Missouri does not license general contractors at the state level, but a home-improvement sale is still covered by the Merchandising Practices Act in Chapter 407, RSMo. If the seller personally solicits the sale at your residence, you generally have until midnight of the third business day to cancel a home solicitation sale in writing.

Get the promise, the price, and the workmanship terms on paper before any substantial work begins.

What does the Merchandising Practices Act forbid?

The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section enforces Missouri's prohibitions on deception, fraud, false pretenses, false promises, misrepresentation, unfair practices, and the concealment, suppression, or omission of a material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of merchandise. Merchandise in this law includes goods, services, and real estate. A home-repair pitch, a roofing contract, or a door-to-door energy product can all fall under that standard.

The Attorney General does not issue contractor licenses. The Section is the place to complain when a seller misrepresents the work, the price, the financing, or the need for an urgent repair. File a complaint through the official Attorney General consumer channels, and keep contracts, ads, text messages, and photos.

A written contract that states the work, materials, start and end dates, total price, and a payment schedule is still the practical baseline, even though Missouri has no statewide general-contractor licensing statute that dictates a single form. Do not pay the full price up front if you can avoid it. There is no statewide statutory cap, like a one-third deposit rule, that was verified for this article, so the contract and your judgment have to do that work. Pay by a method you can trace, and match payments to completed stages.

Confirm any local license or permit the city or county requires, and, for electrical work, the statewide electrical contractor license when it applies. A merchandising-practices complaint does not take the place of a permit inspection.

When can you cancel a sale made in your home?

Sections 407.700 to 407.720, RSMo, cover home solicitation sales. Section 407.700 defines a home solicitation sale as a consumer credit sale of goods or services, not including the sale of real property or personal property incidental to a real-property sale, in which the seller, or someone acting for the seller, personally solicits the sale at the buyer's residence and the buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is given there. It does not include a sale made under a preexisting revolving charge account, or a sale made after prior negotiations between both parties at a business establishment with a fixed location.

Section 407.705 gives the buyer the right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after the day the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase that complies with those sections. "Business day" means any day except Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. Cancellation is made by written notice to the seller at the address in the agreement. If you mail the notice, it is given when it is deposited in a mailbox, properly addressed and postage prepaid. No special form is required, as long as the writing shows you do not intend to be bound.

The Attorney General's door-to-door sales page matches those points and adds consumer detail. Door-to-door salespersons must advise you of the cancellation period, and an acknowledgment of it must be part of the contract. A home solicitor must return any payment or trade-in goods within 10 days after notice of cancellation and must mark the contract "canceled." The seller may ask you to return delivered merchandise and must pay postage if you are asked to ship it. If the seller does not request return of the goods within 20 days after you cancel, you may keep them.

You may not cancel if all of the following are true: you requested the goods or services without delay because of an emergency; the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning of performance before you canceled; and, if goods are involved, they cannot be returned in substantially as good condition as when you received them.

This home-solicitation right does not automatically apply to a contract you signed at a contractor's office after you went there to negotiate. It is aimed at a sale solicited at your residence. Read the contract to see which rights it gives you in addition to the statute.

FAQ

Does Missouri give me three days to cancel every home-improvement contract?

The three-business-day right in section 407.705 applies to a home solicitation sale, as defined in section 407.700, generally when the seller personally solicited the sale at your residence. A contract signed at a contractor's place of business after prior negotiations there is defined out of that term.

How do I cancel?

Send written notice to the seller at the address in the agreement. If you mail it, cancellation is given when the properly addressed, postage-prepaid notice is deposited in a mailbox. No special form is required.

When must the seller return my money?

The Attorney General states that the seller must return any payment or trade-in within 10 days after notification of cancellation, and must mark the contract canceled, except in the narrow emergency situation the statute describes.

Where do I complain about a deceptive contractor?

File with the Missouri Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section. For license or permit issues, contact the city or county, and for electrical work, the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors.

If a contractor is at the door or you are about to sign, talk with a licensed local agent if insurance will be involved, and use the written-contract and cancellation rules above before any substantial work starts.

Sources: Revised Statutes of Missouri, section 407.700; Revised Statutes of Missouri, section 407.705; Missouri Attorney General, Door-to-Door Sales; Missouri Attorney General, Consumer Protection.

Missouri does not issue a statewide general contractor license for remodeling, building, or general home improvement. Licensing and building permits are set by the city or county where the work will be done. The state's official list of licensed professions does include electrical contractors, who may hold a statewide license from the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors.

Before you hire, ask the local building or licensing office what that job site requires, and confirm any state license that actually exists for the trade.

What does the state license, and what is left to local government?

The Missouri Division of Professional Registration publishes a listings of professions that it regulates. That official list includes electrical contractors, along with many other licensed occupations such as architects, engineers, and real estate brokers. It does not include a board for general contractors, plumbers, HVAC technicians, roofers, or painters. If a trade is not on that list, do not assume there is a statewide license for it. The city or county may still require a local license, a permit, or both.

The Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors began accepting applications for licensure as an electrical contractor on July 1, 2019. The office sits in the Division of Professional Registration at 3605 Missouri Boulevard, P.O. Box 1335, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1335. The telephone number is 573-522-3280. The fax number is 573-751-6301. The email address is OSEC@pr.mo.gov. The office website is pr.mo.gov/electricalcontractors.asp.

Look up an electrical contractor in the official MOPRO license search at mopro.mo.gov/license/s/license-search, or use the licensee search links on the office's site. The office describes its posted data as primary-source verification that it updates daily. A statewide electrical license does not automatically replace every local permit, and local governments may still have their own electrical licensing rules alongside the statewide credential. Ask the permit office whether it accepts the statewide license in place of a local electrical license for your project.

For general contracting, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, siding, or painting, call the building department in the city or county of the job. Requirements differ across Missouri, and a company that is properly licensed in one city may still need a license or a permit in the next. Ask for the contractor's local license number, insurance certificates, and references, then confirm those numbers with the same office that issues them.

A license, where one is required, is not the same as a building permit. Many jobs need both. Work done without a required permit can cause problems when you sell the home or file an insurance claim.

The Missouri Attorney General does not license home-improvement contractors. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section enforces the Merchandising Practices Act against deception and unfair practices and takes consumer complaints. That is a fraud and unfair-practice resource, not a substitute for a local license search.

How should you hire in a state without a statewide general license?

Get a written scope, a price, a timeline, and a payment schedule. Pay by a method you can trace. Confirm that the person at the door is the company you checked. For electrical work, use the official statewide search and the local permit office. For other trades, rely on the local office and on references you can actually call.

If a seller promises that "Missouri does not require any license, so none is needed," that may be true at the state level for general contracting and still be false in your city. Verify locally every time.

The Division of Professional Registration's general number is 573-751-0293, with email at profreg@pr.mo.gov, if you need help finding the right board. For electrical contractors, use the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors contacts above.

Ask the local office whether the contractor's license is current, whether the company name on the contract matches the license, whether subcontractors also need credentials, and whether a permit must be posted at the job. Get at least two written bids that describe the same scope. Confirm general liability insurance and, if workers will be on your property, workers' compensation, by asking for certificates and, when the issuer allows, verifying them with the insurer. A low bid that requires cash only, or that starts demolition before a permit is issued, is a reason to pause.

Keep copies of licenses, bids, permits, change orders, and photos of the work as it proceeds. If the job is in a historic district or a homeowners association, those groups may have extra rules on top of the city or county permit. None of that creates a statewide general contractor license, but it is how you use the local system Missouri actually has.

FAQ

Does Missouri have a statewide general contractor license?

No. The Division of Professional Registration's official professions list has no general contractor board. Cities and counties set those rules.

Is there a statewide electrical contractor license?

Yes. The Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors has accepted applications since July 1, 2019. Search licenses through MOPRO or the office's licensee search.

Who confirms a plumber or HVAC contractor?

There is no statewide plumbing or HVAC board on the Division's professions list. Ask the city or county building or licensing office where the work will be done.

Does the Attorney General license contractors?

No. The Attorney General enforces consumer-protection laws and takes complaints but does not issue a general contractor license.

If you are planning a remodel or a repair, talk with a licensed local agent about insurance implications, and confirm every required local or statewide license with the office that issues it before work starts.

Sources: Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Listings of Professions; Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors; MOPRO License Search; Missouri Attorney General, Consumer Protection.