Pre-trip check · AR → MO
Driving from Arkansas to Missouri?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Arkansas can be a violation in Missouri. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
Laws change at the state line.The free LawLert iPhone app alerts you when you cross into a state where a law you track differs: firearms, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks and 9 more. No account.Get the appWhat changes for you (9)
Under Missouri's Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, handheld use is banned for all drivers — hands-free only. Enforcement began January 1, 2025. RSMo 304.822 bars holding an electronic communication device.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
In Missouri, during firearms deer season, all hunters must wear a hunter-orange cap/hat AND a hunter-orange shirt, vest or coat, plainly visible from all sides.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Missouri has no statewide ban on a passenger having or drinking alcohol in a vehicle; only the driver is barred from drinking while operating it (RSMo 577.017). Many municipalities — Springfield, for example — prohibit…
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Missouri has no statewide burn ban, but county burn bans ARE in effect in southwest Missouri. The State Fire Marshal's county burn-ban spreadsheet (the file linked from the official County Burn Bans page, dated…
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Sep 30, 2026
In Missouri, consumer fireworks may be purchased without a personal permit. Seasonal retailers hold Division of Fire Safety permits (sales roughly June 20–July 10 and Dec 20–Jan 2), and cities or counties may ban…
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jun 7, 2026
No statewide knife preemption; RSMo 21.750 preempts only firearms, components and ammunition, so localities may still regulate knives.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Recreational cannabis is legal in Missouri for adults 21 and older, and a medical program also operates (Amendment 3, 2022; retail began February 2023).
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 13, 2026
Missouri has no drone-specific privacy crime; the general invasion-of-privacy law (565.252) bars nonconsensual nude imaging but does not mention drones.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
State sales and use tax is 4.225% (Chapter 144 RSMo). Cities, counties, and special districts may add local sales taxes, so the combined rate depends on the location.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 13, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Arkansas permits are honored in Missouri is its own map — check Missouri concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Arkansas: AR → LA · AR → MS · AR → OK · AR → TN · AR → TX · reverse (MO → AR)
Arkansas to Missouri: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Arkansas to Missouri?
- Yes — 9 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Missouri than in Arkansas: driving, hunting, alcohol, burn bans, fireworks, knives, cannabis, drones, taxes. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the driving laws in Missouri if I'm coming from Arkansas?
- Missouri: Restricted — Under Missouri's Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, handheld use is banned for all drivers — hands-free only. Enforcement began January 1, 2025. RSMo 304.822 bars holding an electronic communication device. In Arkansas the same category is Conditional.
- What are the hunting laws in Missouri if I'm coming from Arkansas?
- Missouri: Restricted — In Missouri, during firearms deer season, all hunters must wear a hunter-orange cap/hat AND a hunter-orange shirt, vest or coat, plainly visible from all sides. In Arkansas the same category is Conditional.
- What are the alcohol laws in Missouri if I'm coming from Arkansas?
- Missouri: Conditional — Missouri has no statewide ban on a passenger having or drinking alcohol in a vehicle; only the driver is barred from drinking while operating it (RSMo 577.017). Many municipalities — Springfield, for example — prohibit… In Arkansas the same category is Restricted.
- Is my Arkansas concealed carry permit honored in Missouri?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Missouri's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/MO/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Arkansas to Missouri comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. Every rule LawLert publishes carries a source URL, and every correction it has made is public at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.