6 Things Missouri Requires Before You Sell a Car Privately

Your buyer drives off with the car. In Missouri, the license plates stay with you.

That’s one of the steps the state expects you to handle before your car sale is done.

Here’s what Missouri requires before you sell a car privately, so the sale goes through without a hitch.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Vehicle-sale rules and penalties are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Missouri Department of Revenue.

1. Safety Inspection Certificate

Missouri requires you to hand your buyer a safety inspection certificate when you sell a car privately.

The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) lists the certificate among the papers a seller provides.

That certificate has to be less than 60 days old.

Those days count from the date of the inspection, so a certificate from last spring won’t cover a sale this fall.

Your car is generally exempt from the certificate if it’s within ten years of its model year and has fewer than 150,000 miles.

If your car is older or has more miles, you generally need the certificate unless another exemption applies.

If your buyer lives out of state, contact that state about its inspection requirements.

2. Removing Your License Plates

Your license plates don’t go to the buyer in a private car sale.

You must remove them before the purchaser takes possession of the car.

Expired plates count too.

3. Signing the Title

To sell a car privately, you sign the back of the title in the assignment area.

You and your buyer must each print your names and sign there.

A notary isn’t required.

Missouri law makes it unlawful to sell a registered car unless the signed title changes hands when you deliver it.

A sale without that signed title is presumed fraudulent and void.

If you’ve lost yours, you must apply for a duplicate title.

4. Your Odometer Reading

In a private car sale, you write the odometer reading and the date of sale on the title.

Missouri requires mileage disclosure at transfer for vehicles from model year 2011 on, until they’re twenty years old.

A model year 2011 car, for example, needs the disclosure through December 31, 2030.

A car of model year 2010 or older skips the disclosure once it’s ten years old, which every one of those cars already is.

If your car’s true mileage is unknown, you must provide a statement explaining the discrepancy.

The same goes if you’ve repaired or replaced the odometer and it can’t register what it did before.

5. Notarized Lien Release

If your title shows a lienholder (such as a bank or credit union), your private car sale needs a notarized lien release.

Once you pay off the loan, your lienholder must give you a notarized lien release.

You pass the release to your buyer on Form 4809.

If your lienholder doesn’t use that form, it must give you a notarized statement, on its letterhead, saying the lien is released.

State law adds that your assignment on the title must include a statement of all liens on the car.

A car whose title shows no lienholder skips this step.

6. Emissions Inspection

Selling your car privately in the St. Louis area usually comes with an emissions inspection.

The DOR requires one no more than 60 days old if you live in St. Louis City or Jefferson, St. Charles or St. Louis County.

Even a car whose model year would otherwise skip this year’s inspection needs one when it is sold.

The Gateway Vehicle Inspection Program lists a vehicle sale or title transfer as a trigger for gas-powered vehicles from 1996 on and diesel vehicles from 1997 on.

That program keys on where the car is registered, in those same four areas.

The Notice of Sale After You Sell

Once the buyer drives off, your private car sale still has one report left.

Sellers other than Missouri-licensed dealers must report the sale within 30 days.

You file either a Notice of Sale (Form 5049) or a Bill of Sale (Form 1957).

Both forms are available online or at any Missouri license office.

You don’t have to file for a car sold to a dealer or an out-of-state purchaser.

A car with a salvage title or junking certificate is exempt too.

If you skip the report, you’re guilty of an infraction with a fine of up to $200.

The charge rises to a class C misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $300.

That happens when you skip the report to help your buyer avoid applying for a title or paying registration fees, or for another fraudulent purpose.

Gifting Instead of Selling

Gifting a car instead of selling it means providing a General Affidavit (Form 768) or a written statement saying the car was a gift.

Neither one has to be notarized.

For a gift, the emissions requirement follows where the recipient lives instead of where you do.

The person receiving the car can't use or transfer the plates that were on it.

The recipient owes no state or local tax on a gift transaction.

What the Buyer Owes

After a private car sale, your buyer has 30 days from the date of purchase to title the car and pay sales tax.

After that, a title penalty of $25 starts on the 31st day.

It grows by another $25 for every 30 days, up to $200.