There is no single dock price at Lake of the Ozarks. The shoreline, the roof, the lifts, and the permit are different jobs that get added together. This page separates the numbers that come from Ameren’s fee schedule from the numbers that come from other publishers, so a range does not get mistaken for a bid.
Ameren’s fees, from Ameren
Checked against Ameren’s permitting page on October 22, 2026:
- New dock or modification: $550. Appendix B uses the same figure for a dock of any size.
- Permit transfer: $100. One application can transfer the permitted facilities on a property. Ameren says facilities not transferred within two years are charged an additional $100. The fee worksheet lists a late transfer at $200.
- Permit extension: $50.
- Breakwater, new installation: $1,000.
- Failure to obtain a permit: $2,000. Failure to comply with permit conditions: $2,000. Those enforcement amounts are on top of actually getting legal.
- Annual fee, only if the dock and related structures occupy more than 3,000 square feet: $0.06 per square foot of water space, as Ameren measures it, including slips, lifts, ramps, and breakwaters.
The $550 is a processing fee. Paying it is not approval. Ameren says so on the fee schedule. Electrical permits are a separate fee paid to the fire district or the Village of Four Seasons. Ameren does not publish one electrical price for the whole lake.
Published build ranges, not our bids
One-well docks, $22,000 to $48,000, and refoaming, $6,000 to $18,000. Those ranges are from the 2026 cost guide on lakeozarkboatdocks.com, a lead-generation site that competes for the same searches. They are not Ameren figures, they are not this site’s quotes, and they are not a promise of what a builder will bid on your cove.
A national average of $15,048. Angi publishes that figure as a national average to build a dock, on its dock-cost article. It is not a Lake of the Ozarks number. Encapsulated flotation, Ameren drawings, cove limits, and a roof change the job. Use the Angi figure only as a national reference point.
We do not have a sourced lake-wide price for a two-well covered dock, a sundeck, or a channel-front dock with a heavier anchor system. Those should come back as a builder’s number for your shoreline. Inventing a tighter range would not make it more true.
What moves a Lake of the Ozarks bid
- Wells and roof. The roof has a minimum design live load of 11.5 psf, and the floats have to carry it.
- Flotation. Legal floats are encapsulated and warranted for at least eight years. Barrels are not a discount option.
- Access and exposure. A protected cove and a main-channel lot are different anchoring jobs. Tell the builder the arm and the mile marker.
- Lifts. Price the lift separately. See boat lift cost.
- Drawings, the permit wait, and electrical inspection. Other quote sites plan on several weeks for review. Ameren’s hard deadline is the one-year build window after the permit is issued.
- A dock over 3,000 square feet, which adds an engineer’s seal and the annual fee. See the large-dock rule.
How to ask for a real number
Use the quote form. Pick new dock, repair, or refoam. Add wells, material, age, cove, and whether you need a lift or a roof in the same season. A request that says “dock cost?” gets a question back. A request with the cove and a photo of the shoreline gets a number that belongs to that property.
If you are comparing a repair to a new dock, read refoam versus rebuild first. Floating a finished frame is a different budget from replacing it.