Missouri
Missouri's Attorney General adopted an age verification rule for pornographic websites in late 2025 under the Merchandising Practices Act, and the legislature codified similar requirements in statute in 2026, signed July 9, 2026 and effective August 28, 2026. No social media minor access law, app store verification law, or design code has been enacted, though several social media age verification bills were considered and died in the 2026 session.
Subnational jurisdiction. Reviewed 2026-07-16.
15 CSR 60-18, Attorney General Age Verification Rule
Missouri Attorney General rule declaring it an unfair practice under the Merchandising Practices Act for a commercial entity to operate a website or application where a substantial portion (33 percent or more) of content is pornographic for minors without reasonable age verification of users as 18 or older.
- Citation
- 15 CSR 60-18.010 to 15 CSR 60-18.070, authority section 407.020, RSMo Supp. 2025, and section 407.145, RSMo 2016
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2025-11-30
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- digital id, gov id, transactional data
- Covered services
- Websites, applications, or self-contained sexual content segments where 33 percent or more of content is pornographic for minors
- Penalties
- Civil penalties up to 10,000 dollars per day in violations, capped per entity per day
- Enforcement body
- Missouri Attorney General under the Merchandising Practices Act, Chapter 407 RSMo
- Private right of action
- no
- Source
- 15 CSR 60-18.010 to 15 CSR 60-18.070, authority section 407.020, RSMo Supp. 2025, and section 407.145, RSMo 2016
HB 1839 (HCS HBs 1839, 2921 and 3015), Age Verification on Adult Websites
Codifies the age verification requirement for commercial websites where at least one third of published material is harmful to minors into statute, requiring reasonable age verification, a bar on retaining identifying information, and mandated warning notices about mental health resources, enforced by the Attorney General. Signed by the governor on July 9, 2026; effective August 28, 2026.
- Citation
- Section 407.3405, RSMo, as created by 2026 Mo. Laws, HCS HBs 1839, 2921 & 3015
- Status
- Enacted, not yet in force
- Effective date
- 2026-08-28
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- gov id, transactional data, third party service
- Covered services
- Commercial websites where 33 percent or more of published material is harmful to minors
- Penalties
- Civil penalties up to 10,000 dollars per day, plus up to 250,000 dollars if a minor accessed the content
- Enforcement body
- Missouri Attorney General
- Private right of action
- no
- Source
- Section 407.3405, RSMo, as created by 2026 Mo. Laws, HCS HBs 1839, 2921 & 3015
Reviewed 2026-07-16. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area, verify before relying. Not legal advice.