Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 527
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 527.010 (2026)

Scope

✓ current as of May 2026
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  527.010.  Scope. — The circuit courts of this state, within their respective jurisdictions shall have power to declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.  No action or proceeding shall be open to objection on the ground that a declaratory judgment or decree is prayed for.  The declaration may be either affirmative or negative in form and effect; and such declarations shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree.

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(RSMo 1939 § 1126, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)

Effective 1-02-79

(1971) Petition by landowners for judicial declaration that defendant city was without right to extract the percolating waters for sale away from the premises when to do so would deprive plaintiffs, abutting landowners, of reasonable use of underground water for beneficial use of their own land and for injunction against city was sufficient as statement of claim for declaratory relief and to invoke trial court's equitable jurisdiction to consider request for injunction relief and should not have been dismissed without a hearing. Higday v. Nickolaus (A.), 469 S.W.2d 859.

(1974) Held that declaratory judgment is proper procedure for determining parentage and legal status of a child with regard to a natural or adoptive parent. S____ v. W____ (A.), 514 S.W.2d 848.

(1978) Held, it is not the purpose of declaratory judgment to allow prospective negligence action defendant to obtain a declaration of nonliability, though such action may be entertained in discretion of court. Campbell 66 Express v. Thermo King of Springfield (A.), 563 S.W.2d 776.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 157 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1951–2025 · leading case: Comm. for Educ. Equality v. State, 878 S.W.2d 446 (Mo. 1994).
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Comm. for Educ. Equality v. State, 878 S.W.2d 446 (Mo. 1994). · cites it 14× “" § 527.010, RSMo 1986. [Emphasis added.] A declaratory judgment is open to "any person .”
Borges v. Missouri Pub. Entity Risk Mgmt. Fund, 358 S.W.3d 177 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 7× “In addition, the Fund argued that Petitioners failed to demonstrate standing under the Declaratory Judgment Act, section 527.010 et seq., in that they failed to establish that they had present legal rights against the Fund and, thus, failed to demonstrate the existence of a…”
Schaefer v. Koster, 342 S.W.3d 299 (Mo. 2011). · cites it 6× “ANALYSIS The declaratory judgment act, section 527.010, RSMo 2000, vests trial courts with the power to "to declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.”
Israel Ivan Ramirez v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div., 501 S.W.3d 473 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 36× “The Division’s second point on appeal argues that the trial court had no authority to enter a declaratory judgment pursuant to section 527.010 because Ramirez had an adequate remedy at law.”
Darrell Cope & the Missouri Democratic Party v. Michael L. Parson & Mike Kehoe, 570 S.W.3d 579 (Mo. 2019). · cites it 2× “" § 527.010. A justiciable controversy exists if the petitioner has a legally protectable interest at stake, a substantial controversy exists between parties with genuinely adverse interests, and that controversy is ripe for judicial determination.”
Payne v. Cunningham, 549 S.W.3d 43 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 3× “" § 527.010; Rule 87.02(a). The purpose of the Act is remedial, "to settle and afford relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to rights, status, and other legal relations.”
Vorbeck v. McNeal, 560 S.W.2d 245 (Mo. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 6× “Vorbeck contends that the effect of the petition on his rights and those of the other police officers constituted a justiciable controversy for which relief lies under the Missouri Declaratory Judgment Act, Section 527.010, RSMo. Because we find that Sgt.”
Meekins v. St. John's Reg'l Health Ctr., Inc., 149 S.W.3d 525 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 8× “010, RSMo 2000, may be exercised "in any proceeding where declaratory relief is sought, in which a judgment or decree will terminate the controversy or remove an uncertainty.”
State Ex Rel. Riverside Jt. Venture v. Missouri Gaming Comm'n, 969 S.W.2d 218 (Mo. 1998). · cites it 5× “Section 527.010, RSMo 1994, gives the courts of this state “the power to declare rights, ■ status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.”
Northgate Apts. v. City of North Kansas City, 45 S.W.3d 475 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 3× “Section 527.010 RSMo 1994, the Declaratory Judgment Act, authorizes a party to seek a declaratory judgment to establish the rights, status, and duties of parties so as to avoid loss and encourage settlement of disputes before litigation.”
Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Agi-Bloomfield Convalescent Ctr., Inc., 682 S.W.2d 166 (Mo. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 7× “From the tone of the respective briefs on appeal, it is obvious that “standing”, both below and on appeal, is raised in the sense of whether plaintiffs and the controversial rule or rules come within the purview of §§ 527.010, 527.020, 527.130 and 536.050.”
Kinder v. Holden, 92 S.W.3d 793 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “*800 The plaintiffs’ amended four-count petition sought a declaratory judgment under § 527.010 and Rule 87.10. The counts alleged that the Order: (1) is invalid due to its lack of constitutional authority; (2) is invalid because provisions of the Order conflict with statutory…”
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