Recording of contents, required, how, custody of, duplication, destruction ...
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.410
in effect542.410. Recording of contents, required, how, custody of, duplication, destruction of — applications and orders sealed by court, disclosure, when, destruction of — penalty — notice to persons named in order, when, right to inspect and copy contents. — 1. The contents of any wire communication intercepted by any means authorized by sections 542.400 to 542.422 shall be recorded on tape or wire or other comparable device. The recording of the contents of any wire or oral communication as required by this section shall be done in such way as will protect the recording from editing or other alterations. Immediately upon the expiration of the period of the order, or extensions thereof, such recordings shall be made available to the court issuing such order and shall be sealed under its directions. Custody of the recordings shall be wherever the court orders. The recordings shall not be destroyed except upon an order of the issuing court and in any event shall be kept for ten years. Duplicate recordings shall be made for use for disclosure pursuant to the provisions of subsections 1 and 2 of section 542.406 for investigations and discovery in accordance with applicable supreme court rules. The presence of the seal provided for by subsection 2 of this section, or a satisfactory explanation for the absence thereof, shall be a prerequisite for the use or disclosure of the contents of any wire communication or evidence derived therefrom under the provisions of subsection 3 of section 542.406 .
2. Applications made and orders granted under sections 542.400 to 542.422 shall be sealed by the court. Custody of the applications and orders shall be wherever the court directs. Such applications and orders shall be disclosed only upon a showing of good cause before a court of competent jurisdiction and shall not be destroyed except on order of the issuing or denying court, and in any event shall be kept for ten years.
3. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor.
4. Within a reasonable time but not later than ninety days after the filing of an application for an order of approval under the provisions of sections 542.400 to 542.422 or the termination of the period of an order or extensions thereof, whichever is later, the issuing or denying court shall cause to be served, on the persons named in the order or the application, and such other parties to intercepted communications an inventory which shall include notice of:
(1) The fact of the entry of the order or the application;
(2) The date of the entry and the period of authorized, approved interception;
(3) The fact that during the period oral communications were or were not intercepted; and
(4) The nature of said conversations. The court, upon the filing of a motion, shall make available to such person or his counsel for inspection and copying such intercepted communications, applications and orders.
(L. 1989 H.B. 277, et al. § 6, A.L. 2002 S.B. 712)
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=542.410Fetched: 10/17/2026