Castle Doctrine in Missouri
State-specific overview · Criminal Law
Missouri's Castle Doctrine eliminates duty to retreat in your home, vehicle, and workplace; stand-your-ground applies statewide.
How Missouri treats Castle Doctrine
Missouri recognizes the Castle Doctrine and extends it broadly to your home, vehicle, and workplace, with no duty to retreat in these locations. Missouri also enacted stand-your-ground protections allowing you to use force anywhere you have a legal right to be without retreating first. The law presumes self-defense is justified if you were not the initial aggressor and were lawfully present. Missouri also provides civil and criminal immunity for justified use of force in self-defense.
The general definition of Castle Doctrine
A law stating that a person's home is their castle and they can use force to defend it without duty to retreat.
The castle doctrine is a legal principle that treats a person's home as a safe place where they have the right to defend themselves and their family with force, including deadly force, without any duty to retreat. The doctrine applies specifically to your own home and sometimes extends to your vehicle or workplace. It's based on the idea that your home is your private sanctuary where you should feel secure. The castle doctrine is narrower than stand your ground laws because it applies only to your own property, not public spaces.
Read the full Castle Doctrine entry →This page is a plain-English reference and is not legal advice. State laws change frequently. For specific situations consult a licensed attorney in Missouri.