St. Louis County, MO Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SLCRO §713.075
- Trigger
- Refusing a police order to move on
- Required intent
- Breach of peace or Ch. 713 offense
- Applies to
- Unincorporated St. Louis County only
- Maximum penalty
- $1,000 fine and/or 1 year jail
Summary
St. Louis County's loitering law, §713.075, applies only once a person refuses a police order to move on from a park, street, sidewalk or business district while intending to breach the peace or commit a vice offense listed in Chapter 713. Simply standing around is legal; the crime is refusing to leave after a lawful order. It carries up to a $1,000 fine or a year in jail.
A person shall not loiter in any park, street, alley, highway, thoroughfare, or around or about or at any street corner, or in the vicinity of any other public place or place of public accommodation, including but not limited to hotels, motels, public buildings, restaurants, and other places of business, and refuse to cease and desist such loitering, to move on, or both, when ordered to do so by the Superintendent of Police or any duly authorized officer, agent, or deputized representative of the Department of Police of St. Louis County, Missouri, where such loitering is done with the intent to cause a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter contained in Sections 713.010 through 713.070, inclusive, above, or with the intent to cause a breach of the peace, or both.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 | Traffic: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Unlike a blanket ban on standing in public, St. Louis County's loitering statute requires two things before an officer can arrest anyone: the person must loiter in a park, street, alley, highway, thoroughfare, street corner, or the vicinity of a public accommodation such as a hotel, motel, public building or restaurant, and the person must refuse to cease or move on after being ordered to do so by the Superintendent of Police or another authorized county police officer. 070, the prostitution, procurement, indecent exposure and public urination or defecation sections of the Vice and Morality Code, or with the intent to cause a breach of the peace, or both.
That intent element means a person who is simply present, panhandling, or waiting for a ride cannot be charged; the county must show the officer reasonably connected the loitering to one of those specific listed offenses or to a breach of the peace, gave a lawful order to leave, and the person refused. 020, so a person loitering inside Kirkwood or Chesterfield answers to that city's own ordinance instead. 080: a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in the County Jail, or both.
Violations & Fines
Refusing to move on after a lawful police order, while loitering with intent to commit prostitution, indecent exposure, public urination or another Chapter 713 offense, or to breach the peace, is punished under §713.080 by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in the County Jail, or both. Simply being present without that refusal or intent is not a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be arrested in St. Louis County just for standing on a street corner?
Who can issue a move-on order under the loitering law?
What is the penalty for violating the loitering ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Louis County
Compare St. Louis County to another location·View the Missouri public conduct overview
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