How to evict a tenant in Missouri for unpaid rent: the rent and possession case
Missouri has no waiting period or termination notice for unpaid rent. Once rent is due and you have demanded it, you can file a verified statement with the associate circuit judge. The summons must be served at least four days before a court date set within 21 business days, a tenant who pays all the rent and costs at the hearing ends the case, and the officer has five days after receiving the execution to deliver possession.
What do you have to do before filing in Missouri?
Less than in most states. Section 535.020 of the Revised Statutes says that when rent has become due and payable, payment has been demanded by the landlord or the landlord's agent, and payment has not been made, the landlord may file a statement verified by affidavit with an associate circuit judge in the county where the property is. The statement sets out the terms of the rental, the amount of rent actually due, that rent was demanded and not paid, and describes the property. The statute adds that giving the notice in section 441.060 is not required before filing or getting the relief in this chapter.
So the demand is the step that matters, and it is worth making a written one with the amount and date. You may join other unpaid sums owed under the lease, other than property damage, but those are not rent for this chapter, and a judgment for them does not by itself entitle you to possession. Section 441.060, the one-month written notice, still applies when you are ending a month-to-month or other tenancy without a rent default.
How does the court case run?
Section 535.030 requires the summons to be served as in other civil cases at least four days before the court date in the summons, and the court date may not be more than twenty-one business days after the summons is issued unless the plaintiff consents in writing to a later one. If personal service fails you can ask for service by posting a copy on the dwelling and mailing one at least ten days before the court date. If the tenant is then in default, the judge hears the case as if there had been personal service, but you get no money judgment, only possession.
Under 535.040 the judge sets the case on the first available date. If the rent was demanded and not paid, and the tenant does not tender the rent and all costs at the hearing, the judge awards possession, the rent then due and costs, and issues an execution directing the officer to put you in immediate possession. The officer must deliver possession within five days from receiving the execution. You may sue for possession alone. Court fees vary by county.
What if the tenant pays?
Missouri is generous to a tenant who can catch up. Under 535.040, no judgment issues if all the rent and costs are tendered before the judge at the hearing. Section 535.160 goes further: if on the date of any money judgment the tenant tenders to you, or brings into court, all the rent then in arrears and all the costs, further proceedings stop. If after the trial but before the judgment becomes final the tenant satisfies the money judgment and pays costs, the execution for possession is stayed, though you can still appeal the money judgment. If the judgment is for possession only, there is no stay except under the appeal-bond statute or the court rules.
What can the tenant do after judgment?
Under 535.030, the tenant has ten days from the judgment to move to set aside or to apply for a trial de novo, and unless one is filed the judgment for possession becomes final and the tenant is subject to eviction without more notice. When the tenant defaulted, the clerk mails a notice of this the same day. Under 535.110, a trial de novo or appeal does not stay execution unless the tenant posts a bond with security for damages, costs and rent due within ten days of the judgment and agrees to pay later-accruing rent into court within ten days after it is due.
Example a made-up landlord demands $1,275 in rent in writing on Monday, November 2, 2026 and files a verified statement on Friday, November 6. The clerk sets the court date for Tuesday, November 24, comfortably inside the 21 business days, and the tenant is served on November 12, more than four days before. The tenant does not tender the money at the hearing, so the judge awards possession, the rent and costs on November 24. The tenant's ten days to ask to set aside or for a trial de novo end Friday, December 4. The landlord obtains the execution and the officer receives it on Monday, December 7, so possession must be delivered by Saturday, December 12. From the demand that is 40 days.
What does Missouri treat as forcible entry?
Section 441.233 says a landlord or agent who removes or excludes a tenant or the tenant's personal property without judicial process and a court order, or causes the removal of the doors or locks, is guilty of forcible entry and detainer under chapter 534. The same label applies to a landlord who willfully interrupts essential services such as electric, gas, water or sewer, unless done for health or safety reasons. There is a narrow exception for abandonment under 441.065.
After the sheriff finishes a court-ordered execution, 535.040 protects you from liability for what the tenant leaves, except for willful, wanton or malicious acts, but if an item bears a conspicuous permanent label showing it belongs to a third party you must notify that person by certified mail, return receipt requested, and give five business days to recover it.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping records rent and late fees in each property's books, so the "amount of rent actually due" in your sworn statement is on the tenant ledger. Your lease and written demand are stored as documents, and you can email tenants from the app. It does not file the statement or serve papers. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice. If a case is contested, or the tenant files an answer, talk to a local attorney.
Sources
- RSMo 535.020 (procedure to recover possession), Missouri Revisor of Statutes, read Oct 30, 2026
- RSMo 535.030 (service of summons; court date), read Oct 30, 2026
- RSMo 535.040 (hearing, judgment and execution), read Oct 30, 2026
- RSMo 535.110 and 535.160 (appeal bond; tender of rent and costs), read Oct 30, 2026
- RSMo 441.233 (landlord's unlawful removal or exclusion of tenant), read Oct 30, 2026
- RSMo 441.060 (terminating tenancies by notice), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Do I have to give a Missouri tenant a notice before filing for unpaid rent?
- No termination notice. You must have demanded the rent and not been paid, and then you file a verified statement. The notice in section 441.060 is not required first (RSMo 535.020).
- How fast is a Missouri rent and possession hearing?
- The summons must be served at least four days before the court date, and the court date may not be more than twenty-one business days after the summons is issued unless you consent in writing to a later one.
- Can a Missouri landlord shut off utilities or change locks?
- No. Removing or excluding a tenant without a court order, removing doors or locks, or willfully interrupting essential services is treated as forcible entry and detainer under RSMo 441.233, except for health or safety reasons.