Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-07
54 of Missouri's 115 counties — 47% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 3rd-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Texas County (81/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Missouri: no building codes → Missouri: no codes, no zoning → Missouri: owner-builder → Missouri: rv living → Missouri: tiny homes → Missouri: no minimum home size → Full Missouri profile →
From the Missouri guide
Missouri has 54 counties without countywide zoning, including Texas County, Bollinger County, Dallas County.3 County zoning is present in 29 counties, and we could not confirm the zoning answer for 32 counties.1011 Missouri county zoning authority applies to unincorporated territory; an address inside city limits needs the city's answer.4
The no-zoning list identifies counties without countywide zoning, while the no-building-permit and no-zoning list narrows the overlap to 50 counties.312 A no-zoning answer does not remove Missouri septic approval or floodplain development requirements, so ask the septic authority and community floodplain administrator about the parcel before choosing a house site.1318
From the Missouri guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
54 of 115 Missouri counties · sorted by Index score
County board/office directory shows only a Planning Commission with no zoning department, zoning board, or zoning administrator, consistent with no adopted county zoning.
Texas County Board Directory ↗Missouri non-charter counties lack zoning authority absent voter adoption; the Dallas County government directory lists no planning/zoning body, indicating no county-wide zoning…
Dallas County MO Government Officials directory ↗Bollinger County has no adopted building code and, as a rural non-charter county, imposes no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas; land-use control is limited to incorporat…
County Building Codes for Missouri (data.mo.gov) ↗County-administered planning and zoning in Macon County, Missouri. The county statement addresses Macon County planning and zoning; it does not establish rules administered by i…
County Commission | Macon County, Missouri ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; Laclede County does not administer countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Laclede County MO - County Departments ↗Adair County's official government site lists no planning and zoning department, and it is a non-charter rural county with no county-wide zoning ordinance found.
Adair County, Missouri (official) ↗No county zoning ordinance appears among Randolph County's published ordinances; unincorporated areas are not subject to countywide zoning.
Randolph County MO — Ordinances ↗County-level planning and zoning authority in Phelps County. This finding concerns county authority and does not determine zoning rules adopted by incorporated municipalities.
Phelps County Commission Record — July 9, 2024 ↗The county government website shows no planning or zoning department, consistent with no countywide zoning in unincorporated Howell County (city zoning applies inside municipali…
Howell County Missouri (official county website) ↗The county has no planning & zoning department among its listed offices and no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas; land use is governed only by state construct…
Crawford County, Missouri - official county website ↗The county's official department listing includes no planning/zoning office; no county zoning ordinance was found on Wright County's official sources.
Wright County MO - County Government / Courthouse Departments ↗Dent County lists no planning/zoning department among its offices and has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as S…
Dent County, Missouri official website ↗Polk County's official office list includes no planning, zoning, or building/code-enforcement department; as a non-charter rural county it has no countywide zoning for unincorpo…
Polk County Courthouse - Departments ↗Ozark County is a non-charter third-class rural county with no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas.
Missouri Association of Counties - Ozark County ↗Countywide planning and zoning regulation in Cedar County, including unincorporated areas. The county source describes Cedar County as a third-class county without county planni…
Home - Cedar County Missouri ↗No county-wide zoning was identified for Shelby County; as a rural non-charter Missouri county with no adopted county codes, zoning applies only within incorporated cities (infe…
State of Missouri Data Portal, County Building Codes for Missouri ↗Countywide planning and zoning authority administered by Webster County, including unincorporated areas. The County adopted a temporary six-month moratorium relating to certain …
Commission – Data Center Update – May 19 ↗Inferred: no county planning/zoning department is listed for Linn County and Missouri non-charter rural counties are not zoned unless adopted by referendum.
Missouri Association of Counties - Linn County ↗Dade County has no countywide zoning department or ordinance for unincorporated areas; only incorporated cities such as Greenfield have local zoning.
Dade County, Missouri - Government Offices ↗Oregon County is among the rural Missouri counties with no county zoning or land-use regulation for unincorporated areas.
Missouri Association of Counties - Oregon County ↗County zoning regulations and land-use designations in the unincorporated portion of Ripley County. The source separately reports a floodplain ordinance dated 9/9/1998 for uninc…
Ripley County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan ↗The official county department directory contains no planning/zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Butler or Adrian.
Bates County Courthouse - Official County Website (department directory) ↗No county building codes exist and the county lists no zoning ordinance or planning/zoning office, consistent with MO non-charter rural counties without countywide zoning.
Hickory County, Missouri - FAQ ↗The county has no countywide zoning ordinance; zoning is administered independently by individual townships (Windsor Township and Bogard Township are listed as having their own …
Henry County, Missouri - Information (Planning & Zoning) ↗County-level comprehensive zoning and ordinances in Daviess County, including the county's unincorporated territory. The Daviess County Commission statement does not address sep…
Minutes of the Daviess County Commission, October 2, 2024 ↗County department directory lists no planning/zoning department; Madison County has no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas (zoning exists only within cities suc…
Madison County, MO - Departments ↗No countywide zoning ordinance appears among Clark County's adopted ordinances; only municipalities such as Kahoka administer zoning.
Clark County, MO Ordinances ↗County zoning ordinances in unincorporated Andrew County. The source states that incorporated cities may have zoning issues.
Commissioner | Andrew County MO ↗No county planning or zoning department exists in the county office directory; Cape Girardeau County has no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas (zoning applies …
Cape Girardeau County - County Offices ↗Gentry County lists no planning or zoning office among its offices, indicating no countywide zoning.
Gentry County Elected Officials ↗No planning or zoning office is listed among the county's official offices; zoning exists only within municipalities such as Poplar Bluff.
Butler County, MO Elected Officials ↗Countywide planning and zoning authority administered by Audrain County. The source does not address zoning administered by incorporated municipalities or other local jurisdicti…
FAQ and Helpful Links — Audrain County Missouri ↗Washington County does not require permitting for sites outside the city limits of Potosi and has no countywide zoning; land-use controls apply only within incorporated municipa…
Meramec Regional Planning Commission - Washington County ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; Saline County has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas.
Saline County MO - County Government ↗Benton County's official website lists no planning/zoning department or countywide zoning ordinance; Missouri non-charter counties generally lack zoning in unincorporated areas …
Benton County, MO - Official County Website ↗DeKalb County has no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas and lists no planning/zoning department; zoning exists only within incorporated cities such as Maysville.
DeKalb County, Missouri - Official County Website ↗County zoning in unincorporated Gasconade County. The source identifies a 2019 floodplain ordinance; floodplain requirements still apply. Municipal zoning may apply inside incor…
Table 2.13. Unincorporated Gasconade County Mitigation Capabilities ↗Countywide planning and zoning laws or ordinances administered by Pike County, including unincorporated county areas. Pike County separately states that it has health ordinances…
Why Pike County? ↗Osage County has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas, per the county clerk's official 'No Zoning or Building' document.
Osage County Clerk (official) - 'Osage Co. No Zoning or Building' ↗Perry County's official county services listing shows no planning/zoning department; unincorporated areas operate without county-wide zoning.
Perry County, MO - Official Website (County Services) ↗County zoning in the unincorporated area of Vernon County. The source states that state and federal laws may apply. The source is a November 20, 2013 commission record; no newer…
County Commission Record, Vernon County, November 20, 2013 ↗No county zoning ordinance or planning/zoning department is published; the county development office handles infrastructure and grants, not land-use zoning.
Scott County MO - Office of County Development ↗Carter County has no county planning or zoning department; unincorporated land is unzoned, as county zoning in a third-class Missouri county requires voter approval that has not…
State of Missouri Data Portal - County Building Codes for Missouri ↗Unincorporated Cooper County. The county plan reports no zoning ordinance for the unincorporated area. Municipal zoning may apply within incorporated places.
Cooper County Hazard Mitigation Plan 2022 ↗The official county department directory contains no planning/zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Vienna.
Maries County, Missouri - Official County Website (department directory) ↗County planning and zoning regulations in unincorporated Johnson County, excluding properties within the Whiteman Air Force Base Zoning Area. Properties within the Whiteman Air …
Planning & Zoning | Johnson County, MO ↗County-administered zoning requirements for new construction in unincorporated Nodaway County. The county minutes separately identify no Planning and Zoning in unincorporated No…
Nodaway County Commission 2022 Minutes ↗County planning and zoning in unincorporated Lincoln County, Missouri. Floodplain development permits are required for improvements, construction, and development within the Lin…
Planning and Zoning in Lincoln County, Missouri ↗Planning and zoning laws administered by McDonald County in its unincorporated territory. The source states that McDonald County does not have planning or zoning laws. The sourc…
Planning and Zoning Laws ↗County zoning restrictions administered by Lawrence County. The county source states that Lawrence County has no zoning restrictions; this does not eliminate zoning or land-use …
Planning & zoning | Lawrence County govt ↗County-administered planning and zoning throughout Callaway County. The county statement concerns county-adopted planning or zoning; incorporated municipalities may have separat…
Callaway County Planning and Zoning Information ↗The county has no county planning & zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Rock Port, not the unincorporated county.
Atchison County - Local Government ↗The county's official government site lists no planning or zoning department; as a non-charter Bootheel county it does not administer countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Pemiscot County Government ↗No planning or zoning office appears among Dunklin County's listed offices, consistent with an unzoned rural Missouri county.
Dunklin County Missouri - County Offices ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Missouri state page for all 115 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Missouri counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
