5 Missouri Laws You Probably Didn’t Know Exist

Missouri is one of those places that feels very steady when you think about it. People call it the “Show Me” State, which already tells you something about the personality here. 

This is a state with a long memory. Humans have been here for more than 12,000 years, building communities, raising families, and figuring out how to live in harmony with the land. Over time, different people came through, bringing new rules, new beliefs, and new ideas about how life should work. Some of those ideas stayed. Some changed. And some just never quite left, even when the world around them moved on.

That is where weird laws in Missouri quietly live. When you read them now, though, they feel a little surprising. Sometimes they feel strange. Sometimes they make you pause and wonder what kind of day caused someone to say, “Alright, we need a law for this.”

Below are seven Missouri laws that still exist, or once did, and each one tells a small story about how people lived, worried, and tried to protect each other.

Most of these laws are not enforced anymore. Lawyers often call them dead letter laws or laws in desuetude, which means they stopped being used over time.

1.   Single Men Once Had to Pay a Bachelor Tax

A long time ago, Missouri decided that being single came with a price. In 1821, the same year Missouri became a state, single men between the ages of twenty-one and fifty were required to pay a one-dollar tax every year. It was called a bachelor tax, and it was meant to encourage marriage and families.

Back then, growing the population mattered a lot. Families were what gave way to more farms, towns, workers, and future voters. Lawmakers believed that single men had more money and fewer responsibilities, so asking them to contribute a little extra felt fair at the time.

2.   It Is Illegal to Drive with an Uncaged Bear

This one always makes people stop reading for a moment, because it feels like something from a storybook. In Missouri, it is illegal to drive with an uncaged bear inside your vehicle. Not tied down or just sitting down, but properly caged.

The reason is actually very practical. Missouri once saw traveling circuses and animal shows moving from town to town. Bears were real passengers on real roads. Without rules, that could turn dangerous very quickly.

So the law stepped in, not because bears were funny, but because bears were heavy, strong, and unpredictable. Even now, the rule stays on the books, quietly reminding everyone that safety laws often start with very specific problems.

3.   You cannot Honk Someone Else’s Horn

In many places, honking is already limited to emergencies. University City went one step further. There, only the owner of the vehicle is legally allowed to honk its horn.

The idea was to prevent unnecessary noise and public annoyance. Honking was treated as a form of expression, and lawmakers decided it belonged only to the person who owned the car. Borrowing a friend’s vehicle did not mean borrowing their horn privileges.

This law is rarely enforced today, but it reflects a time when cities were trying hard to control noise and keep streets calm, especially as cars became more common.

4.  Yard Sales Are Not Allowed in Front Yards

Yard sales feel friendly and harmless, but Missouri law does not always agree. In University City, residents are not allowed to hold yard sales in their front yards, also called the front building line.

The sale must happen in the backyard or inside the garage. On top of that, you are only allowed two days of yard sales per calendar year. That means one weekend, or two single days, and that is it.

The rule exists to control traffic, clutter, and neighborhood appearance. It may feel strict, but it shows how local laws often focus on small details of daily life, even things as simple as where you place a folding table.

5.   Drunk People Cannot Buy Cap Guns

Missouri has always been serious about public order, especially when alcohol is involved. One law that stayed on the books says that intoxicated individuals are not allowed to purchase cap guns.

Cap guns are toys. They make noise, not damage. But noise, combined with alcohol, was once seen as a recipe for chaos. The people who made the rules just wanted everyone to behave.
They didn’t want loud or wild stuff happening in public places. So they tried to stop problems before they even started.

Cap guns aren’t really a thing anymore. Most kids don’t play with them now. But the rule is still there.

Key Takeaways

• Over the years, Missouri has had so many weird laws that were created to solve some actual problems that people used to face a long time ago.
• A lot of these laws sound weird now, but they made sense at the time.
• Many of these old rules aren’t really enforced anymore.
• New laws often started as very specific, old ones.