Animal Ordinances in St. Charles County, MO (2026)
13 rules for unincorporated St. Charles County, Missouri.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
St. Charles County bans roosters on residential lots under five acres and caps hens at eight per lot, with fenced-enclosure and coop rules for anyone keeping chickens on residentially zoned land.
St. Charles County Backyard Chicken Rules
Significant RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code §§ 205.082, 205.085(C)
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, possess, harbor or keep a rooster in a residentially zoned parcel of land less than five (5) acres in size. ... Hens may be kept on residential property. A rooster may only be kept on a residentially zoned parcel of land five (5) acres or more in size. In residential lots of ten thousand (10,000) square feet or more, the maximum number of hens that ma...
Dog Leash Laws
Dogs off their owner's property in St. Charles County must be leashed and controlled; residential-district leashes can't exceed 10 feet, and dangerous dogs need a 4-foot leash plus muzzle.
St. Charles County Dog Leash Law
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 205.032
All owners and anyone having care, custody or control of any animal shall prevent the animal from: 1. Being at large. ... All other domesticated animals, when such animal is off of their premises, in a residentially zoned district, shall be on a leash not to exceed ten (10) feet in length and under the adequate control of their owner.
Breed Restrictions
St. Charles County does not ban dogs by breed. Instead, the Health Department declares individual dogs "dangerous" case-by-case based on documented bites, then imposes muzzle, confinement, and insurance mandates on that dog.
St. Charles County Dangerous Dog Declaration
Significant RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 205.010
DANGEROUS DOG -- Any dog with the following characteristics: 1. Any dog which has inflicted a severe or fatal injury on a human... 2. Any dog declared by the Department Director to be dangerous pursuant to Section 205.142(C) and (D) of this Chapter or lawfully declared dangerous by a City or municipality within the County.
Beekeeping
Backyard beekeeping isn't a listed use in St. Charles County's single-family residential districts. Apiaries appear as a permissive use only in the county's "A" Agricultural and "AT" Agricultural Tourism zoning districts under the Unified Development Ordinance.
St. Charles County Confines Beekeeping To Ag Zoning
Significant RestrictionsSt. Charles County, MO Unified Development Ordinance § 405.080(B)(2)
B. Permissive Uses. 1. Except in platted subdivisions, agriculture, farming, dairy farming, livestock and poultry raising... 2. Apiaries, aviaries, fish hatcheries, and fur farming or the raising of fur-bearing animals.
Exotic Pets
St. Charles County bans owning, selling or harboring wild or exotic/dangerous animals anywhere in the unincorporated county except at a zoo, circus, scientific institution, research lab, or licensed sanctuary. Any such animal kept in the county over thirty days a year must be microchipped and registered with the Division.
St. Charles County Exotic/Dangerous Animal Ban
Heavy RestrictionsSt. Charles County, MO Code § 205.080
It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, own, possess or harbor any wild or exotic/dangerous animal in any place other than a properly maintained zoological park, circus, scientific or educational institution, research laboratory, or a licensed sanctuary or refuge. All such animals present in the County for more than thirty (30) days out of each year shall be identified by a microchip and t...
Wildlife Feeding
St. Charles County parks ban feeding or baiting deer, geese, raccoons and other wildlife, and the ban reaches anyone who creates or simply allows a condition that keeps drawing animals together.
St. Charles County Bans Feeding Wildlife
Heavy RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 250.100(B)(6)
Feeding wildlife prohibited. No person shall feed or bait any migratory waterfowl or other wildlife, including all mammals, birds (excluding songbirds at feeding stations), deer, raccoons and other species of wildlife, or create any condition, or allow any condition to exist, which results in a congregation or congestion of migratory waterfowl or other wildlife which results in a threat to the ...
Pet Limits
Unincorporated St. Charles County caps most households at four domesticated animals and, separately, four snakes on residentially zoned property, with backyard hens allowed up to eight per lot. Keep more than four pets and Section 205.085 requires a kennel registration from the Division Director instead.
St. Charles County Household Pet Limit Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 205.085(A), (B), (C)(1)-(2), (D)
A. No person shall harbor, keep or allow another to harbor or keep more than four (4) domesticated animals on any parcel of property located within a residentially zoned district; except that any person may keep more than four (4) animals on any parcel of property only after obtaining a kennel registration issued by the Division Director. B. No person shall harbor, keep or allow another to harb...
Cat Rules
St. Charles County requires every kitten to be rabies-vaccinated and registered with a numbered tag by four months of age, and a cat found at large without that tag can be impounded as a stray. The county also authorizes approved feral cat programs to sterilize and ear-tip free-roaming community cats rather than remove them.
St. Charles County Cat Registration & Feral Cat Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code §§ 205.110(A), 205.225(A)
Section 205.110. Registration/Vaccination. A. Every owner or competent person who is responsible for any ferret, puppy, or kitten shall have such ferret, puppy, or kitten vaccinated by a veterinarian against rabies and registered as provided in this Article when or before the ferret, puppy or kitten reaches four (4) months of age, but not before it reaches three (3) months of age. ... It shall ...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
St. Charles County has no county-wide spay/neuter mandate for ordinary pets. Sterilization becomes mandatory only as one of ten control conditions imposed on a dog the Department Director formally declares "dangerous," and an owner can avoid it only with a written veterinary exemption.
St. Charles County Dangerous Dog Spay/Neuter Rule
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 205.145(B)(10)
If it is determined that a dangerous dog can be returned to its owner, the owner shall enter into a written agreement or be issued a written order to control the dog. Such written agreement or order shall contain the following terms, as well as any other terms deemed appropriate and necessary to control the dog: ... 9. The owner of a dangerous dog shall present to the Division of Humane Service...
Microchipping
St. Charles County requires a microchip whenever the Division of Humane Services impounds a dog or cat for running at large, holds an animal after a bite investigation, or licenses a wild or exotic animal kept in the county more than thirty days. Owners who skip the chip, or let its registered contact information go stale, commit a misdemeanor under Section 205.050.
St. Charles County Pet Microchipping Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code §§ 205.050(A)(4)-(5), 205.141
Any animal which is apprehended running at large or who has bitten a human being or animal shall be photographed and microchipped by the Division Director as soon as is reasonably practicable after a bite or running at large incident or if the animal is impounded prior to its release. ... An owner or competent person is guilty of failure to register/vaccinate or microchip when he: ... Fails to ...
Pet Store Rules
St. Charles County doesn't ban retail dog and cat sales, but no pet shop, dealer, boarding or breeding kennel, or grooming shop may operate in the unincorporated county without an annual registration and inspection from the Division of Humane Services under Section 205.160.
St. Charles County Pet Shop Registration Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code §§ 205.010, 205.160(A)-(C)
A. It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain a boarding or breeding kennel, pet shop, grooming shop, or dealership in unincorporated St. Charles County without first obtaining a valid registration from the Division. B. It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain a boarding or breeding kennel, pet shop, grooming shop, or dealership in unincorporated St. Charles County without maint...
Pet Groomer Rules
Any grooming shop or parlor operating in unincorporated St. Charles County must hold an annual kennel registration from the Division of Humane Services and pass a health inspection before opening. Parlors must strap animals during grooming so none can fall or be hanged, never leave a pet unattended before a dryer, and never cage more than one animal together.
St. Charles County Grooming Parlor Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 205.210(A)
A. Grooming parlors shall: 1. Provide such restraining straps for the animal while it is being groomed so that such animal shall neither fall nor be hanged. 2. Not leave animals unattended before a dryer. 3. Not prescribe or administer treatment or medicine that is the province of a licensed veterinarian. 4. Not put more than one (1) animal in each cage. 5. Provide for the removal and disposal ...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
St. Charles County zones veterinary clinics and animal hospitals by district: they're a permissive use in the "C2" General Commercial District as long as the practice sits inside an enclosed building, but need a conditional use permit in the rural "A" Agricultural District, and the code expressly bars them from operating as a home occupation anywhere in the county.
St. Charles County Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Some RestrictionsSt. Charles County Code § 405.135(B)(36) (C2 General Commercial); § 405.080(C)(34) (Agricultural District); § 405.495(C)(5) (Home Occupations)
B. Permissive Uses. ... 36. Veterinarian, animal hospital or kennel, if within an enclosed building. [Section 405.080(C)] Conditional Uses. ... 34. Veterinary clinic. [Section 405.495(C)] Specific "Examples Of Home Occupations Prohibited". Home occupations shall not, in any event, be deemed to include, but not be limited to, the following: ... 5. Veterinarian services and animal hospitals.
All St. Charles County ordinances
See every category we cover for St. Charles County: parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
St. Charles County Ordinance Hub →