Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 80
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 80.020 (2026)

Towns and villages

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  80.020.  Towns and villages — how incorporated. — Whenever two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants of any town or village within this state shall present a petition to the county commission of the county, setting forth the metes and bounds of their village and commons, and praying that they may be incorporated under a police established for their local government, and for the preservation and regulation of any commons appertaining to such town and village, and the county commission shall be satisfied that two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants of such town or village have signed such petition, and that the prayer of such petition is reasonable, the county commission may declare such town or village incorporated, designating in such order the metes and bounds thereof, and thenceforth the inhabitants within such bounds shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "The town of ______" naming it and by that name they and their successors shall be known in law; have perpetual succession, unless disincorporated; sue and be sued; plead and be impleaded; defend and be defended in all courts and in all actions, pleas and matters whatsoever; may grant, purchase, hold and receive property, real and personal, within such town and no other, burial grounds and cemeteries excepted; and may lease, sell and dispose of the same for the benefit of the town, and may have a common seal, and alter the same at pleasure.

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(RSMo 1939 § 7242)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 7091; 1919 § 8541; 1909 § 9430

(1971) Where vast majority of six square mile area included within proposed incorporation was being used for agricultural purposes and was not within the boundaries of the existing village, nor an integral part thereof and had no logical relationship to the existence and function of the village as a municipality, the judgment affirming the order incorporating the village was reversed. In re Incorporation of Village of Lone Jack (A.), 471 S.W.2d 513.

(1976) Held, that while incorporation was improper, the state was barred by laches (22 years in this case) from challenging validity of incorporation. State ex rel. King v. Village of Praethersville (A.), 542 S.W.2d 578.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 21 cases, 1953–2006 · leading case: State ex rel. Webb v. Roos, 530 S.W.2d 704 (Mo. Ct. App. 1975).
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State ex rel. Webb v. Roos, 530 S.W.2d 704 (Mo. Ct. App. 1975). · cites it 13× “1954) (incorporation sought under § 80.020 RSMo. 1949); Kansas City v. Rooney, 363 Mo.”
Bank of Crestwood v. Gravois Bank, 616 S.W.2d 505 (Mo. 1981). · cites it 4× “090, RSMo 1978; § 80.020, RSMo 1978; § 231.340, RSMo 1978; § 231.”
State v. Champ, 393 S.W.2d 516 (Mo. 1965). · cites it 5× “Louis County asking it to incorporate approximately 840 acres as a village under the provisions of § 80.020. (All references are to RSMo 1959, V.”
In re Incorporation of Vill. of Table Rock, 201 S.W.3d 543 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 8× “080, after having previously filed two, similar petitions to incorporate the proposed village under section 80.020 without success. [2] The County Commission held a hearing on March 30, 2004.”
City of Parkville v. N. Farms, 950 S.W.2d 882 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 5× “Both cases involved proceedings under § 80.020, the statute which authorizes a court to issue an order, after proper proceedings, to incorporate an unincorporated town or village.”
In re Vill. of Lone Jack, 419 S.W.2d 87 (Mo. 1967). · cites it 3× “2d 935 ; Section 80.020, RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S.; 5 C.”
State on the Info. of Brandom ex rel. King v. Vill. of Praethersville, 542 S.W.2d 578 (Mo. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 4× “Under the standards set forth in § 80.020 RSMo 1969 and under Missouri case law, it cannot be gainsaid that the incorporation of the village in this case was improper.”
Kansas City v. Rooney, 254 S.W.2d 626 (Mo. 1953). · cites it 2× “The incorporation was sought under the provi-, sions of Section 80.020. (Statutory references are to RSMo 1949 and VAMS.”
State v. Pickle, 564 S.W.2d 905 (Mo. 1978). · cites it 3× “Relators’ first point is: “The alleged incorporation of the Village of Shakertowne by the Perry County Court was void on its face and a nullity in that said incorporation did not comply with section 80.020 RSMo 1969, because the area incorporated did not constitute a ‘village’…”
State Ex Inf. Nesslage v. City of Lake St. Louis, 718 S.W.2d 214 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “012 encompasses a town organized under § 80.020, RSMo.1978. Lake Saint Louis contends the voluntary annexation procedures under § 71.”
State ex rel. Chiavola v. Vill. of Oakwood, 886 S.W.2d 74 (Mo. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “10 was adopted in 1955, shortly after residents of a housing subdivision were incorporated as a village under § 80.020 RSMo 1986. The ordinance limited the use of the 80 lots comprising Oakwood to single-family residential use with a lot size of 30,000 square feet.”
Dubail v. Green Trails Plaza, Inc., 587 S.W.2d 934 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979). · cites it 2× “The Village of Green Trails is not a municipality incorporated pursuant to § 80.020 RSMo. 1969 but at all times relevant to the issues in this proceeding was an unincorporated section of privately owned real estate parcels, lots and common grounds within St.”
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