Upon the filing of the petition, a summons shall be issued giving the owners of the property involved at least ten days’ notice of the time and place when said petition shall be heard, which summons shall be served in the manner provided for by these rules in ordinary civil cases. If the name, residence, or whereabouts of any of the owners be unknown, or if any of the owners do not reside within the state or for any other reason personal service cannot be had on them within the state, notice of the time and place of hearing of the petition shall be given by publication for three weeks consecutively, prior to the time of the hearing of the petition, in a newspaper published in the county in which the proceedings are pending, if one is published in said county, or, if no newspaper is published in the county, or the publishers shall refuse to publish the same, then by posting said notice for three consecutive weeks at the door of the courthouse of the county wherein the lands or any portion of them lie.
Rule 86.05.Summons, When to Issue, How Served--Publication, When.
Part III · Rule 86: Condemnation Proceedings · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceAfter a condemnation petition is filed, a summons must give property owners at least ten days' notice of the hearing, and owners who cannot be personally served must instead be notified by three weeks of published or posted notice.
Full Text of Rule 86.05
Official Comment
Note: New. Compare: Section 523.030, RSMo 1959.
Plain-English Summary
Once a condemnation petition is filed, Rule 86.05 requires the clerk to issue a summons giving affected property owners at least ten days' notice of when and where the petition will be heard. That summons is served the same way a summons is served in any ordinary civil case under Missouri's rules.
Some owners cannot be reached that way — their name, residence, or whereabouts may be unknown, they may live outside Missouri, or personal service may otherwise be impossible within the state. For those owners, the rule substitutes publication: notice must run in a newspaper published in the county for three consecutive weeks before the hearing. If no newspaper serves the county, or none will print the notice, the clerk instead posts the notice at the courthouse door for three consecutive weeks.
This two-track approach — personal service when possible, publication or posting when not — lets a condemnation case proceed even when some owners are hard to locate, while still giving every reasonable effort to notify them before the court appoints commissioners and moves the case forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice must a property owner get before a condemnation hearing?
At least ten days' notice of the time and place the petition will be heard, delivered by summons served the same way as in an ordinary civil case.
What happens if an owner's whereabouts are unknown?
Notice is given instead by publication in a newspaper in the county for three consecutive weeks before the hearing.
What if no newspaper is published in the county?
The clerk posts the notice at the courthouse door for three consecutive weeks in place of newspaper publication.
Does an out-of-state owner get the same personal service as an in-state owner?
No. If an owner does not reside in Missouri or cannot otherwise be personally served within the state, publication or posting notice applies instead.
How does Rule 86.05 relate to Rule 86.051?
Rule 86.051 clarifies how often the publication notice required by Rule 86.05 must run — once each week, on the same day, for the three-week period.
Can the ten-day summons and the three-week publication notice run at the same time?
The rule addresses them as alternative methods depending on whether an owner can be personally served; publication is the substitute used specifically when personal service is not possible.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Missouri State & Federal Court Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Missouri. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: condemnation notice by publicationsummons in eminent domainten days notice property ownersservice on unknown owners