Moving: How To Transfer Car Registration to MO? (St. Louis: sales, insurance)

[KoobleKar]

My Son is moving in August to St Louis and would like to transfer his auto registration/tags from Pennsylvania to Missouri.

His PA registration will expire at the end of August, so he'd like to get this all done before that lapses.

At present, there is money still owed on the car through CitiFinancial Auto, so they possess the actual title until the car is paid off. Will his PA Registration Card take it's place?

What's the process in MO?

I've read that it will need to be inspected BEFORE going to try and obtain plates/registration. Are there official inspection stations or do you take it to a service station that's licensed? Can he get it inspected while he still has the PA registration? His insurance is up to date and he has a PA Proof of Insurance Card.

He will be using AAA to make the transfer of the registration if that's possible there.

[da jammer]

This site should be able to answer most if not all of your questions KoobleKar:

Motor Vehicle Licensing (Titling & Registration)

[da jammer]

To make it even easier:

Motor Vehicle Titling

[KoobleKar]

Thanks....I as already reading that stuff.

It mentions a "Missouri authorized inspection station". Are there certain inspection centers run by the State or do service stations and such have licenses of authorization?

What about MO's Department of Motor Vehicles? Is everything done by mail or are there DMV offices and/or can AAA do all the paperwork?

[Versatile]

pLENTY OF INSPECTION STATIONS AROUND AT MOT RELIABLE REPAIR SHOPS ETC. $12.00 to inspect. sorry for those darn caps! and the to a Motor Vehicle office anywhere in the state. He will also need to register the car with the county and for the first year he will get a statement saying nothing owed. Go o "county assessors office at most courthouses. Must be the county he will live in. So you need 1. inspection receipt(law may have just changed for late model vehicles;not required) tax receipt. 3. proof of insurance. AAA Cannot do any of this. The owner only.

[billiken]

It seems like almost any car mechanic here does safety inspections and emissions testing as well. There are many, many places to go. And yes, the inspection is done while you still have your old plates.

The biggest pain in the butt part is just getting that slip of paper saying you don't owe Missouri property taxes on your car.

[KoobleKar]

Originally Posted by billiken

The biggest pain in the butt part is just getting that slip of paper saying you don't owe Missouri property taxes on your car.

Nothing at the links mentions any of that County stuff???

Anyhow, here in PA we don't pay anything but a sales tax when we buy a car. There is no such thing as a property tax on motor vehicles.

He still owes a balance on his car loan (I don't think they'll give up the title until that's paid in full).

Will he need to pay a property tax on it too?

[billiken]

The link above does mention the property tax stuff.

4. Statement of non-assessment from your county (or City of St. Louis) collector's office showing you do not owe personal property taxes in the county (or City of St. Louis).

Yes, you pay personal property tax on your vehicle in MO.

[KoobleKar]

Originally Posted by billiken

Yes, you pay personal property tax on your vehicle in MO.

That's crazy!

I'm going to advocate he just leave the car registered in PA.....no emissions test, no taxes, and he won't have to jump through twenty hoops just to get a plate.

[cyrano]

Da jammer's second link is the perfect one. Every once in a while, someone moves here and just decides not to get Missouri plates. Then something happens (an accident, maybe, or even getting stopped for a traffic violation, and the cop notices a discrepancy between the Pennsylvania tags and the Missouri address on his driver's license), and the Department of Revenue finds out. It usually costs a couple of hundred dollars (extra) to rectify the problem, because not getting your car registered and licensed here once you live here violates our laws. Your son will probably run into another legal problem with the county when/if they discover that he didn't file a declaration of ownership with them.

By taking the vehicle out of state without letting the lien holder know, your son is probably also violating the terms of the loan, which would entitle them to repossess the car if they chose. Be a good citizen and get the title from the lender and transfer it over in St. Louis. You may also put the car's insurance in jeopardy if you're not telling them that the car is in Missouri-- and if you do tell them, the lender may be the next to know...and then the Missouri Department of Revenue.

My former employer.