SPONSOR: Pollitt
INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS BASED ON MODEL YEAR (Sections 301.020 and 307.350, RSMo)
Currently, safety inspections are not required for registration of a motor vehicle having less than 150,000 miles for the 10 year period following the model year of manufacture. This bill changes that exemption to motor vehicles having less than 150,000 miles and a model year of 2012 or newer. The same change from ten years of age or less to model year 2012 or newer is made for the Department of Revenue's (DOR) retention of odometer information.
TEMPORARY PERMITS (Section 301.140)
This bill authorizes law enforcement officers, based on reasonable suspicion, to stop or inspect a driver to determine whether a temporary permit is valid or current. If it has expired by at least 70 days or has been altered, the law enforcement officer must issue a citation and the person will be fined $250.
If the person properly registers the vehicle within 30 days of the citation, the prosecutor will not prosecute the citation and the offense will not appear on the person's driving record. If the vehicle receives an additional citation for a temporary permit offense after the 30-day time period has passed, the vehicle will be impounded until it is properly registered.
VEHICLE DEALER INSPECTIONS (Sections 301.190 and 307.380)
This bill provides that vehicle identification number and odometer inspections for titling purposes can be performed by an employee of a licensed new or used motor vehicle dealer if the vehicle is sold to a person who lives out of State and intends to register the vehicle out of State, or if the motor vehicle has less than 30,000 miles for the three-year period following the model year of manufacture.
A licensed motor vehicle dealer who knowingly completes an inspection with incorrect information will be subject to disciplinary action by DOR. The bill specifies that an inspection prior to the date of a sale must be performed no more than 60 days prior to sale. Vehicles having less than 30,000 miles for the three-year period following their model year or which are sold to a person who lives outside the State who intends to register the vehicle outside the State are exempt from safety and emissions inspections prior to sale if the vehicle is sold by:
(1) A private seller; or
(2) By a licensed new or used motor vehicle dealer that has sold at least 200 motor vehicles in the previous calendar year.
The seller of a motor vehicle which requires an inspection before the sale must present the certificate of inspection to the buyer at the point of sale, and the buyer must submit the certificate of inspection when registering the vehicle.
This bill is similar to HB 378 (2025).
Statutes affected: