Missouri car registration and title fees

• Title fee — $8.50. Certificate of title, paid at the license office. (RSMo 301.190.5)
• Title processing fee — $9.00. The license office's fee for processing the title. (RSMo 136.055.1(3))
• Registration (by horsepower) — $21.25. One year of registration. Missouri sets it by taxable horsepower, which depends on the engine's cylinders and bore: from $18.25 to $51.25. This uses the 12-23 HP bracket that most four-cylinder cars fall in. (RSMo 301.055; DOR fee table)
• Registration — $18.25. One year of registration. DOR places electric vehicles in its lowest bracket. (RSMo 301.055; DOR fee table)
• Registration processing fee — $9.00. The license office's fee for issuing or transferring a registration — charged either way. (RSMo 136.055.1(1)(a))
• Plate transfer fee — $2.00. Moving plates from the car you're replacing. (RSMo 301.140.2-.3)
• Temporary permit — $5.00. The 30-day permit the dealer sells so you can drive until you title the car. (RSMo 301.140.4)
• Electric vehicle decal (prorated) — $150.00. An annual $150 decal in place of fuel tax, reduced by one-twelfth for each full month of the year already gone. (RSMo 142.869; DOR special fuel decal page)
• Electric vehicle decal processing fee — $9.00. The license office's fee for issuing the decal. (RSMo 136.055.1)
• Plug-in hybrid decal (prorated) — $75.00. Half the electric vehicle decal, likewise reduced for each full month of the year already gone. (RSMo 142.869)
• Plug-in hybrid decal processing fee — $9.00. The license office's fee for issuing the decal. (RSMo 136.055.1)
• Lien processing fee — $9.00. Recording your lender's lien on the title. (RSMo 136.055.1(5))

• You have 30 days from purchase to title the car and pay the tax at a license office. Late titling costs $25 for each 30 days, up to $200.
• Registration needs last year's personal property tax receipt, or a statement of non-assessment, from your county. Missouri taxes vehicles as personal property every year, so expect a county bill — it is not part of this total.
• Registration renews every year or every two years, at the same horsepower-based amount.

• The electric or plug-in hybrid decal renews every year at the full annual amount. A used one bought with a current decal keeps it — the decal transfers with the car.

• In Missouri you pay the sales tax yourself, at a license office, when you title the car — not to the dealer. So the dealer's out-the-door figure will be missing the tax, title and registration shown here, and you have 30 days to pay them. Dealers are due to start collecting the tax when the state's new system goes live, expected in February 2027; the amount won't change, only where you pay it.
• Registration depends on your engine's taxable horsepower, which isn't on the window sticker, so this estimate uses the bracket most four-cylinder cars fall in. Bigger engines pay up to $30 more a year.

Source: MO DOR Tax Breakdown Report + jurisdiction totals + boundary database (quarterly); RSMo 144.069, 144.070, 32.087 · rules last verified Oct 2, 2026. Methodology.