Missouri Bill of Sale — Free Template & Generator
Missouri has a hard 30-day clock and a long line of case law about the notary. Section 301.190 requires the buyer to apply for a certificate of ownership within thirty days of acquiring the vehicle, and § 301.210 requires the seller to endorse the assignment with warranty of title and hand it over at the moment of delivery. Both are quoted below, with the price-and-mileage record you can generate here.
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- Missouri pre-selected
How it works
- 01 Missouri is already selected
The governing-law clause names the state; change it only if the sale happens elsewhere.
- 02 Enter the item and the parties
Vehicle, boat or general item — VIN and odometer, or HIN — plus price, payment method, seller and buyer.
- 03 Review clause by clause
The as-is terms, the seller’s title warranty and, for vehicles, the federal odometer statement.
- 04 Download, then file Missouri’s paperwork
Word & PDF on your device; the state steps and forms are listed below, each cited to the source.
What Missouri actually requires
Missouri rules for a private sale
Last verified September 6, 2026- What the seller must do Endorse the assignment and hand it over
On a sale or transfer of a titled motor vehicle or trailer, “the holder of such certificate shall endorse on the same an assignment thereof, with warranty of title in form printed thereon, and prescribed by the director of revenue, with a statement of all liens or encumbrances on such motor vehicle or trailer, and deliver the same to the buyer at the time of the delivery to him of such motor vehicle or trailer.” The lien statement is part of the endorsement, not an afterthought.
- Buyer’s deadline 30 days
“Application shall be made within thirty days after the applicant acquires the motor vehicle or trailer,” with exceptions where the vehicle was acquired under § 301.213 or under subsection 5 of § 301.210. The buyer cannot register or operate the vehicle until that application for a certificate of ownership is made and granted, or the applicant shows a certificate was previously issued to them for it.
- Notarisation The assignment is acknowledged before a notary
Missouri’s notarial requirement lives in the form the director of revenue prescribes on the certificate, and the courts have treated it as going to the validity of the transfer: in Commercial Credit Corp. v. Blau, 393 S.W.2d 558 (Mo. 1965), reported in the annotations to § 301.210, failure to acknowledge the assignment of an automobile title certificate before a notary public in accordance with the forms prescribed by the director of revenue left the certificate “not being sufficient to vest legal title.” Treat the notary as part of the deal, not paperwork to do later.
Annotations to Mo. Rev. Stat. § 301.210 — Commercial Credit Corp. v. Blau, 393 S.W.2d 558 (Mo. 1965)
- Odometer Federal disclosure at transfer
The mileage statement is federal and travels with the title: the transferor must disclose the odometer reading in connection with the transfer of ownership, and the title issued to the buyer must contain the disclosed mileage plus space for the next transfer. Trailers help illustrate the exemptions — a vehicle that is not self-propelled needs no odometer disclosure at all, which is why a Missouri trailer sale carries the assignment but not a mileage line.
How this document fits Missouri’s paperwork
Official form: Missouri’s transfer document is the assignment endorsed on the certificate of ownership itself, “with warranty of title in form printed thereon, and prescribed by the director of revenue.” There is no separate state bill-of-sale form in that chain; the bill of sale is the parties’ own record of price, date and odometer, and the document a buyer relies on when the purchase price is questioned.
Generate the bill of sale first — it fixes the purchase price the Department of Revenue will tax, the date the 30 days run from, and the odometer reading. Then complete the assignment on the certificate of ownership in front of a notary, with the lien statement filled in, and hand it to the buyer as § 301.210.1 requires at the moment of delivery. The buyer files inside the thirty days § 301.190 allows.
FAQ
Missouri bill of sale questions
- Does a Missouri title assignment have to be notarized?
- The assignment must be made in the form the director of revenue prescribes on the certificate, and Missouri courts have held that failing to acknowledge it before a notary in accordance with those forms leaves the certificate insufficient to vest legal title — Commercial Credit Corp. v. Blau, 393 S.W.2d 558 (Mo. 1965), reported in the annotations to § 301.210. In practice buyer and seller sign the title in front of a notary together.
- How long do I have to title a car in Missouri?
- 30 days. § 301.190 says the application shall be made within thirty days after the applicant acquires the motor vehicle or trailer, except where it was acquired under § 301.213 or subsection 5 of § 301.210.
- What must the Missouri seller give the buyer?
- The certificate of ownership with the assignment endorsed on it, carrying the warranty of title in the printed form and a statement of all liens or encumbrances — delivered to the buyer at the time the vehicle itself is delivered, under § 301.210.1.
- Do I need an odometer reading on a Missouri trailer bill of sale?
- No. Federal odometer disclosure does not apply to a vehicle that is not self-propelled, so a trailer carries the title assignment but no mileage statement. Record the trailer’s VIN, empty weight and dimensions on the bill of sale instead.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. Free Contract Generator provides self-help templates and general information, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Vehicle-transfer rules are set by each state and change; confirm the current rule with the agency cited and consult a licensed attorney for advice about your situation.