Bolthole Index

Cass County, Missouri

Zoning, building permits and land rules in Raymore, Missouri

The City of Raymore, Missouri requires a building permit from its building official before construction, alteration or demolition of a building inside city limits1. Raymore adopts and administers its own zoning in Title IV of its city code2. Septic rules inside the city are not confirmed; ask the Raymore Building Inspections office and the Cass County Environmental Health Department.

At a glance

Building permit
Required from the City of Raymore's building official1
Zoning
City of Raymore zoning, Title IV of the city code2
Agricultural district lot size
10 acres minimum in the A district3
Rural residential lot size
1 acre minimum in the RR district4
R-1 lot size
8,400 sq ft minimum5
Septic
Not confirmed inside city limits; Missouri requires a permit for most onsite systems6

Who to call

Building permits

City of Raymore Building Inspections Office

Building permits and construction inspections inside Raymore city limits

(816) 331-7916

[email protected]

100 Municipal Circle, Raymore, MO 64083

Septic permits

Cass County Building Codes, Zoning & Environmental Health Department

County onsite wastewater (septic) office; its published rules cover unincorporated Cass County, so confirm with it whether an address inside Raymore falls under them

816-380-8134

30508 S. W. Outer Road, Harrisonville, MO 64701

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 23, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Raymore means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Does Raymore, Missouri have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. The City of Raymore adopts and administers its own zoning and land-use standards in Title IV of its city code2. The residential and agricultural districts are A, RE, RR, R-1A, R-1, R-1.5, R-2, R-3, R-3A and R-3B7.

Lot size depends on the district. The A (Agricultural) district requires at least 10 acres per lot3. The RR (Rural Residential) district requires at least 1 acre4. The R-1 district requires at least 8,400 sq ft5.

Setbacks also vary by district. In R-1, the front and rear yards are at least 30 ft and the side yard at least 10 ft8. In the A district, the front and rear yards are at least 50 ft and the side yard at least 15 ft9. We did not review the commercial, industrial and overlay districts, and we could not confirm minimum home size, accessory dwelling, RV or tiny-home rules; ask the city's planning and zoning staff at the number below.

Do you need a building permit in Raymore, and who issues it?

Yes. Inside Raymore city limits, it is unlawful to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building without applying to the building official and obtaining the required permit1. The City of Raymore issues the permit, not Cass County.

The Raymore Building Inspections Office takes building permit applications, and the city's website offers fillable permit forms and an online permit portal10. Call (816) 331-7916 or email [email protected]10.

How do septic permits work inside Raymore?

We could not confirm who issues septic permits for a home inside Raymore city limits. Missouri requires a permit to install or repair most onsite wastewater systems6, and Cass County's published onsite wastewater rules are written for unincorporated Cass County11.

Before you buy a lot that is not on city sewer, ask the Raymore Building Inspections Office whether the lot must connect to public sewer, then ask the Cass County Building Codes, Zoning & Environmental Health Department at 816-380-8134 whether it permits a septic system at that address12.

Building a home in Raymore: the steps, in order

  1. Confirm the zoning district of the lot with the City of Raymore, and check its lot size and setbacks against your plan2.
  2. Ask the city whether the lot has public sewer, and if not, ask Cass County Environmental Health about septic12.
  3. Hire a contractor with a City of Raymore occupational license, or ask the building official how licensing applies to you10.
  4. Apply for the building permit through the city's online permit portal or fillable forms before work starts10.
  5. Schedule inspections with the Building Inspections Office as work proceeds10.
  6. Raymore can issue a temporary certificate of occupancy valid for no more than 120 days, with a $1,000 bond, if work items remain13.

What stays with Cass County, and what to check before you buy in Raymore

Cass County's building, zoning and septic rules apply to unincorporated land. Land outside Raymore city limits is covered on the Cass County page; the county requires building permits only for certain residential types there14.

For land inside the city, the county's own septic and floodplain offices may still matter. Confirm with the city whether the parcel lies in a mapped floodplain; we did not confirm Raymore's floodplain rules. Cass County's typical home value is $345,263, and its effective property tax rate is 0.9%1516.

Watch-outs

  • We could not confirm Raymore's rules on RV living, tiny homes, accessory dwellings, manufactured homes or permit fees; ask the Raymore Building Inspections Office at (816) 331-791610.
  • Cass County's building, zoning and septic rules cover unincorporated land only, so a parcel's address matters: confirm whether it sits inside Raymore city limits before relying on any county answer17.

Sources

  1. Chapter 500 Building Regulations, Article I In General (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  2. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  3. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  4. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  5. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  6. OWTS Construction Permit Process (Missouri statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  7. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  8. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  9. Chapter 405: Agricultural and Residential Districts (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  10. City of Raymore Building Inspections Office (raymore.com)
  11. Cass County Missouri Wastewater Treatment Systems Ordinance (2026 county census)
  12. Cass County Building Codes, Zoning & Environmental Health Department (casscounty.com)
  13. Chapter 500 Building Regulations, Article I In General (eCode360, City of Raymore) (Raymore), quoted and re-checked
  14. casscounty.com (2026 county census)
  15. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
  16. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
  17. Cass County Zoning Department Procedures (2026 county census)

Written October 23, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Raymore

Raymore’s own rules

  • Building permitRequired

    Construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, move, demolition or occupancy change of buildings inside Raymore city limits (Chapter 500, section 500.075)

    • Permit must be obtained from the building official before work begins; construction may proceed once the permit is issued.
    • Section 500.075 lists exceptions: repairs as defined in section 500.020(b) that do not involve a code violation, and work specified in subsection (b) (emergency work) are exempt from the permit requirement under the provision quoted.
    • Section heading and history show the section was adopted by Ord. No. 2019-088 dated 12-23-2019.
    “it shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this chapter, or to cause any such work to be done, without making application to the building official and obtaining the required permit”
  • Certificate of occupancyLimited

    Temporary certificates of occupancy issued by the Raymore building official before all work items are finished

    • A temporary certificate of occupancy is valid only for a limited period and only while the listed work items are completed on schedule.
    • The general (permanent) certificate of occupancy requirement was not verified.

    temporary CO performance bond: 1000 USD (forfeited if the identified work items are not completed within the time set by the building official)

    “the building official shall set a time period of no more than one hundred twenty (120) days during which the temporary certificate of occupancy is valid. if all of the identified work items are not completed within the specified time period as established by the building official, the temporary certificate of occupancy becomes null and void; the owner, licensed builder or general contractor shall forfeit the one thousand dollar ($1,000.00) bond”
  • Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

    Land inside Raymore city limits. The City of Raymore adopts and administers its own zoning and land-use standards in Title IV (Land Use) of its code.

    • Agricultural and residential district standards are in Chapter 405; business, overlay, planned and other districts are in other Title IV chapters (Chapters 410 through 485 per the code table of contents).
    • Development must comply with the bulk standards in Chapter 405 unless the code specifically allows otherwise.
    “the following bulk and dimensional standards apply to the agricultural and residential districts unless otherwise specifically allowed by this code.”
  • Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

    Residential and agricultural zoning districts inside Raymore city limits, as listed in the Chapter 405 bulk table: A, RE, RR, R-1A, R-1, R-1.5, R-2, R-3, R-3A and R-3B.

    • Business, commercial, industrial, overlay and planned districts are in Chapters 410 and 415 and were not reviewed.
    “a re rr r-1a r-1 r-1.5 r-2 r-3 r-3a r-3b minimum lot area per lot 10 ac. 3 ac. 1 ac.”
  • Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

    R-1 district lots (main single-family residential district) inside Raymore city limits

    • Minimum lot area per lot; per-dwelling-unit figure in the same table is also 8,400 sq ft for R-1.
    • Minimum lot width 70 ft and minimum lot depth 100 ft for R-1.

    minimum lot area per lot (R-1): >= 8400 sq.ft.

    “a re rr r-1a r-1 r-1.5 r-2 r-3 r-3a r-3b minimum lot area per lot 10 ac. 3 ac. 1 ac. 10,000 sq.ft. 8,400 sq.ft. 6,500 sq.ft.”
    2 more reviewed findings on this topic
  • SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

    R-1 district lots inside Raymore city limits

    • Projections into required yards are governed by the exceptions table in section 405.030b.
    • Lots using the average front yard exception (section 405.030b.2) may use a reduced front yard where adjacent buildings are set closer to the street.
    • New single-family and two-family developments adjacent to existing platted single-family developments must comply with the subdivision adjacency standards of section 445.030f (Chapter 405, section 405.040b).
    • Only one principal building may be located on a lot of record in the R-1 district (section 405.040a.1).

    front yard minimum (R-1): >= 30 ft (average front yard exception in section 405.030b.2) · rear yard minimum (R-1): >= 30 ft · side yard minimum (R-1): >= 10 ft

    “yards, minimum (ft.) front 50 50 40 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 rear 50 40 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 side 15 15 15 10 10 7.5 10 10 10 10”
    2 more reviewed findings on this topic
  • Lot coverageSpecified

    A (Agricultural) district lots inside Raymore city limits

    • Maximum building coverage includes outbuildings and accessory buildings (table note 1; see also section 420.050).

    maximum building coverage (A): <= 10 % (includes outbuildings and accessory buildings)

    “maximum building coverage (%) [1] 10 30 30 30 30 40 30 30 40 40 notes: [1] includes outbuildings and accessory buildings.”
    2 more reviewed findings on this topic
  • Building heightSpecified

    A (Agricultural) district buildings inside Raymore city limits

    maximum building height (A): <= 35 ft

    “maximum building height (feet) 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 50 50 50”
    2 more reviewed findings on this topic
  • Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

    Creation of new lots and subdivisions inside Raymore city limits

    • Subdivision design and improvement standards are in Chapter 445; the chapter text was not reviewed beyond its title and the section 445.030f cross-reference.
    “chapter 445 subdivision design and improvements (§ 445.010 &ndash; § 445.050)”
  • Permit processPartial

    Building permit application process inside Raymore city limits, administered by the building official

    • Application must be made to the building official before work begins (section 500.075).
    • Application contents (section 500.080) and issuance, expiration, and revocation (section 500.090) were not verified; the proposed amendment to 500.090(A) on delinquent-fee permit withholding was not confirmed as adopted.
    “it shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this chapter, or to cause any such work to be done, without making application to the building official and obtaining the required permit”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Raymore or Cass County directly.

  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of a home inside Raymore city limits
  • Building code adopted — Building construction inside Raymore city limits
  • Inspections — Building inspections for work inside Raymore city limits
  • Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area of a single-family dwelling inside Raymore city limits
  • Living in an RV — Long-term RV occupancy on private land inside Raymore city limits
15 more unanswered
  • Camping on your land
  • Tiny homes
  • Manufactured homes
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Who permits septic
  • Septic permit
  • Septic inspection
  • Off-grid sanitation
  • Well permit
  • Mandatory utility hookup
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Driveway access
  • Building in a floodplain
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Raymore publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Cass County’s page lists the county offices to call.

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