Missouri: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
Public recordMO LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Missouri chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Missouri?
#stove-installNONE- Credential
- No installer credential and no statewide building code — THE CODE ABSENCE IS THE FINDING: Missouri has no statewide residential building/mechanical code of any kind (one of the few large states without one; a 2024 bill to create one died), so the IRC listing/manufacturer-instruction rule is law only where a city/county adopts a code (most-adopted editions run 2015-2018 IRC/IMC; unincorporated/rural MO often has no code and no permits at all — deeper than TX, which at least has a municipal baseline statute); no statewide trade license reaches the work either (electrical is the only statewide trade license, per Pass 1) and the MPSC propane lane is gas-only — a wood/pellet stove or insert install touches no state credential at any price; CITY LAYER: Kansas City (mechanical permits + Compass KC mechanical contractor licensing), St. Louis City/County (mechanical contractor licensing + permits + county indemnifying bond), Springfield (mechanical certifications) — flagged, not exhausted
- Issuing body
- n/a statewide; city/county building departments
- Statute
- absence verified — no statewide building-code or mechanical/hearth licensing statute exists to cite (RSMo 324.900 et seq. is electrical-only, per Pass 1); local ordinances control
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — KC/STL/Springfield mechanical permit + license regimes are the only capture anywhere in the state
- Confidence
- high (absence) · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Missouri?
#gas-fireplace-serviceNONE- Credential
- NONE statewide for natural-gas work — Missouri has no state plumbing, HVAC, mechanical, or gas-fitter license (the ONLY statewide trade license is electrical, RSMo 324.900–324.945; the proposed Statewide Mechanical Contractor Licensing Act, e.g. SB 559, never passed). VERIFIED ABSENCE: checked MO Division of Professional Registration trade list, revisor.mo.gov, and industry guides. BUT the moment the fireplace runs on PROPANE, RSMo 323.060.2 kicks in: 'No person or company shall engage in this state in the business of installing, modifying, repairing, or servicing equipment and appliances for use with liquefied petroleum gas without having first registered with the commission' — Missouri Propane Safety Commission registration (Class II low-pressure recommended for HVAC-type appliance work; classes per 2 CSR 90-10.012), NFPA 58 (2024 ed.) and NFPA 54 adopted. LP regime even preempts conflicting city ordinances (RSMo 323.050 headnote). Natural-gas-side regulation is 100% municipal.
- Issuing body
- none statewide; Missouri Propane Safety Commission (Dept. of Agriculture instrumentality) for LP only
- Statute
- RSMo 323.060, 323.025, 323.050; 2 CSR 90-10.012; RSMo 324.900–324.945 (electrical-only contrast)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- none statewide; MPSC Class I/VIII/IX/X need 75% written exam, Class II–IV need CETP certification + 1 yr experience instead; city exams in KC/STL/Springfield
- Local overlay
- HEAVY: Kansas City — Master Mechanical (G29) and Master Gas Pipe Fitter (G33) certificates + licensed Mechanical Contractor via Compass KC (kcmo.gov contractor licensing); St. Louis County — Mechanical Contractor license + indemnifying bond, Mechanical Code Ch. 1108 SLCRO, Accela portal (stlouiscountymo.gov); City of St. Louis — Mechanical Contractor license from Building Division required to pull mechanical permits (stlouis-mo.gov); Springfield — Gas Fitter & Mechanical trade certifications, 75% exam, bond/insurance proof (springfieldmo.gov/263)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Gas log installation: is a credential required in Missouri?
#gas-log-installREGISTRATION- Credential
- LP GAS LOG SETS ONLY — Missouri Propane Safety Commission registration, Class II (Installer/Servicer of Low Pressure Systems: appliances, equipment, piping downstream of first-stage regulator, NFPA 54 systems — the exact lane a gas-log/hearth installer occupies) or Class IV (high+low pressure, NFPA 54+58, recommended for plumbers/pipefitters). Statutory hook: RSMo 323.060.2 (installing/modifying/repairing/servicing LP equipment AND APPLIANCES requires registration in the appropriate class). Class II requirements per mopropanesc.org: application MPGC-1219, owner/full-time manager with 1 yr experience, current CETP (HVAC) certification, safety familiarity — NO written exam and NO insurance filing for Class II–IV. Applies regardless of employee count, including sole proprietors, and to nonresidents (323.060.3). NATURAL-GAS log sets: no state credential at all — local mechanical/gas-fitter license only (KC, STL City/County, Springfield). Penalties for unregistered LP work: RSMo 323.110–323.115 (AG enforcement, civil penalties).
- Issuing body
- Missouri Propane Safety Commission
- Statute
- RSMo 323.060.2; 2 CSR 90-10.012
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- no exam for Class II–IV (CETP certification instead); exam only for Classes I, VIII, IX, X (75%)
- Local overlay
- same KC / St. Louis City / St. Louis County / Springfield mechanical-gas overlays as gas-fireplace-service row
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Missouri require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- none
- Liability minimum
- NONE statewide for contractors (no state license exists to hang a minimum on — verified absence). ONE STATE EXCEPTION, LP-only and narrower than it looks: RSMo 323.075.1 requires $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 annual aggregate financial responsibility for LP-gas releases — but by its text it applies only to persons 'required to be registered under subsection 1 of section 323.060' (retail sellers/handlers/transporters), NOT to installer-only registrants under 323.060.2; MPSC class pages confirm insurance evidence is demanded for Classes I, V/VI, X but NOT Class II–IV installers. Where it applies it is STATE-VERIFIED: COI must accompany the application AND the policy must require the carrier to deliver any final cancellation notice to the commission (323.075.3). TRAP: SEO guides saying 'Missouri contractors must carry $X liability' are describing city license rules (e.g., KCMO requires GL insurance for its contractor license), not state law. Local: Springfield requires proof of bond and/or insurance for Gas Fitter and Mechanical licenses.
- Bond
- NONE statewide — no state license bond, no obligee, nobody to benefit (verified absence; Missouri has no contractor licensing statute to attach one to). LOCAL bonds exist: St. Louis County Mechanical Code (Ch. 1108 SLCRO) requires a licensed mechanical contractor to file an indemnifying bond with sureties running to St. Louis County; Springfield requires bond/insurance proof for trade licenses; other cities vary. These are permit-privilege bonds benefiting the municipality, not consumer-compensation bonds.
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — Missouri has no contractor guaranty/recovery fund of any kind (verified absence: no licensing regime exists to fund one; no recovery-fund statute found in RSMo; consumer recourse is the MMPA § 407.020 private action with attorney's fees and punitives, plus AG Consumer Protection Division).
- Workers' comp threshold
- 5+ employees general rule BUT construction industry = 1 employee: RSMo 287.030.1(3) — 'construction industry employers who erect, demolish, alter or repair improvements shall be deemed an employer... if they have one or more employees'; family members within third degree of affinity/consanguinity ARE counted. Chimney/gas shops are squarely 'alter or repair improvements.' Sole proprietors/partners/LLC-members are not 'employees' and are not required to cover themselves (may elect in, 287.090.2); close corporations with ≤2 owner-only employees may withdraw by filing notice with the Division (287.090.5 — a checkable filing); cities (e.g., Festus) collect a DWC Affidavit of Exemption at permit counters. Insurers must file a memorandum of every WC policy, renewal, and cancellation with the Division (287.090.3) — this feeds the public lookup.
- How to verify
- AUTOMATED state lookups: MO DWC insured-coverage search https://apps.labor.mo.gov/DWC/tool/wc_cov_ver.asp + self-insured search https://laborwebapps.mo.gov/dwc/self-insured-verification (portal: https://labor.mo.gov/DWC/are-you-covered; hotline 800-775-2667). LP insurance is verified by the MPSC via COI-on-file + carrier cancellation-notice duty (323.075.3) but there is NO public MPSC registrant lookup found — request records via mopropanesc.org/request-records. City license checks: Springfield https://www.springfieldmo.gov/233/Confirm-Your-Contractors-License; KCMO Compass KC; St. Louis County Accela.
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
- GOVrevisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspxGOVrevisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspxGOVrevisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspxGOVlabor.mo.gov/DWC/are-you-coveredGOVapps.labor.mo.gov/DWC/tool/wc_cov_ver.aspGOVstlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments…GOVspringfieldmo.gov/263/Trade-CertificationsGOVlabor.mo.gov/media/21581/download
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Missouri?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.