In the way that humans use humor to temper their pain, one of the biggest St. Louis in-jokes is boasting about the expired license plates and temporary tags you've spotted on the road. The older the tag, the funnier.
But since no one likes being the butt of a joke or getting slapped with a ticket, St. Louis Public Radio recommends keeping up with your registration.
It’s easy to overlook the Missouri Department of Transportation’s gentle nudging to re-up your plates, and once you’ve missed the deadline, renewal goes from as simple as checking a box to a multi-stop, multi-document journey.
Documents you’ll need in the steps ahead:
- A paid personal property tax receipt or waiver
- A renewal notice
- A vehicle inspection (What kind depends on how old your car is. See “7 steps to register your car in Missouri as a new St. Louis resident”)
- Your insurance card
- Your license plate number.
Here’s STLPR’s guide to getting those plates back to street legal. (City dwellers, do get on this before you drive over the city-county line — because cops in the county will flag you down for this.)
1. Fix your personal property tax
If you’re paid up on your vehicle’s personal property tax bill, congratulations! You’ve only messed up a little bit, and you can skip ahead to the next step.
Everyone else, you’ll need to re-register your vehicle with your county's revenue collector office. But if you’ve missed the deadline to file, it’s going to cost you a little extra. The City of St. Louis, for example, will add a 10% fee to your tax bill.
- St. Louis: Declare your car online, in person at the Office of the Assessor in City Hall or by mail. If you’ve lost your notice to renew, you can call 314-622-4171 and the staff will help you find your PIN to file online. You can also take care of the process over email at assessor-personalproperty@stlouis-mo.gov.
- St. Louis County: You can take care of this online or in person.
- St. Charles County: Declare your car online through the personal property tax forms or in person.
2. Find your renewal notice from the Missouri Department of Revenue
If you have your renewal notice, you’ll be able to renew online or by mail with minimal difficulty. Congratulations: You’re done.
If your renewal notice is long gone, there’s still hope you can retrieve the PIN you need to do this online by emailing mbvcallbacks@dor.mo.gov with your name, year and make of your car, last five digits of your VIN, license plate number and expiration date. You can try that same information online.
In addition, if you don’t have your renewal notice, you’ll need to fill out the Application for Motor Vehicle License (Form 184). This form does need to be notarized, so plan ahead. (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.)
3. Talk to a real person
Without a PIN, you’re left with two options to renew: Call or get it done in person. From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, you can call 573-751-1957 to renew your plates.
You can also 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?
Missouri adds a $5 penalty to renew your plates after they have expired. Registration fees begin at $24.25 and top out at $114.50, depending on your car’s horsepower and if you want a one- or two-year registration.
For more information, visit the Missouri Department of Revenue website.
