Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 1.030 (2026)

Plural includes the singular

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1.030.  Plural includes the singular — masculine includes feminine. — 1.  Whenever, in any statute, words importing the plural number are used in describing or referring to any matter, parties or persons, any single matter, party or person is included, although distributive words are not used.

  2.  When any subject matter, party or person is described or referred to by words importing the singular number or the masculine gender, several matters and persons, and females as well as males, and bodies corporate as well as individuals, are included.

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(RSMo 1939 §§ 651, 652, A.L. 1957 p. 587)

Prior revisions: 1929 §§ 651, 652; 1919 §§ 7054, 7055; 1909 §§ 8053, 8054

(1992)  Use of word "he" includes both male and female and because section 566.030, RSMo, encompasses the conduct of both males and females, there is no violation of the equal protection clauses of the United States or Missouri Constitutions.  State v. Stokely, 842 S.W.2d 77 (Mo. en banc).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1967–2025 · leading case: State v. Liberty, 370 S.W.3d 537 (Mo. 2012).
State v. Liberty, 370 S.W.3d 537 (Mo. 2012). · cites it 2× “Even were this not so, section 1.030 expressly states that, in Missouri’s statutes, plural terms include the singular and vice versa.”
City of Town & Country v. St. Louis Cnty., 657 S.W.2d 598 (Mo. 1983). · cites it 4× “In support of this assertion, McGraw-Hill cites the present forms of section 18(c) of article VI of the Missouri Constitution and section 1.030 of the St. Louis County Charter, both adopted after the Graeler cases were decided.”
Hink v. Helfrich, 545 S.W.3d 335 (Mo. 2018). · cites it 2× “Section 1.030 provides: "When any subject matter, party or person is described or referred to by words importing the singular number or the masculine gender, several matters and persons, and females as well as males, and bodies corporate as well as individuals, are included.”
State Ex Rel. Ford Motor Co. v. Manners, 161 S.W.3d 373 (Mo. 2005). · cites it 2× “Section 1.030(2) ("When any subject matter, party or person is described or referred to by words importing the singular number .”
Spradlin v. City of Fulton, 924 S.W.2d 259 (Mo. 1996). · cites it 4× “" § 1.030, RSMo 1994. Rules for the interpretation of statutes apply with equal force to the constitution.”
Vance Bros., Inc. v. Obermiller Constr. Servs., Inc., 181 S.W.3d 562 (Mo. 2006). · cites it 2× “” Section 1.030 notes that when a statute uses a plural number, any single matter also is included.”
Thompson v. Koenen, 396 S.W.3d 429 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “…vice versa.” While not a model of draftsmanship, the meaning of this commonplace provision is apparent. Compare § 1.030, RSMo.”
State v. Hawkins, 418 S.W.2d 921 (Mo. 1967). · cites it 2× “The words of the statute, namely, "by putting him or her in fear," may equally be construed as the plural "them," under the express direction of § 1.030. The jury was specifically required to find that defendant "did rob, steal, take and carry away * *" the money by putting…”
Boyd v. Kansas City Area Transp. Auth., 610 S.W.2d 414 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980). · cites it 2× “Section 1.030 provides that any subject matter, party or person, described or referred to in the statutes shall include bodies corporate as well as individuals.”
City of Olivette, Missouri v. St. Louis Cnty., Missouri, 507 S.W.3d 637 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). “Louis County Charter, Sections 1.030, 1.040; see also St. Louis County Charter, 2.”
Danielle M. Schaberg v. Jamie E. Schaberg (Mo. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 30× “Section 1.030 guides our interpretation of all Missouri statutes.”
In Re Scott, 332 B.R. 377 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2005). · cites it 10× “In accord with these principles, the Missouri Legislature has enacted Mo. Rev. Stat. § 1.030 to clarify the ambiguity necessarily produced by the plural or singular use of statutory terms.”
— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 1.030(2) — 1 case
State Ex Rel. Ford Motor Co. v. Manners, 161 S.W.3d 373 (Mo. 2005). “Section 1.030(2) ("When any subject matter, party or person is described or referred to by words importing the singular number .”
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