Florissant is one of the eighty-eight municipalities inside St. Louis County, and is not the City of St. Louis, which is a separate independent city entirely. Its occupancy regime is the strictest in this batch and reaches parties who never touch the building.
The Building Division is a division of the Department of Public Works. It enforces building and zoning code issues on existing properties, redevelopment and new and remodelling construction, issues construction and occupancy permits, and performs the related plan review and inspection for both residential and commercial projects.
This guide covers the City of Florissant, one of the many municipalities in St. Louis County. It does not cover the City of St. Louis, which sits outside any county and is a separate authority, nor the other county municipalities, which permit independently.
The reporting duty reaches the agent, not just the owner. Every building, structure, tenant space or dwelling unit in which a change of occupancy is to occur must be reported to the Building Official so the enforcement official may inspect. The ordinance places that duty on all real estate brokers and agents and similar businesses as well as owners, and failure to report is itself a violation carrying the chapter’s penalties.
What requires a building permit in Florissant?
Missouri has no mandatory statewide building code for private construction. It is a local-option state: whether a building code applies to a parcel at all, and which edition of which model code, depends entirely on what the bodies with authority over that parcel have chosen to adopt. Adoption is done by ordinance incorporating a published code by reference under RSMo section 67.280, and that section defines the bodies that may do it as any county, fire protection district or municipality. So the first question in Florissant is not which edition applies — it is which body, if any, adopted a code over this parcel.
Typically permit required
- New buildings, additions, and change of occupancy or use
- Structural alterations, load-bearing changes, foundations, decks and retaining walls
- Electrical work under the locally adopted electrical code and the referenced National Electrical Code
- Plumbing and gas work under the locally adopted plumbing code
- Mechanical and HVAC change-outs, and work affecting the energy provisions where any are adopted
- Re-roofing above the exempt scope, pools, signs and demolition
Often exempt
- Ordinary repairs and maintenance replacing materials in kind
- Small accessory structures below the local threshold, where zoning allows
- Painting, flooring, cabinetry and other finish work
- Like-for-like fixture swaps with no alteration to wiring or piping
Exempt lists, thresholds and fee schedules are set by whoever adopted the code, so an exempt list from a neighbouring municipality is not reliable and neither is one from the county. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, floodplain regulation, or an electrical or plumbing permit. Confirm scope with the Florissant Building Division before work starts.
The three bodies that may hold the code — and the possibility that none does
Three features of Missouri practice catch projects that would be routine elsewhere. First, authority is not guaranteed to exist: a municipality may have adopted a code, the county may have adopted one over unincorporated land, a fire protection district may have adopted a fire code over both, and in parts of the state none of them has adopted anything at all. Second, counties cannot simply decide: section 64.170 empowers county commissions in counties of the first and second classification only, a county building code must be approved at a vote of the voters in the affected area, and incorporated territory is excluded from that vote — which is why so much unincorporated Missouri land has no building code. A county exercising the power appoints a five-member building commission under section 64.180 to prepare the code. Third, even where no code is adopted, design professionals are not unconstrained: the state licensing board’s conduct rules use the 2021 International Building Code as evaluation criteria under section 327.441 where the local jurisdiction has adopted none. Modular units are the one genuinely statewide exception, governed by Public Service Commission rules. New Madrid seismic design applies across the south-east of the state, and tornado wind loading is a live structural constraint throughout. Emergency work has a clock rather than an exemption: where equipment or system replacements or repairs must be performed in an emergency, the permit application must be submitted within forty-eight working hours of the repair or replacement. The work may proceed first, but the filing is not optional and the window is short.
Who handles permitting in Florissant?
The Building Division enforces building and zoning code issues on existing properties, redevelopment, new construction and remodelling, issues construction and occupancy permits, and performs plan review and inspection for residential and commercial projects.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | City of Florissant Building Division, Department of Public Works |
| Address | Florissant City Hall, 955 St Francois Street, Florissant, MO 63031 |
| Public Works | (314) 839-7648 |
| Finance, for business licences | (314) 839-7612 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Portal | Public Works permit portal |
| Review period | Generally ten working days between submission and issuance |
| Commercial occupancy | Requires review and approval of the local Fire Marshal |
The occupancy regime is where Florissant differs most from its neighbours. It is unlawful to occupy or use, or permit occupancy or use of, any premises for any purpose until an occupancy permit has been issued by the Building Official, and no such permit issues unless the premises has been inspected and found compliant. All commercial occupancy permits additionally require the review and approval of the local Fire Marshal, and must be approved for use and classification against the building code, the existing building code and the zoning code.
A property can be sold as is, without an inspection — but the obligation transfers rather than disappearing. The buyer then becomes responsible for obtaining and paying for the inspection and attaining the occupancy permit before anyone moves into or occupies the property. Unpermitted earlier work found at that inspection becomes the buyer’s problem.
Permit types
Residential permits
Residential applications require two copies of site plans or a survey showing the location of the structure including distances from the property line, and two copies of construction plans showing top and side views, dimensions, type of wood and size of footing. Fences carry a specific local rule: the finished side must face all neighbouring properties including streets and alleys, so that fence posts and supports are not visible from outside.
How Missouri contractor credentials work
Missouri issues exactly one construction trade licence at state level, and it is not the one most people expect. There is no state general contractor licence, and no state plumbing, mechanical or HVAC licence — bills to create mechanical licensing have been introduced repeatedly since two thousand eighteen and none has passed. The single exception is the statewide electrical contractor licence under RSMo sections 324.900 to 324.945, administered by the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors within the Division of Professional Registration, which began issuing licences on the first of July, two thousand nineteen. Everything else is municipal, and in parts of the state no credential is required at all. Architects, professional engineers, land surveyors and landscape architects are separately licensed by their own state board.
The statewide electrical licence overrides local licensing, and the state enforces that hard. Under section 324.925 a political subdivision may keep its own local electrical licence, but it must recognise a statewide licence in lieu of it for performing work and for obtaining permits, and it may not make the holder sit any local proficiency examination. A subdivision that refuses has its local sales tax revenue withheld by the Department of Revenue until it complies. Note the mirror-image rule: a contractor working in a subdivision that requires no local licence at all is not required to hold the statewide licence either.
Outside electrical work, a licence from the next city over may be worth nothing. General, plumbing and mechanical credentials in Missouri are municipal, so they do not travel the way a state licence does. One requirement is statewide, though, and it attaches to the permit application itself: under RSMo section 287.061 every Missouri city and county must obtain proof of workers’ compensation coverage, or a signed exemption affidavit, before issuing. Confirm what the Florissant Building Division requires for the parcel, confirm the credential is current in this jurisdiction specifically, and confirm insurance independently — in an unlicensed area no public body has checked any of it for you.
Commercial permits
Prior to occupying a commercial building — which the city notes includes schools, churches and community organisations — an occupancy inspection and permit are required, and in most cases a business licence as well. The Building Commissioner reviews all commercial occupancy requests for compliance with the zoning code.
Licences, trade classifications and design professionals
Practically, three credential layers appear on Missouri projects, and only one of them is statewide: any municipal contractor licence or registration that applies where you are building; any municipal trade licence for electrical, plumbing or mechanical work; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings sealed by a Missouri-licensed architect or professional engineer, whose licence is issued and enforced by the state. Confirm what the Florissant Building Division requires for the specific building before filing.
Florissant permit costs and fees
Florissant fees are set by the city’s building permit and other fees article, with commercial, industrial and multi-family permit fees determined by applying a table of rates to the total cost of construction. Where a developer fails to deposit adequate funds to cover actual administration costs, occupancy permits can be withheld or revoked until the matter is resolved.
| Fee component | How it works |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Set by the adopting jurisdiction, usually on project valuation or square footage; there is no state fee schedule |
| Plan review | A percentage of the permit fee or a flat charge, where the jurisdiction reviews plans at all |
| Trade permits | Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees under the local schedule |
| Municipal licensing | Contractor licence or registration fees where the jurisdiction licenses; nothing where it does not |
| Zoning and use | Zoning, occupancy and, in some places, business licence fees |
| Re-inspections and revisions | Additional fees for failed inspections, revisions and expired permits |
There is no statewide fee schedule in Missouri and no statutory state construction fee, because there is no statewide code to charge against. Every figure is set by the adopting jurisdiction, which means a fee quoted for a project a few miles away may bear no relation to the fee here. Ask the Florissant Building Division for the schedule in force on your filing date.
Need a real number for a specific Florissant project? Send us the scope, address and valuation and we will identify which body holds the code for the parcel, the edition it adopted and the fee categories that will apply.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade permits are separate from the building permit and, on projects that require one, generally cannot be issued until the building permit is in place. Each trade follows whichever code the city has adopted for it — and because adoption is by part as well as by jurisdiction, a place may have adopted a building code and no plumbing code, or an electrical code and nothing else.
Electrical is the one trade Missouri licenses at state level. The statewide electrical contractor licence is portable and must be recognised by every political subdivision in lieu of a local electrical licence. There is no state plumbing or mechanical licence, so those credentials are municipal and a contractor licensed in one Missouri city may have to qualify again a few miles away. Confirm the permit, the credential that actually applies and the insurance before work starts.
- Electrical work follows the electrical code the jurisdiction adopted and the referenced National Electrical Code, under a statewide electrical contractor licence or an accepted local one.
- Plumbing work follows the adopted plumbing code, under a municipally licensed plumber where the jurisdiction licenses them.
- Mechanical work follows the adopted mechanical and any energy provisions.
Permit required
- Service installations, panel upgrades, new circuits, solar PV and EV chargers
- New plumbing, repipes, water heater change-outs, fixtures, backflow and gas piping
- HVAC installation and change-out, ductwork, venting and commercial kitchen exhaust
- Sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm work, often under the fire protection district rather than the municipality
Typically exempt
- Replacing a fixture, switch, receptacle or light with no alteration to wiring or piping
- Clearing a stoppage without replacing or rearranging concealed piping
- Filter, thermostat and routine component service
- Like-for-like appliance repair that does not alter the connection
How to apply for a Florissant building permit
Owners, brokers and agents must report each change of occupancy so the enforcement official can inspect; failing to report is itself a violation.
A property can be sold without inspection, but the buyer then pays for the inspection and must obtain the occupancy permit before anyone moves in.
Two copies of site plans or survey and two copies of construction plans, with the detail the city specifies.
There is generally a ten working day waiting period between submission and issuance, processed first come, first served.
Where an emergency replacement or repair is performed, the permit application must follow within forty-eight working hours.
All commercial occupancy permits require the review and approval of the local Fire Marshal.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
In Missouri the first cause of delay is filing with the wrong body — with the municipality where the parcel is unincorporated, with the county where the county never adopted a code, or with neither where a fire protection district holds the fire code. After that comes the edition question, because the jurisdiction chose its own edition and may be one or two cycles behind the current model code. Then missing local licensing, floodplain requirements along the state’s rivers, and seismic detailing in the south-east. There is no statewide review clock: any timeline you are given is that jurisdiction’s own target, not a statutory obligation. Build the review time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with the Florissant Building Division before filing.
Approvals do not stay live indefinitely. Permit validity periods are set by the adopting jurisdiction rather than by statute, so they differ from place to place and cannot be assumed from a previous job. On phased or financed work, confirm the expiry window in the local ordinance and keep the permit alive with progress inspections.
Inspections in Florissant
Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation and any adopted energy provisions, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with an occupancy certificate before the building is used. Unpermitted earlier work discovered at an occupancy inspection can require removal or retroactive permitting, and a property having passed inspection previously does not settle the point.
Missouri inspections are carried out against the edition the jurisdiction adopted and the local amendments it made to it, by inspectors employed or contracted by that jurisdiction. There is no state certification requirement for local building inspectors and no state body auditing them, so practice and interpretation vary more between Missouri jurisdictions than in states with a single code. Keep the approved plans on site for the inspector to check against, and confirm the notice the Florissant Building Division needs and its inspection windows.
Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permit, the approved plans, product listings and your correction responses available on site.
Florissant permit search and official resources
Permit records in Missouri sit with the body that issued them, and there is no state repository to fall back on. Where the Florissant Building Division is the authority for the City of Florissant, it holds the building permit, the inspection history and the occupancy certificate. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, confirm that past work was permitted rather than assuming it was — and in Missouri also confirm whether a permit was ever required, because in some places it was not.
Establish the authority first, then the ordinance, then the edition. Missouri has no statewide code, so all three questions are local and all three have to be answered for the parcel and the filing date before the requirements are knowable. A copy of the adopted code is filed with the clerk of the adopting community and kept available for public inspection.
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Ordinances, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.
- City of Florissant Building Division
- Florissant building permits
- Florissant occupancy permits and transfer of ownership
- Florissant building code article
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes, section 67.280 (adoption by reference)
Frequently asked questions
Who has to report a change of occupancy?
Owners and, expressly, all real estate brokers and agents and similar businesses. Every building, structure, tenant space or dwelling unit in which a change of occupancy is to occur must be reported to the Building Official so the enforcement official may inspect, and failure to report is a violation carrying the chapter's penalties.
Can a property be sold as is?
Yes, without an inspection. But the buyer then becomes responsible for obtaining and paying for the inspection and attaining the occupancy permit before anyone moves into or occupies the property, and any unpermitted earlier work found becomes the buyer's problem.
What if I have to do an emergency repair?
Do the work, then file quickly. Where equipment or system replacements or repairs must be performed in an emergency, the permit application must be submitted within forty-eight working hours of the repair or replacement.
How long does review take?
Generally about ten working days between submission of the application and issuance of the permit, to allow for plan review. Permits are processed on a first come, first served basis.
Is Florissant part of the City of St. Louis?
No. Florissant is one of the many municipalities within St. Louis County. The City of St. Louis is a separate independent city sitting outside any county, with its own building department and its own codes. Which body holds the code is the first question in any Missouri filing. Missouri has no mandatory statewide building code for private construction. A code applies to a parcel only because some body adopted one, by ordinance incorporating a published model code by reference under RSMo section 67.280, and that section defines the bodies that may do so as any county, fire protection district or municipality. A copy of the adopted code is filed with the clerk of that community and kept available for public inspection. So the edition, the amendments, the exempt list, the fee schedule and the permit validity period are all local questions, and in some parts of the state the answer is that no code was ever adopted at all.
Which side of my fence faces out?
The finished side. The city requires the finished side of fences to face all neighbouring properties including streets and alleys, so that fence posts and supports are not visible from outside. Missouri issues exactly one construction trade licence at state level: the statewide electrical contractor licence under RSMo sections 324.900 to 324.945, administered by the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors and issuing since the first of July, two thousand nineteen. Under section 324.925 every political subdivision must recognise it in lieu of a local electrical licence, and one that refuses has its local sales tax revenue withheld until it complies. There is no state general contractor, plumbing or mechanical licence, so those credentials are municipal. Separately, section 287.061 requires every Missouri city and county to obtain proof of workers compensation cover, or a signed exemption affidavit, before issuing a permit.
Simplify Florissant permitting with Alliance Permitting
An occupancy duty that reaches the estate agent changes who needs to know about it. We make sure everyone on the transaction does.
Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 22 years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.
Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Florissant because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:
- Twenty-two years of filing, so the authority question is settled before the application goes in
- We establish which body adopted a code over the parcel, and which edition it actually chose
- Municipal licensing checked in the jurisdiction that matters, not the one next door
- Workers compensation proof and the statewide electrical licence position confirmed before filing
- Correction cycles handled directly with the reviewer, through to the occupancy certificate
Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Missouri. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.
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More Missouri permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Florissant permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.