How to Run for Office in Missouri
Getting on the Ballot
Missouri puts candidates on the primary ballot through a declaration of candidacy, and for state offices you file it in person with the Secretary of State's Elections Division in Jefferson City (certified mail is reserved for active-duty military and candidates with qualifying disabilities). The filing window is set by statute: it opens at 8:00 a.m. on the last Tuesday in February and closes at 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in March before the August primary.
Two documents travel with the declaration: proof of identity and a tax affidavit (Form 5120) swearing you're not delinquent on state income, personal property, or real property taxes. Party candidates also owe a filing fee that goes to the party, not the state - by statute it's paid to the treasurer of the state party committee for state offices ($150 for state representative, $300 for state senate and circuit-level offices, $500 statewide) or the county party committee for county offices. Candidates who can't afford the fee may file a sworn declaration of inability to pay plus a supporting petition.
Independent and new-party candidates skip the primary and qualify by nomination petition filed with the same officials, on a separate (later) timetable with signature counts tied to past gubernatorial vote totals. Whoever you are, confirm the current window, fee, and signature numbers with the Secretary of State before you plan a launch.
Where Local Candidates File
Local filing follows the office, not the state: county offices file with the county clerk (or the board of election commissioners in the St. Louis and Kansas City jurisdictions), while city, school board, and special-district candidates file with the entity itself - the city clerk or the school district secretary - each with its own filing window for April municipal elections.
Campaign finance for everyone runs through the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC): you form a candidate committee and file disclosure reports with the MEC once you cross its activity thresholds, and most officials and candidates also owe the MEC a personal financial disclosure statement within days of filing for office.
Worth Knowing
- The first-day line is real. Everyone who files on opening day is treated as filing simultaneously, and ballot order among them is set by random draw - which is why candidates famously camp out for day one. After that, ballot order is simply filing order.
- Your filing fee is a party fee, paid to the Democratic or Republican committee's treasurer, not to the election authority.
- The tax affidavit trips people up: a delinquency on the property taxes at your declared residence can knock you off the ballot.
- Missouri's August primary means the filing window closes unusually early in the year - plan in winter, file in early spring.
Official Missouri Resources
Filing deadlines, fees, and signature requirements change from cycle to cycle. Always confirm current details with the official sources below.
This page was last reviewed on August 4, 2026. Process details above are believed current as of that date; deadlines and fees should always be verified with your election office.