Personal jurisdiction is the authority a court has to make legally enforceable orders related to a person or entity and the property of the person or entity, and usually arises when a person has been sued in a lawsuit. For a court to have personal jurisdiction, the person or entity generally (1) must be a resident of the state in which the court is located; (2) as a nonresident, must have initiated sufficient minimum contacts with the state in which the lawsuit is filed; or (3) must have agreed to be governed by the laws of the state (in a contract or website terms) in which the lawsuit is filed.

In Missouri, personal jurisdiction refers to the power of a Missouri court to bring a person or entity into its legal process and to make decisions that are binding upon them. For a Missouri court to have personal jurisdiction, typically one of the following conditions must be met: (1) the person or entity being sued must be a resident of Missouri; (2) the nonresident person or entity must have established sufficient minimum contacts with Missouri, such as conducting business, committing a tortious act within the state, or owning property there; or (3) the person or entity must have consented to the jurisdiction of Missouri courts, which can occur through a contractual agreement or by accepting the terms of service on a website that stipulates Missouri law will govern disputes. These principles are consistent with the due process requirements of the U.S. Constitution and are codified in Missouri's long-arm statute, which extends the reach of Missouri's courts to nonresidents under specific circumstances.