Building Safety in St. Louis County, MO (2026)
9 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in St. Louis County, Missouri.
Verified from official government sources
Lead Paint
St. Louis County bans applying lead-based coating to any chewable or exposed surface, but lets pre-1978 homes sell if the seller discloses known or suspected lead paint in writing and gives buyers the HUD lead notice before contract signing.
St. Louis County Lead Paint Disclosure Rule
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code of Ordinances § 628.050
No person shall apply or cause to be applied any lead-based coating to any chewable surface or exposed surface; and no person shall sell, expose for sale, deliver, give away or possess with intent to sell, deliver or give away any chewable surface or exposed surface to which any lead-based coating has been applied, except that a structure, dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit built before 19...
Elevator Maintenance
St. Louis County requires periodic Code Official inspections of every elevator, freight lift, moving stairway and chairlift under the county's Mechanical Code. Passenger and freight elevators get at least one comprehensive annual inspection, and the Code Official can order up to three inspections a year. Fees and a $1,000 penalty for noncompliance apply.
Elevator Inspection Rules in St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1108.100 (adopting IMC § 107.7 and Table 107.7)
107.7 Periodic Inspections. Periodic inspections shall be made by the Code Official of all equipment and devices listed in Table 107.7 at the frequency specified in Table 107.7, or at such other times as the Code Official shall deem appropriate. Fees for inspections shall be paid by the owner of such equipment or devices in accordance with Chapter 1100, SLCRO 1974 as amended. [...] Table 107.7 ...
Fire Sprinkler Requirements
St. Louis County does not mandate fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes or townhouses. Instead, under Residential Code R313.1 and R313.2, builders must offer every buyer the option to install a sprinkler system before the purchase contract is signed, at the buyer's cost.
Fire Sprinkler Opt-In Rule, St. Louis County
Light RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1116.103 (IRC § R313.2, R313.2.1)
R313.2 One- and two-family dwellings automatic fire systems. A builder of one- and two-family dwellings shall offer to any purchaser on or before the time of entering into the purchase contract the option, at the purchaser's cost, to install or equip fire sprinklers in the dwelling. No purchaser of such a one- or two-family dwelling shall be denied the right to choose or decline to install a fi...
Childcare Center Rules
St. Louis County's Building Code splits child day care by size and setting. A home caring for up to ten children, including the provider's own, is a Child Day Care Home that can be built to the residential code with a sprinkler system. Once a facility serves more than five children over 2½ outside that home setting, Section 305.2 pushes it into the commercial Group E classification.
St. Louis County Building Code Rules for Child Day Care
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1115.102 / § 1115.103 (Building Code Definitions; §§ 305.2, 310.5.1)
Child Day Care Home. A family home, occupied as a permanent residence by the child day care home provider, in which care is given to no more than 10 children, including children related to the day care provider for any part of the 24 hour period. ... 305.2 Group E, day care facilities. This group includes buildings and structures or portions thereof occupied by more than five children older tha...
Door Locking Hardware
St. Louis County's Property Maintenance Code bars owners from locking a means-of-egress door in a way that traps occupants inside. Section 702.3 requires every exit door to open from the inside without a key, tool or special knowledge, and Section 702.4 extends the same no-key rule to security bars over emergency escape windows.
Egress Door Locking Rules in St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1110.700 (Property Maintenance Code §§ 702.3, 702.4)
702.3 Locked Doors. All means of egress doors shall be readily operable from the side from which egress is to be made without the need for keys, special knowledge or effort, except where the door hardware conforms to that permitted by the Building Code as adopted by St. Louis County. 702.4 Emergency Escape Openings. Required emergency escape and rescue openings shall be openable from the inside...
Building Permits
St. Louis County requires a building permit before almost any construction, alteration, demolition, or occupancy change under Section 105.1 of the Building Code, whether the work involves a structure, a paved parking lot serving more than one single-family dwelling, or a new lot line affecting an existing building. Section 105.2 carves out a short, narrow list of exemptions.
When a Building Permit Is Required in St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1115.101 (Building Code §§ 105.1, 105.2 Items 3, 9)
105.1 Required. Any owner or owner's authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or install or alter a ground level paved parking lot other than those lots serving a single-family dwelling, or establish a new or relocated lot line that affects an existing structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, r...
Electrical Permits
St. Louis County adopts the 2014 National Electrical Code and requires a written permit application at the Office of Electrical Inspection at least 24 hours before any electrical or communications installation begins. Emergency work can start with next-day notice, but unpermitted work is a misdemeanor with added no-permit fines.
St. Louis County Electrical Permit Rule
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1102.080 (NEC Art. 80, § 80-8(A))
(A)Permits Required: No person, firm, corporation, limited liability company or other business entity, institution or organization shall begin any work of installing, erecting or altering material, wiring, fixtures, or other apparatus to be used for generation, transmission or utilization of electricity or communications equipment or on any structures or premises unless and until written applic...
Plumbing Permits
St. Louis County requires a permit before any plumbing, drainlaying, sewer connection, backflow-device work, or fire-suppression water main tie-in begins on unincorporated property. Only a bonded, licensed master plumber may hold the permit, applications go to the Office of Plumbing and Sewer Inspection, and unpermitted work draws a misdemeanor charge plus a separate no-permit penalty.
St. Louis County Plumbing Permit Requirement
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Revised Ordinances § 1103.P-126
1103.P-126 - Permits Required. —1. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Code, a permit must be obtained prior to any person performing the following work: (A)Any plumbing, drainlaying, or process drainage systems, including industrial waste sewers to site pretreatment, (with the exception of minor repairs, as defined in this Code), in, upon, or about any building or premise, whethe...
Building Inspections
Every building permit issued in unincorporated St. Louis County comes with a fixed sequence of inspections the county's building official has to perform before work can proceed to the next stage. Section 110.3 lists fourteen required inspection points, from the soil inspection before footings are poured through the final inspection before anyone can occupy the finished structure.
Required Building Inspections in St. Louis County
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis County Code § 1115.101 (Building Code §§ 110.3, 110.3.1, 110.3.6, 110.3.14)
110.3 Required inspections. The building official, upon notification, shall make the inspections set forth in Sections 110.3.1 through 110.3.14.2. These inspections may be made in conjunction with other inspections and are not necessarily required to be conducted as an individual inspection. ... 110.3.1 Soil inspection. A soil inspection shall be made after excavation for the structure is compl...
Building Safety by City in St. Louis County
1 cities in St. Louis County have their own building safety rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All St. Louis County ordinances
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