Free Missouri Trailer Bill of Sale Template

A Missouri trailer bill of sale records a private trailer sale. Missouri titles every trailer, so this document usually supports the transfer rather than carrying it, with several named exceptions where it does the whole job.

In three situations the Department of Revenue sets out. The first is an out-of-state purchase, because some states neither title nor register trailers. Where the seller’s state is one of those, the applicant must submit a bill of sale as proof of ownership.

The second is a kit. A trailer bought from a retailer as a kit will not normally come with a manufacturer’s statement of origin, so a bill of sale or paid invoice is accepted instead.

The third is a farm wagon, where the department will take a bill of sale, a paid invoice, or a statement giving the unit description, the seller’s name, the purchase price, and the facts of how ownership was acquired.

The clock is the thing to watch here, because the penalty compounds.

Thirty days, then it costs

You have 30 days from the date of purchase to title the trailer and pay sales tax. Miss it and a $25 title penalty lands on the 31st day, rising another $25 for every further 30 days, to a maximum of $200.

Your tax receipt comes too

Registering means producing an original paid personal property tax receipt, or a statement of non-assessment, from your county of residence for the previous year.

Insurance is not part of it

The proof of financial responsibility requirement that applies to motor vehicles does not apply to trailers, so that document stays in the drawer.

Homemade trailers under sixteen feet

No sales tax falls due when you title a trailer you built, but it must be inspected by an Official Vehicle Safety Inspection Station to verify it is homemade, for a $10 inspection fee.

Homemade trailers at sixteen feet and over

These go to the sheriff of your county of residence, or to authorised Missouri State Highway Patrol personnel, again for a $10 fee.

What a trailer is

The department defines a trailer as a unit attached to and towed by a motorized vehicle, designed to carry property or passengers, and incapable of being motorized or self-operable.

Assemble the tax paperwork alongside the ownership paperwork.

1. Get the certificate of title or statement of origin properly signed over, or a bill of sale where one of the exceptions applies.
2. Complete and sign the Application for Missouri Title and License, form 108.
3. Collect your paid personal property tax receipt or statement of non-assessment.
4. Arrange any inspection required for a homemade trailer.
5. Go to a Missouri licence office within 30 days of purchase.

State sales tax runs at 4.225 percent plus local tax on the net purchase price, and rates change, so confirm current figures with the department before you go.

Give a full unit description, the seller’s name and address, the purchase price, the date, and both parties’ signatures.

Where you are relying on the bill of sale as proof of ownership, add the facts of how ownership was acquired. That is exactly what the department asks for on a farm wagon, and it is sensible practice everywhere.

Both parties keep a signed copy.