Missouri Mechanic Lien Titles, Auctions and Repossessions

Choose the correct Missouri lien procedure

A repair shop's claim for authorized work is not the same transaction as a bank's repossession or a landowner's abandoned-vehicle application. Section 430.082 governs the mechanic and storage lien procedure discussed here. The Department of Revenue also publishes separate repossession-title requirements and an abandoned-property title section. Identify why the vehicle is held, who requested the service and what document establishes that request before sending notices. Calling an unwanted car a lien sale does not create a repair agreement or eliminate recorded ownership interests. The correct starting category determines the evidence, notice recipients and eventual document issued by Revenue.

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Preserve the signed agreement and actual charges

The mechanic lien law requires a written request by an authorized person, with the maximum charge for labor or services, or the daily storage charge, stated as applicable. Keep the signed work order, storage agreement or qualifying towing request. The department's mechanic lien information packet explains the need to retain possession; voluntarily releasing the vehicle can affect this possessory claim. An invoice written after a customer disappears is not a replacement for the original authorization. Organize an itemized balance showing the labor, materials and storage actually charged, dates those charges arose, payments already received and the remaining amount sought through the lien procedure.

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Observe the default and notice stages separately

The current Affidavit for Mechanic Lien Title refers to a minimum 45-day default period and a separate 30-day notice opportunity. Section 430.082 distinguishes completion of requested work from the start of storage charges when describing those stages. Do not treat the date the vehicle arrived as the universal beginning of every deadline. Record the relevant completion or storage date and the notice mailing date in the file. Before an application is approved, owners and other lienholders must have their required opportunity to redeem the property or make satisfactory arrangements. The periods are not a single interchangeable 30-day waiting rule.

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Locate and notify every interested record holder

Request ownership and lien information through the authorized motor-vehicle records procedure, supplying the purpose and eligibility documentation the request requires. For an out-of-state title, the mechanic lien application also needs that jurisdiction's ownership and lien search. A visible plate or the repair customer's name may not identify every recorded party. Use the mechanic lien notice or a substantively equivalent notice and send it by certified mail as instructed. Retain copies, tracking evidence and any returned envelope. A notice sent to one borrower does not establish notice to another titled owner or to the finance company shown in the title records.

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Prepare the affidavit and title request together

For motor vehicles, trailers and ATVs, complete the title application using the mechanic lien title designation. A vessel or outboard motor instead uses the marine title application. The notarized Form 1062 belongs with the signed service or storage agreement, the unpaid-balance statement, notice copies and evidence of sending them. For a covered 2011-or-newer motor vehicle under 20 years old, supply the required odometer reading; explain known facts when the actual mileage cannot be established. Avoid leaving the ordinary purchase price or ownership boxes to be guessed by a processor unfamiliar with the repair dispute.

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Check the newer form for the current charges

Form 1062, revised March 2026 and reviewed October 21, 2026, lists a $10 mechanic lien title fee plus $9 processing. Older information packets may display the former processing amount, so use the current application rather than reproducing the older total. A vehicle titled outside Missouri also needs the specified VIN and odometer inspection or Form 5062 in the application package. That identity evidence serves a different purpose from proving the repair debt. Confirm the mailing destination on the current form or through the Motor Vehicle Bureau contact page before sending originals, and retain a complete copy of the submission.

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An owner can contest issuance before the title is granted

The notice tells an owner or lienholder how to request that Revenue stop issuing the mechanic lien title. The written request identifies the unit by year, make and VIN, names the mechanic or business and asks that issuance be stopped. Under section 430.082, an owner or lienholder's demand for a hearing affects whether the director can issue the lien title. A recipient should not assume that objecting verbally to the shop is the same as notifying the department. Equally, a shop must not describe a contested application as already approved merely because the notice period has otherwise elapsed.

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The lien title begins a sale process, not ordinary registration

Revenue's mechanic lien packet states that the lien title does not authorize registration of the unit. Once the title is received, section 430.082 requires the holder to begin sale proceedings within 10 days. The subsequent sale is governed by section 430.100, which has its own notice requirements. It calls for notice to the known owner and newspaper publication, including at least two publications with the last at least 20 days before the sale. Where the statute's no-newspaper condition applies, specified handbill posting replaces publication. Do not confuse that auction notice with the earlier certified notice of intent to seek a title.

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Account for sale proceeds rather than retaining every dollar

Section 430.110 directs how sale money is distributed. The seller's lien and required advertising expenses come first under that provision, followed by qualifying prior perfected liens. Surplus is deposited with the county treasurer, or the St. Louis city treasurer, accompanied by the specified sworn account of ownership, lien, sale and expenses. The owner's statutory reclamation period is three years from deposit. Record the buyer, price and advertising evidence so the accounting can be supported. Winning an auction bid above the unpaid repair balance does not entitle the shop to treat the entire difference as additional storage profit.

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A secured lender applies through the repossession route

A lender seeking a repo title uses the notarized Application/Affidavit for Missouri Repossession Title in the lienholder's name, together with its validated notice-of-lien evidence or the original title showing the lien. Revenue requires 10 days' written notice by prepaid first-class mail to owners and other lienholders, or the written consent specified in its repossession instructions. This differs from the mechanic's certified-mail process. The current repossession charge is $10 plus $9 processing, and an out-of-state titled vehicle needs ID/OD verification. Repossession titles are not available for federally documented vessels. An ordinary lien release alone does not establish the right to repossess.

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A buyer should inspect the title chain before paying

A purchaser at a lien-related sale should establish which title is being assigned and whether any salvage or other brand affects later registration. The Missouri assignment instructions explain the transaction fields, and the buyer registration checklist covers the separate requirements for plates. A sale receipt records payment but cannot supply a missing lien title or cure an improperly completed assignment. Compare the vehicle with the identification on all sale papers, retain the auction documentation and determine whether inspections, insurance and personal-property-tax evidence are needed before driving. Use the Revenue title FAQ to resolve routine filing questions without assuming that auction vehicles receive an automatic exemption.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a Missouri shop sell a customer's vehicle solely because the invoice is unpaid?
It must qualify for the applicable lien procedure and complete the required authorization, default, notice, title and sale steps; an unpaid invoice alone does not replace them.

Does the mechanic's notice period match a lender's repo-title notice period?
They are different procedures. The mechanic lien materials describe a 30-day certified notice, while Revenue's repo-title page requires 10 days' first-class notice or the specified written consent.

How much does the current Missouri mechanic lien title application cost?
The March 2026 Form 1062 lists $10 for the title and $9 processing, apart from any other required records, inspection or mailing costs.

May the mechanic keep the vehicle for personal driving after receiving a lien title?
The department's packet does not allow registration on that lien title, and the statute requires the holder to begin sale proceedings within 10 days of receiving it.

Where does money left after the required lien-sale payments go?
Section 430.110 directs the surplus and sworn accounting to the applicable county or St. Louis city treasurer, subject to the owner's reclamation rights.

What should a recorded owner send to dispute an intended mechanic lien title?
The notice directs a written stop request to the Motor Vehicle Bureau identifying the vehicle, mechanic or business and request to prevent issuance; follow its current delivery instructions.

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More Missouri DMV guides

The other Missouri DMV guides, 52 of them:

The public records that sit beside this page, on SearchSystems: the Missouri recorder's documents and Missouri property records.

Property records in the largest Missouri counties, each with the local court and office that holds the file: St. Louis, Jackson, St. Charles, Greene, St. Louis City and Clay.