What leaves with the trailer, and what you still have to do yourself.
A trailer is titled property, so it is not like buying a mower. There is a licence office step and we cannot do it for you. What we can do is send you there once instead of twice, which is the whole point of this page.
- In the folder when you drive off
- Manufacturer's statement of origin on a new unit, or the signed title on a used one. A bill of sale with the VIN, the date and the price written out. A copy of our dealer licence. Nothing is mailed to you later.
- Take with you
- The folder, your driver's licence, proof of insurance, and a personal property tax receipt or a statement of non-assessment from your county. That last one is what turns people around at the counter, and it is the mistake we see most.
- Sales tax
- Paid at the licence office, not here, and it is charged at the rate where you live rather than where the lot is. Budget for it as a real number on top of the sticker.
- The clock
- Thirty days from the date on the bill of sale before a late fee starts. It is a small fee that grows, and it grows for as long as you leave it.
- Plates
- A permanent trailer plate exists in Missouri and for most people who are not running commercially it is the cheaper answer over five years. Ask for it by name at the counter, because it is not always offered.
- If you are buying used, from anybody
- Check the VIN plate is still riveted on and matches the title before money changes hands. A trailer with a missing plate is a long, unhappy afternoon at an inspection station, and that is true whether you buy it from us or off a fence post.
Ring the yard if the counter tells you something different
Rules change and clerks read them differently on different days. If you are standing at the window with a problem, call us from there and we will pull the file while you wait.