Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 72
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 72.040 (2026)

Fourth class cities

✓ current as of May 2026
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  72.040.  Fourth class cities — villages may vote to become. — 1.  All cities and towns in this state containing five hundred and less than three thousand inhabitants, and all towns existing under any special law, and having less than five hundred inhabitants which shall elect to be cities of the fourth class, shall be cities of the fourth class.

  2.  Notwithstanding the population requirements of subsection 1 of this section, all incorporated villages as of August 13, 1982, may elect by majority vote of the voters therein to be a city of the fourth class and shall retain such classification at its option.

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(RSMo 1939 § 6215, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1120)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 6093; 1919 § 7613; 1909 § 8527

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1951–2016 · leading case: Mark Atkinson v. City of Mountain View, 709 F.3d 1201 (8th Cir. 2013).
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Mark Atkinson v. City of Mountain View, 709 F.3d 1201 (8th Cir. 2013). “See Mo. Rev. Stat. § 72.040 . Sanders testified the city’s mayor and city council were the final authority on the police department’s policies, and the mayor testified the city council set those policies.”
Moynihan v. Gunn, 204 S.W.3d 230 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “Section 72.040 states the following: 1. All cities and towns in this state containing five hundred and less than three thousand inhabitants, and all towns existing under any special law, and having less than five hundred inhabitants which shall elect to be cities of the fourth…”
In Re Incorporation of Vill. of Table Rock, 201 S.W.3d 543 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “030; [9] the population parameters for "Fourth class cities," section 72.040; [10] and the population parameters for "Villages," section 72.”
In Re the Disincorporation of the City of Kinloch, 242 S.W.2d 59 (Mo. 1951). · cites it 2× “Section 72.040 R. S. 1949. There was evidence in the instant case that the number of inhabitants of Kinloch had not increased since August 20, 1948; however, the acting director of census certified the population of Kinloch, according to the returns of a special census as of…”
In re Incorporate the City of Duquesne, 322 S.W.2d 857 (Mo. 1959). · cites it 2× “ny commons appertaining to such city or town, and if the court shall be satisfied that a majority of the taxable inhabitants of such, town have signed such petition, the court shall declare such city or town incorporated, designating in such order the metes and bounds thereof,…”
In re Incorporate the City of Duquesne, 313 S.W.2d 65 (Mo. Ct. App. 1958). · cites it 3× “of the inhabitants of any such city or town shall present a petition to the county court of the county in which such city or town is situated, setting forth the metes and bounds of their city or town and commons and praying that they may be incorporated, and a police established…”
Amusement Centers, Inc. v. City of Lake Ozark, 271 S.W.3d 18 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008). “See § 72.040. Lake Ozark had a 1990 population of 681 and a 2000 population of 1,489.”
State at the Info. of Dalton v. Taylor, 293 S.W.2d 12 (Mo. Ct. App. 1956). · cites it 3× “Section 6215 RSMo 1939 (now Section 72.040 RSMo 1949, V.A.M.S., provides: “All cities and towns in this state containing five hundred and less than three thousand inhabitants, and all towns existing under any special law, and having less than five hundred inhabitants, which…”
State ex rel. Reed v. Cnty. of Stone, 201 S.W.3d 543 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “030; 9 the population parameters for “Fourth class cities,” section 72.040; 10 and the population parameters for “Villages,” section 72.”
Amos v. City of Noel, 276 S.W.3d 355 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009). “…that Noel is a fourth class city. See Shelby County R-IV School Dist. v. Herman, 392 S.W.2d 609, 611 (Mo.1965); § 72.040.”
In the matter of the petition of Missouri-Am. Water Co. for approval to change its infrastructure Sys. replacement surcharge (ISRS), Missouri Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Off. of Pub. Couns. (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “190 (establishing commercial zone of a city for traffic regulations noting in subsection 4: "[i]n no case shall the commercial zone of a city be reduced due to a loss of population"); §§72.040, 72.050 (governing classification of fourth class cities and villages stating that…”
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