Florissant, Missouri Building Permit Guide

Florissant is one of the 88 municipalities inside St. Louis County, and is not the City of St. Louis, which is a separate independent city entirely. Its occupancy regime 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.

What requires a building permit in Florissant?

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.

Local rules worth knowing

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 48 working hours of the repair or replacement. The work may proceed first, but the filing is not optional and the window is short. The city builds under the 2021 International Building Code (Ordinance 8748, November 2021) and the 2021 International Residential Code, each with local amendments.

Missouri has no mandatory statewide building code for private construction: a county, fire protection district or municipality may adopt one (usually by reference under RSMo 67.280), and in parts of the state none has. Building codes in Missouri

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.

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.

In 2025, building permits issued in Florissant authorized 25 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

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

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: any local contractor licence or registration that applies where you are building; trade licences for electrical, plumbing or mechanical work (local, except that electrical can also be the optional state licence); 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.

For the main building trades Missouri licenses only electrical contractors at state level, through an optional licence that local governments must accept (RSMo 324.900 to 324.945); there is no state general, plumbing or mechanical licence. Contractor licensing in Missouri

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.

There is no state fee schedule for local building permits in Missouri, 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.

Fees for local building permits are set by whichever body adopted the code; Missouri has no state fee schedule for them. Permit fees in Missouri

Trade permits and who may pull them

Each trade follows the code the jurisdiction adopted for it; electrical contractors may hold the optional statewide licence, while plumbing and mechanical credentials are local. Trade permits in Missouri

How to apply for a Florissant building permit

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.

Permit validity is set by Florissant's ordinance rather than by statute, so confirm the expiry on phased or delayed work. Permit validity in Missouri

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.

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 48 working hours of the repair or replacement.

How long does review take?

Generally about 10 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 — a county, fire protection district or municipality — usually by incorporating a published model code by reference under the procedure in RSMo section 67.280. 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. For the main building trades, Missouri has only one state licence: the optional statewide electrical contractor licence under RSMo sections 324.900 to 324.945, administered by the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors, which began accepting applications on 1 July 2019. Under section 324.925 every political subdivision must recognise it in lieu of a local electrical licence; if one still refuses 30 days after the state notifies it of a complaint, its local sales tax revenue is held back until it complies. There is no state general contractor, plumbing or mechanical licence, so those credentials are local (city or county). Separately, where a city or county licenses construction contractors, section 287.061 requires it to obtain proof of workers’ compensation cover, or a signed exemption affidavit, before issuing the licence.

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 — 21+ 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:

• 21+ 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.

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.