One topic came up again and again when St. Louis Public Radio asked new residents what baffled them about moving to the St. Louis area: car registration.
Some wondered about the license plate stickers. Others were befuddled by personal property taxes. So many agencies are involved, another bemoaned.
“I had to hand over my original title, get two inspections, drive to Clayton and stand in line to get a slip of paper, drive back to the DMV, and fill out paperwork,” one person wrote in response to our survey. “I think they also asked for one of my kidneys.”
Getting a car titled and registered in Missouri does involve a few stops and many slips of paper. You’ve only got 30 days to do so once you move, and that’s not a big window when you could be finishing unpacking.
So hide those last boxes behind the couch and follow these seven steps to get your car registered.
1: Pay your personal property tax or get a waiver
Before you even think about stepping into a license office, you need to get set up to pay an annual personal property tax on your car.
The first step is telling your county that you own a car. In St. Louis (a city that is, confusingly, treated like its own county), you have until April 1 to get it done. City residents can do this online, in person at the Office of the Assessor in City Hall or by mail.
County residents can do so online or in person, and if you live in St. Charles, you can do so online through the personal property tax forms or in person.
If you miss that date, don’t worry.
“It’s not a big deal, and it's common for people to miss that April 1 deadline,” said Michael Dauphin, City of St. Louis assessor, explaining the city will add a 10% penalty to your tax bill.
The city will send you a personal property tax bill due at the end of the year. That tax is based on the National Auto Dealers Association valuation by state statute, according to Dauphin.
If you weren’t living in St. Louis on Jan. 1, you won’t owe any taxes yet. Instead, you need to get a waiver from the assessor’s office for one or two years, depending on if you want a one- or two-year car registration.
“The most crucial advice I could give to anyone who's trying to get a waiver in the City of St Louis is: Email us,” Dauphin said. “A lot of times, you can get the waiver without having to leave your house.”
If you email in your documents, the city will send you your waiver by U.S. mail. If you want to handle it in person, you can enter the city’s virtual queue to cut down on the wait time.
The biggest mistake Dauphin sees is people coming in without the correct documents. In person, you need to bring the vehicle’s title and a photo ID. To renew online, you need to send in copies of:
- Your driver’s license.
- The front and back of your car title.
- Registration or renewal.
- Confirmation of your address.
2: Get a safety and emissions check — maybe
Cars that are 10 years old and younger with fewer than 150,000 miles do not need a safety inspection. If your car doesn’t meet those requirements, you need to have it inspected every two years. If the car is an even-year model, you need to get it inspected in even years — and the same for odd years.
All cars registered in St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties and the city of St. Louis need to an emissions test every two years, regardless of how old they are.
Both of these tests need to be conducted by an authorized inspection station. You can find one with this handy safety and emissions inspection locator map.
3: Have your VIN and odometer inspected
If you’ve gotten a safety check, you can cross this off your list because it’s included. If you didn’t, any Missouri authorized inspection station will be able to do this inspection.
4. Fill out the application
The Application for Missouri Title and License (Form 108) is only one page, but it does require a notarized signature, so plan accordingly. You can get documents notarized at libraries in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. The library systems suggest calling before you arrive to make sure a notary is available.
5. Get your insurance in line
In Missouri, every car owner needs to have a current insurance card. Your insurance must be at least a 25/50/25 plan, which is coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident and $25,000 in property damage liability.
Alternatively, you can present a certificate of self-insurance if you’re part of certain religious organizations or another proof of financial liability.
6. Grab your title
In order to get a new title, you have to give up your original title or another proof of ownership.
If a lender has the title to your car, you’ll have to get a statement from the lender refusing to release the title, a copy of the title or a title receipt from the lender or a statement that the title is being held by an electronic titling state.
7. Do the thing
You can gather up all the paperwork you’ve accumulated and head to your local license office, which you can find with this locator map. Before you head out, we recommend checking if your chosen location has a virtual wait room.
Finally, what will this cost?
You’ll be charged $14.50 in title and processing fees and somewhere between $24.25 and $114.50 in registration fees, depending on your car’s horsepower and whether you want a one- or two-year registration. If you’ve blown past the initial 30-day deadline to get this done, Missouri will charge you a penalty of $25 for every 30 days that you’re late.
For more information, visit the Missouri Department of Revenue website.
