The City of St. Louis is an independent city. It is not part of St. Louis County, has no county tier above it, and shares no building department with the county — which contains eighty-eight separate municipalities of its own. Confusing the city with the county is the most expensive mistake available in Missouri permitting.
The Building Division sits within the Department of Public Safety at City Hall. It issues building permits, occupancy permits for residential and commercial property, and the trade permits for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, demolition and tent work.
This guide covers the City of St. Louis only. St. Louis County is a completely separate authority containing eighty-eight municipalities, each of which may run its own code and process. A St. Louis postal address settles nothing.
Every new building has to be solar-ready. Under Ordinance 71063, effective the twenty-third of January, two thousand twenty, new residential, multifamily and commercial construction must be solar-ready: plans for one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses, multifamily and commercial buildings have to illustrate the feasibility of a future solar energy system installation, should the owner ever decide to install one. The requirement is on the drawings, not the roof.
What requires a building permit in St. Louis?
St. Louis adopts and enforces its own construction codes through its Building Division within the Department of Public Safety. That is not a special arrangement in Missouri — it is the only arrangement. Missouri has no mandatory statewide building code for private construction, and a code applies to a parcel only because some body adopted one, by ordinance incorporating a model code by reference under RSMo section 67.280. What makes the City of St. Louis unusual is its scale and the depth of its local amendments, not its authority to act. The city sits outside any county as an independent city, so there is no county tier above it and no county building department with concurrent jurisdiction. The city also aims at three to five working days on routine permits, which is fast by Missouri standards — but it is a target the city set itself, not an obligation, because no Missouri jurisdiction is under a statutory review clock.
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
An ordinary repair is defined more narrowly than owners expect, and an exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, floodplain regulation or a trade permit. Confirm the work type and the local licensing route with the St. Louis Building Division before work starts.
Why the edition here is a local question, not a state one
Because adoption is local, the edition in force in St. Louis was chosen by the City of St. Louis and can differ from the edition in force a few streets outside the city limits. Missouri communities also tend to re-adopt on roughly six-year cycles rather than following the three-year model code cycle, so a neighbouring jurisdiction may be one or two editions behind or ahead. There is no state list to check this against: the adopting ordinance is the source, and a copy of the adopted code must be filed with the clerk and kept available for public inspection under section 67.280.
Who handles permitting in St. Louis?
The Building Division issues building, occupancy and trade permits for the city and holds the permit record, with no county building department above it because the city sits outside any county.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | City of St. Louis Building Division, Department of Public Safety |
| Address | 1200 Market Street, Room 425, St. Louis, MO 63103 |
| Building permits | Formal legal authorisation to start construction work on a property |
| Occupancy permits | Required for residential and commercial property before occupation |
| Trade permits | Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, demolition, tent and housing conservation |
| Solar-ready | Ordinance 71063, effective 23 January 2020 |
| Records | Building permit search by address for past permits on a property |
| County tier | None - the city sits outside any county |
Occupancy is treated as its own permit rather than a certificate that falls out of the construction process. Occupancy permits are required for residential and commercial property to confirm compliance with the locally adopted codes and suitability for people to occupy, so a project that has finished construction is not finished administratively.
Trade permits are issued to contractors, and in some cases to homeowners, to perform specialised work including electrical, plumbing and demolition. Housing conservation permits sit alongside them on the residential occupancy side. Each is a separate filing from the building permit itself.
Permit types
Residential permits
Residential work follows the codes the city adopted and amended, with the solar-ready requirement attaching to one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses as well as to larger buildings. Occupancy permits apply on the residential side, and housing conservation permits cover residential occupancy matters.
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 St. Louis 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
Commercial and multifamily work runs through plan review with the solar-ready feasibility requirement on the drawings. Historic district oversight is extensive across much of the city, so confirm whether design review attaches before the drawings are commissioned rather than after.
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 St. Louis Building Division requires for the specific building before filing.
St. Louis permit costs and fees
St. Louis fees are calculated on estimated construction cost, with additional fees for the trade permits filed alongside the building permit.
| 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 St. Louis Building Division for the schedule in force on your filing date.
Need a real number for a specific St. Louis 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 St. Louis building permit
The City of St. Louis and St. Louis County are separate authorities. The county contains eighty-eight municipalities, none of which is the city.
Ordinance 71063 requires new residential, multifamily and commercial plans to illustrate the feasibility of a future solar installation.
Design review attaches across much of the city and belongs at the start of the programme, not the end.
Building permits, occupancy permits and trade permits are separate filings through the division at City Hall.
The city aims at three to five working days on routine permits, but that is a target it set itself rather than a statutory deadline.
Occupancy is its own permit, so construction completion does not by itself allow the building to be used.
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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis
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. Occupancy permits are a separate instrument from the construction sign-off and are required for both residential and commercial property before the building may be occupied.
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 St. Louis 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.
St. Louis 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 St. Louis Building Division is the authority for the City of St. Louis, 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 St. Louis Building Division permits
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes, section 67.280 (adoption by reference)
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes, section 324.925 (statewide electrical licence recognition)
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes, section 64.180 (county building commission)
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes, section 324.900 (statewide electrical definitions)
Frequently asked questions
Is the City of St. Louis part of St. Louis County?
No. St. Louis is an independent city sitting outside any county. It has no county building department above it, and St. Louis County is a completely separate authority containing eighty-eight municipalities. A St. Louis postal address does not tell you which of them holds your parcel.
What does the solar-ready ordinance require?
Ordinance 71063, effective the twenty-third of January, two thousand twenty, requires new residential, multifamily and commercial construction to be solar-ready. Plans for one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses, multifamily and commercial buildings must illustrate the feasibility of a future solar energy system installation. It is a drawing requirement, not an installation requirement.
Do I need a separate occupancy permit?
Yes. Occupancy permits are required for residential and commercial properties to confirm they comply with the locally adopted codes and are suitable to occupy. Finishing construction does not by itself permit occupation.
Which code edition applies here?
Whichever the city adopted by ordinance. 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.
How long will review take?
The city aims at three to five working days on routine permits, which is quick by Missouri standards. It is a self-imposed target: there is no statutory review clock anywhere in the state.
Who licenses my contractor?
The city registers and licenses contractors, with one statewide exception. 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 St. Louis permitting with Alliance Permitting
The city and the county are different governments with the same name and eighty-eight municipalities between them. We settle which one holds your parcel before anything else.
Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 22 years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.
Contractors and builders choose Alliance for St. Louis 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 St. Louis permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.