Pre-trip check · IL → MO
Driving from Illinois to Missouri?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Illinois 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 (10)
The Missouri Supreme Court struck down red-light and speed camera ordinances on due-process grounds in 2015, in the Tupper and Moline Acres line of cases. Camera tickets are not enforceable and the programs are largely…
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
Suppressors are legal in Missouri as long as they are possessed in compliance with federal law. Under RSMo 571.020 possessing a firearm silencer is an offense only if done "in violation of federal law," so a suppressor…
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 18, 2026
Missouri does not set discharge or use times by statute — they are governed locally, and many cities limit discharge to around July 1 to 4 with hour curfews and may ban it. The state sets only the retail sale season:…
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified May 31, 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
Missouri repealed its switchblade ban in 2012; owning or carrying an automatic knife is legal unless done in violation of federal law (RSMo 571.020.1(6)(d)).
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Missouri allows home cultivation only with a personal-cultivation ID card: up to 6 flowering plants, 6 non-flowering plants, and 6 clones per person, kept enclosed and locked.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Daily fantasy sports is legal in Missouri for players 18 and older. Regulated under the MO Fantasy Sports Consumer Protection Act (RSMo 313.900-955) and overseen by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
29.5 cents/gallon state motor-fuel tax — the final step of the SB 262 phase-in, in effect since July 1, 2025, with no further increases scheduled and no inflation indexing; excludes the 18.4c federal tax.
Full Missouri rule · Official source · verified Jul 30, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Illinois 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 Illinois: IL → IN · IL → IA · IL → KY · IL → WI · reverse (MO → IL)
Illinois to Missouri: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Illinois to Missouri?
- Yes — 10 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Missouri than in Illinois: driving, hunting, firearms, fireworks, alcohol, burn bans, knives, cannabis, gambling, 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 Illinois?
- Missouri: Restricted — The Missouri Supreme Court struck down red-light and speed camera ordinances on due-process grounds in 2015, in the Tupper and Moline Acres line of cases. Camera tickets are not enforceable and the programs are largely… In Illinois the same category is Conditional.
- What are the hunting laws in Missouri if I'm coming from Illinois?
- 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 Illinois the same category is Conditional.
- What are the firearms laws in Missouri if I'm coming from Illinois?
- Missouri: Conditional — Suppressors are legal in Missouri as long as they are possessed in compliance with federal law. Under RSMo 571.020 possessing a firearm silencer is an offense only if done "in violation of federal law," so a suppressor… In Illinois the same category is Restricted.
- Is my Illinois 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 Illinois 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.