General’s guide adds that a body cannot avoid a request by destroying records after it receives it. Example, Missouri State Highway Patrol: requests for incident and investigative records go to its Custodian of Records, preferably through the online Public Records Center (mshp.govqa.us), and the Patrol says to allow 20 to 30 business days because of request volume; accident reports, reconstructions and accident-related photographs go to its Patrol Records Division instead. The Patrol’s pages list two different post office boxes (1408 and 9500) and three different fax numbers for the Custodian of Records, so use the online center.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Closed while active; parties may get it

Missouri has a specific statute for police video. A “mobile video recorder” is any system that captures visual signals and can be installed in a vehicle or worn or carried by law enforcement personnel, which covers dashcams and body cameras, and a “mobile video recording” is any data it captures, including audio, video and metadata (RSMo 610.100.1(6), (7)). Mobile video recordings, like investigative reports, are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive (RSMo 610.100.2(2)). A recording made in a “nonpublic location,” a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy such as a dwelling, school or medical facility, may be closed even then, except that any person depicted in it or whose voice is in it, a parent or guardian of a minor, a first-degree family member of a person who died or is incompetent, that person’s attorney, or that person’s insurer may, on written request, obtain a complete, unaltered and unedited copy (RSMo 610.100.1(8), 610.100.2(4)). The route that matters most after a crash: any person involved in an incident or whose property is involved, or that person’s attorney, insurer, parent or guardian (minor), or first-degree family member (deceased or incompetent), may obtain records closed under 610.100 for purposes of investigating a civil claim or defense, and within 30 days of the written request the agency must provide them or file a motion in the circuit court stating that a person’s safety cannot reasonably be ensured or that a criminal investigation is likely to be jeopardized; the court then decides what stays closed or is redacted (RSMo 610.100.4). Anyone else may sue in circuit court to have a recording released; the court weighs the benefit against harm to the public, the agency or people shown, private matters, shame or humiliation, and privacy expectations, may watch it privately, may limit or redact the release, and may make the requester pay both sides’ costs and attorney fees unless the agency’s refusal was substantially unjustified (RSMo 610.100.5). If you receive a recording made in a nonpublic location, you may not display or describe it without first giving direct notice to each non-police person whose image or voice is in it and allowing them at least 10 days to seek a court order blocking it; failing to do so exposes you to civil damages (RSMo 610.100.8). Crime scene photographs and video that show a deceased person in a state of dismemberment, decapitation or similar mutilation are closed, except to the next of kin (the spouse, or if none an adult child, or if none a parent) or someone with the next of kin’s written release (RSMo 610.205.1). Retention: we found no Missouri statute setting how long police must keep video. For local police, the Secretary of State’s Police Clerks Records Retention Schedule (August 2024 edition) sets a minimum of 30 days for audio and video recordings, including car and body camera video, with managers to extract video significant to a criminal or major case and keep it until proceedings are complete (item POL 011). Ask for the video within days. Highway Patrol: its Patrol Records Division FAQ says the electronic request process for a Missouri Uniform Crash Report includes crash reconstruction reports, photographs and videos.

When police can hold video back

Closed until no further action is taken

Mobile video recordings and investigative reports are closed until the investigation becomes “inactive” (RSMo 610.100.2(2)), which the statute defines as an investigation in which no further action will be taken because the agency decides not to pursue the case; because the time to file charges has expired under the statute of limitations, or ten years have passed since the offense, whichever is earlier; or because the convictions of everyone convicted on the basis of the report are final after all appeals (RSMo 610.100.1(3)). Separately, any portion of a law enforcement record (other than an arrest report) that is reasonably likely to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of a victim, witness, undercover officer or other person, or to jeopardize a criminal investigation, including the identity of a confidential source or a suspect not in custody, or that would disclose investigative techniques, must be closed and redacted (RSMo 610.100.3). Because a crash investigation that may lead to charges stays active, video is often unavailable to the public while a case is pending. If you were involved, the 30-day route in RSMo 610.100.4 still applies: the agency must give you the closed records for a civil claim or defense or ask a court to keep them closed; the Attorney General’s guide says that under this provision motorists involved in a crash are generally entitled to the accident report even while charges are under review with the prosecutor, and that an agency may need court approval to withhold such records. If you are the person charged, the Attorney General’s guide says disclosure generally comes through the criminal discovery rules from the prosecutor, not a Sunshine request (citing Attorney General Opinion No. 200-94). Since August 28, 2026, the definition of the “administration of criminal justice” in the criminal records law includes “the discretion to disclose closed mobile video recordings,” a discretion that “shall belong solely to the agency creating the video and shall not waive closure rights or requirements for subsequent requests” (RSMo 43.500(1), as amended in 2026 by H.B. 2637 and 3155, S.B. 982 and S.B. 1421). We found no court or Attorney General reading of how that applies to a Sunshine request, so treat it as a reason to ask: the agency may release a closed recording, but releasing it once does not open it to everyone. Once the investigation is inactive, the recording is no longer closed under 610.100.2(2) (a nonpublic-location recording may still be closed under 610.100.2(4)), so ask again then.

Do traffic cameras in Missouri record?

MoDOT St. Louis cameras: not stored

MoDOT states that its cameras along interstates and state routes in the St. Louis area are live, not recorded: “Video and photos from the cameras are only available in real time and are not stored.” It adds that during crashes its operators may turn cameras away from the scene to watch traffic behind the incident. MoDOT’s cameras at signalized intersections are used only to detect vehicles for signal timing; MoDOT says “There is no recording of these cameras,” and that they cannot read plates or faces. MoDOT says the camera views are provided on its Gateway Guide and traveler map and shared with local media. MoDOT’s statement names only the St. Louis area; we found no MoDOT statement about whether cameras in the Kansas City area (KC Scout) or other regions record. If you want to confirm whether any image exists, send a Sunshine request promptly to MoDOT’s custodian of records, the Secretary to the Commission, through its online records request portal (modot.mycusthelp.com) or in writing addressed to the Secretary to the Commission, Missouri Department of Transportation, 105 W. Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City, MO 65102 (MoDOT’s procedure says a request addressed to anyone else might not make it into the system; questions to (573) 751-2824); the custodian must act within three business days (RSMo 610.023.3). Cities and counties run their own traffic cameras; send them a request too. We found no Missouri statute setting how long traffic camera video is kept.

Red-light and speed cameras

No state law found on red-light cams

We searched the Revised Statutes of Missouri on the revisor’s site on October 28, 2026 and found no statute that authorizes or bans red-light or speed cameras for traffic enforcement. The revisor’s annotation to RSMo 479.010, which requires municipal ordinance violations to be heard and determined only before divisions of the circuit court, notes that the Missouri Supreme Court held Springfield’s administrative proceeding for challenging a ticket from its automated red-light system void under that section (City of Springfield v. Belt, 307 S.W.3d 649 (Mo. banc 2010), as noted under 479.010). MoDOT says some municipalities do have red light enforcement cameras, that the few on state routes are installed and maintained by the municipality, not MoDOT, have to meet requirements of Missouri law, and are marked, and that MoDOT’s own signal cameras are in no way tied to any law enforcement system. Access to a city camera’s images is governed by the Sunshine Law and the city’s ordinance; ask that city’s custodian of records. School buses: since August 28, 2026, a school district may install and operate school bus safety cameras to detect illegal passing of a stopped school bus, if its board approves; any image or video not used to enforce that violation must be permanently deleted within 180 days of capture, and a political subdivision may not use the images in any automated camera system that issues traffic citations, though a prosecutor may introduce them as evidence in a judicial proceeding (RSMo 160.3300, added by S.B. 1421 (2026), signed by the Governor). The section says nothing about who may obtain the images; a school district is covered by the Sunshine Law (RSMo 610.010(4)), so ask the district’s custodian of records well before the 180-day deletion. The Department of Revenue and its vendors may not use any data collected from, or technology associated with, an automated insurance enforcement system, defined as cameras and vehicle sensors installed to record financial responsibility violations (RSMo 303.425.1(3)).

If your request is denied

AG complaint or circuit court suit

The Sunshine Law has no administrative appeal step that we found. First, ask the custodian for a written statement of the grounds for denial; it must cite the specific provision of law and be furnished by the end of the third business day after you ask (RSMo 610.023.4). Attorney General: if you have already asked the body directly and were not given access, you may file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office online, by email to sunshinecomplaint@ago.mo.gov, or by mail on a complaint form from its website; the Attorney General’s guide gives (573) 751-3321 for getting a form. The office says review may take up to several months, that it cannot act as your attorney, and that it may resolve a complaint by suing, a warning letter, guidance or training, a finding of likely no violation, or no further action. Court: any aggrieved person may sue to enforce sections 610.010 to 610.026 in the circuit court of the county where the body has its principal place of business; once a suit is served, the custodian may not transfer, alter or destroy the record until the court directs otherwise; the body bears the burden of showing compliance; a knowing violation brings a civil penalty of up to $1,000 and possibly costs and attorney fees, and a purposeful violation up to $5,000 with costs and attorney fees mandatory (RSMo 610.027.1 to .4). Suit must be brought within one year from when the violation is ascertainable and no later than two years after the violation (RSMo 610.027.5). That sentence sits in the subsection on voiding actions taken in violation of the law; the Attorney General’s guide states it as the deadline for any suit to enforce the Sunshine Law, and we found no statement of whether it also governs the 610.100 actions below, so file early. Police records have their own court routes: anyone may ask the circuit court to order release of a mobile video recording or investigative report (RSMo 610.100.5), and anyone may ask the court to open incident or arrest reports being unlawfully closed, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a knowing violation and up to $5,000 for a purposeful one (RSMo 610.100.6). The Attorney General’s guide summarizes Cox v. City of Chillicothe, 575 S.W.3d 253 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019), as holding that the 610.027 penalty provision does not apply to potential violations of 610.150 and 610.100.2, and Oliver Firm, L.C. v. Hefner, No. SD 38765, 2026 WL 294689 (Mo. App. S.D. 2026) as holding that a sheriff knowingly violated the Sunshine Law by refusing to timely provide bodycam video of a deputy killing a dog, with a civil penalty, attorney fees and litigation costs awarded to the requester. You may want to ask a lawyer before filing suit.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send a written Sunshine request today

   Email or use the online portal of the agency that responded. Ask for all body camera and in-car video, citing RSMo chapter 610, the date, time, location and report number.

2. 2

   Say you were involved and cite 610.100.4

   State that you were involved in the crash (or are the attorney or insurer of someone who was) and want the video for a civil claim. The agency must provide it or go to court within 30 days.

3. 3

   Do not wait on traffic cameras

   MoDOT says its St. Louis area cameras are not stored. Ask any city that runs cameras near the crash right away, and post the crash on the bounty board for nearby dashcam footage.

4. 4

   If denied, complain or sue within a year

   Ask for the written reason, file a complaint with the Attorney General, or sue in circuit court within one year of when the violation is ascertainable.

Frequently asked questions