Jefferson County, MO Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances § 105.130
- Original adoption
- Ord. No. 10-03700, 11-2-2010
- Amended
- Ord. No. 11-0153, 4-27-2011
- Geographic scope
- Unincorporated Jefferson County only
- Devices covered
- Red light cameras and speed cameras
- Alternative enforcement
- Officer-issued ticket or summons
Summary
Jefferson County ordinance flatly bars red light cameras and speed cameras on any road, roadway or highway in unincorporated Jefferson County, Missouri. Section 105.130, enacted in 2010 and amended in 2011, forbids the County from using automated photo enforcement to catch red-light or speeding violations of the County Traffic Code, leaving officer-issued tickets as the only enforcement method.
The use of red light cameras or speed cameras shall be prohibited on any road, roadway or highway within the boundaries of Unincorporated Jefferson County, Missouri for the purpose of enforcing violations of the Code of Ordinances of Jefferson County or the Jefferson County Traffic Code.
Full Breakdown
" The ban was first adopted by Ord. No. 10-03700 §1 on November 2, 2010, and was revised the following year by Ord. No. 11-0153 §§1-2 on April 27, 2011, which broadened the original text to reach speed cameras in addition to red-light cameras. The provision sits in Chapter 105, County Municipal Court, alongside the County's other enforcement mechanisms for ordinance violations. Because Missouri county ordinance power stops at incorporated municipal boundaries, this camera ban governs only the unincorporated portions of the county; Arnold, Festus, De Soto, Hillsboro and the county's other incorporated cities each set their own traffic-camera policy independent of this section, and none is covered by it.
120 authorizes any law enforcement officer or authorized county code enforcement official to issue a summons ordering an alleged violator to appear before the County Municipal Court, except that traffic cases requiring the uniform traffic ticket under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 37 must use that ticket rather than a summons. No county agency, vendor or contractor may install or operate a red light or speed camera system to generate citations under the County Traffic Code or the general Code of Ordinances.
Violations & Fines
Because Section 105.130 prohibits the County from operating cameras at all, no photo-generated citation, fine or violation notice can lawfully issue for a red-light or speeding infraction captured by camera in unincorporated Jefferson County; any such device or its output would carry no enforcement authority under the County Code. Actual traffic offenses are instead ticketed in person: officers use the uniform traffic ticket under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 37 for traffic cases, or a summons to the County Municipal Court under Section 105.120 for other ordinance violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jefferson County, Missouri use red light or speed cameras?
Does the camera ban cover Arnold, Festus or De Soto?
When did Jefferson County adopt the camera ban?
How are speeding and red-light violations enforced without cameras?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jefferson County
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