To get on the April 6, 2027 ballot for most Missouri local offices, you file a declaration of candidacy in person with your city clerk, district secretary or other designated filing officer between 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15, 2026 and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. You bring proof of identity and a copy of the tax affidavit you filed with the Missouri Department of Revenue, and you pay a fee only if your office has one. For most city, school board and special district offices, there is no petition to circulate.
The declaration itself is short, but several things must be in order before you file it, and a few deadlines follow it. This guide walks through each step. Rules come from the Missouri Revised Statutes (RSMo) and the Secretary of State's 2027 calendar and candidate guidance. Confirm anything specific to your office with your filing officer.
For the whole process of running, see our guide to running for local office in Missouri.
Step 1: Find your filing officer and the filing notice
Local candidates file with the political subdivision or special district at the place it designates, not with the Secretary of State. Before filing opens, each subdivision must publish the opening date, the offices to be filled, the place for filing and the closing date, which may be a newspaper legal notice (RSMo 115.127.5). Where you file depends on the office:
- Third class city: the city clerk (RSMo 77.040).
- Commission form or council-manager city without a primary: a signed, sworn statement of candidacy filed with the city clerk, stating that you are a resident and qualified voter, are eligible, and will serve if elected (RSMo 78.090, 78.530).
- Fourth class city: the place named in the city's filing notice.
- School district: your school district, usually through the board secretary.
- Fire protection district: the district's headquarters (RSMo 321.130).
- Ambulance district: the secretary of the board if the district lies in more than one election authority's jurisdiction; otherwise the county clerk of the county where you live (RSMo 190.050).
- Charter city: the office named in your charter or filing notice.
The City of St. Louis is different. Its candidates for mayor, president of the Board of Aldermen, comptroller and alderperson file a Certificate of Nomination (a petition) with the declaration. See running for office in the City of St. Louis in 2027. Kansas City candidates should check with the Kansas City Election Board, which had not published its 2027 calendar as of October 5, 2026.
Step 2: Confirm that you qualify
Read the qualifications for your office before filing, because a declaration is a sworn statement that you meet them. For example, a fourth class city alderman must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen, a resident of the city for one year and a resident of the ward when filing (RSMo 79.070). A seven-director school board candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a resident taxpayer of the district, a resident of the district for the year before the election, and at least 24 (RSMo 162.291).
Three statewide rules also apply. No one found guilty of or who pled guilty to a felony may qualify as a candidate (RSMo 115.306.1). No one delinquent in state income, personal property, municipal or residence real property taxes may be a candidate (RSMo 115.306.2). And no one may file for any office until all campaign disclosure reports from prior elections are filed (RSMo 130.071). If you ran before, check your record with the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) now.
Step 3: File the tax affidavit with the Department of Revenue
Every candidate for public office, other than party committee candidates, files the Candidate's Affidavit of Tax Payments and Bonding Requirements (Department of Revenue Form 5120) with the Missouri Department of Revenue and includes a copy with the declaration of candidacy (RSMo 115.306.2). The form and instructions are on the Department of Revenue's candidate page, dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/candidates.html.
Do this in November or early December so you have your copy in hand on filing day. If the affirmation turns out to be false after a complaint, you have 30 days to pay any undisputed taxes; if you do not, you are disqualified from the election and cannot file again for an entire election cycle (RSMo 115.306.2).
Step 4: Gather what you will bring
- Proof of identity. State guidance for non-federal candidates requires it, and officials must check it for primary declarations (RSMo 115.355). Ask your filing officer which documents it accepts.
- A copy of your tax affidavit from Step 3.
- The filing fee, if any. No general statewide filing fee applies to municipal or school board candidates in the statutes reviewed. Fire protection districts charge $100 (RSMo 321.130, 115.357). In the City of St. Louis, fees are $100 for alderperson and the St. Louis Public Schools board and $250 for mayor, president of the Board of Aldermen and comptroller. Ask how the fee must be paid.
- Your sworn statement of qualifications, if your office requires one, as fire protection and ambulance districts do (RSMo 321.210, 190.050).
- The exact term you are seeking, for school board races with terms of different lengths. Candidates must declare for a specific term, and each term is voted on separately (RSMo 162.281).
Step 5: Decide when to file
The default filing window runs from 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15, 2026 to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027 (SOS 2027 calendar; RSMo 115.127.5). Your subdivision's notice gives the times that apply to you.
When you file within that window affects your ballot position. On nonpartisan ballots, names are listed in the order candidates file (RSMo 115.237.1), and the filing officer designates where candidates form a line and determines the order of filings (RSMo 115.124.2). Commission form and council-manager cities without primaries use the same filing order (RSMo 78.090, 78.530).
For candidates who file before 5:00 p.m. on the first day, the election authority or subdivision may hold a random drawing instead. Each first-day filer draws a number at filing, the number is recorded with the declaration, and first-day filers are listed in ascending order of their numbers (RSMo 115.124.2).
So the choice looks like this:
- No drawing: the first person in line at 8:00 a.m. on December 15 is listed first, the second person second, and so on. Candidates who want the top spot line up before the doors open.
- Drawing: everyone who files before 5:00 p.m. on December 15 draws for position among the first-day filers, so the time of day you arrive on the first day does not change your place. Filing on the first day still puts you ahead of later filers.
Call your filing officer before December 15 and ask whether a drawing will be held. Do not wait until the final days: the window spans the holidays, and a missed deadline cannot be fixed.
Step 6: File in person
Plan to file in person with your ID. For primary declarations, state law requires in-person filing, with certified mail allowed only for a physical disability with a physician's statement or for active-duty military with a commanding officer's statement (RSMo 115.355). Local offices typically follow the same practice, but confirm with your filing officer.
At the counter:
- Complete and sign the declaration or sworn statement exactly as your filing officer provides it.
- Hand over your tax affidavit copy and show your ID.
- Pay any fee and keep the receipt.
- Sign the disclosure acknowledgment if your office requires a personal financial disclosure. The filing official must give you written notice of that obligation, and you sign to acknowledge it (RSMo 105.487).
- Ask for a copy of everything you filed and note the date and time.
File for one office only. A person who files for one office and then, without withdrawing, files for another office at the same election is disqualified (RSMo 115.351).
Step 7: Deadlines after you file
- January 19, 2027 (computed): personal financial disclosure due to the MEC, where your office requires one. It applies to offices of political subdivisions with an annual operating budget over $1 million, unless the subdivision adopted its own conflict-of-interest ordinance and filed it with the MEC (RSMo 105.483, 105.485, 105.487).
- January 26, 2027 (computed): a candidate who still has not filed a required disclosure by close of business is disqualified, and the name is removed from the ballot (RSMo 105.492). This is also the final certification date on the Secretary of State's calendar.
- February 9, 2027 (computed): the last day to withdraw, by court order, at 5:00 p.m. (RSMo 115.127.6).
- March 26, 2027 (computed): write-in declarations of intent are due by 5:00 p.m. (RSMo 115.453).
The full list is in our Missouri April 2027 election calendar, and mistakes that can disqualify a Missouri local candidate covers what to watch for between filing and certification.
Start your supporter list on filing day
Filing day is often the first time friends and neighbors hear you are running, and some of them will want updates. Collect permission properly from the start so you can text them later.
In CampaignCNX+, create a group for supporters and add only people who gave prior express written consent to receive texts, for example by signing a sheet that plainly says they agree to texts from your campaign. Record the consent date and source in a custom field, and use tags to note where you met each person, such as "filing day" or "church picnic." When you send, messages go to the group, every first message includes "Reply STOP to opt out," and STOP replies are handled automatically. Never add people from a voter list who did not ask to hear from you.
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