You found a cheap car with a salvage title in the St. Louis area, or you are about to bid on one, and you want to know if you can ever register and drive it in Missouri. You can, but not on the salvage title. Here is what the brand means, the exact steps and fees to get a Prior Salvage title, and when a salvage car is not worth the trouble.
The short answer: A Missouri salvage title cannot be used to register or license a car. To put it back on the road, you repair it, buy a $25 Vehicle Examination Certificate (Form 551), pass a Highway Patrol salvage exam, pass a safety inspection, and apply on Form 108. Missouri then issues a title branded Prior Salvage for an $8.50 title fee plus $9 processing.
Updated October 21, 2026. Checked against the Missouri Department of Revenue, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Revised Statutes, and the Illinois General Assembly. Sources are linked at the bottom.
Key takeaways
- Salvage title: proves ownership, but Missouri will not register or license the car on it.
- Prior Salvage title: this is Missouri’s version of a rebuilt title. The brand stays on every future title.
- The exam: the Highway Patrol checks VINs and parts paperwork. It is by appointment only and is not a safety inspection.
- Receipts matter: every used part needs a receipt that lists the VIN of the car it came from.
- Newer cars: cars under 10 years old must be repaired to their pre-salvage condition before the exam.
- Illinois is different: Metro East buyers get a title marked REBUILT after a $75 Secretary of State inspection.
What is a salvage title in Missouri?
It is a title for a car the state treats as a total loss. Under RSMo 301.010, a car is a salvage vehicle if any of these are true:
- The 80% test: it was damaged within six years of its model year, and repairs would cost more than 80% of its fair market value right before the damage.
- Insurance settlement: an insurance company declared it salvage when it paid a claim.
- Owner or lender: the owner, or a lender holding a lien, declared it salvage.
- Already branded: its ownership is already shown by a salvage title.
The 80% math leaves out airbags, tires, sound systems, hail damage, and sales tax on parts. So a hail-beaten car is not salvage just because the dents are expensive.
When someone buys a salvage car within six years of its model year, RSMo 301.227 says the buyer must apply for a salvage title, sending the title and the $8.50 fee to the Department of Revenue within ten days. For older cars, a salvage title is optional for the buyer.
Can you drive a salvage title car in Missouri?
No. The Department of Revenue’s salvage titling manual says a salvage title is not acceptable for registering a car and may not be used to license it. No plates means no legal driving on public roads. Plan to tow or trailer a salvage car home, to the repair shop, and to the exam.
Once the car has a Prior Salvage title and a passing safety inspection, Form 5043 says plates can go on and the car can be driven.
Salvage vs Prior Salvage (rebuilt) title in Missouri
Missouri does not print the word rebuilt on titles. A rebuilt car gets a title branded Prior Salvage, and under RSMo 301.573 that brand carries forward on every title the car ever gets.
| Salvage title | Prior Salvage title | |
|---|---|---|
| What it means | Total loss, not yet rebuilt or inspected | Rebuilt and passed the Highway Patrol exam |
| Register and get plates? | No | Yes, with a passing safety inspection |
| Drive on public roads? | No | Yes |
| Who can buy it at a salvage pool? | Salvage license holders and similar businesses | Sold like a normal used car |
| Brand on future titles | Stays until rebuilt | Prior Salvage, permanently |
If you want the bigger picture on title brands, our guide to certified vs salvage cars compares the trade-offs, and why car title status matters covers clean, salvage, and rebuilt brands in plain terms.
How to get a rebuilt (Prior Salvage) title in Missouri
These steps come from the Department of Revenue brochure on titling a rebuilt motor vehicle (Form 4698) and the Highway Patrol’s VIN and salvage exam requirements.
- 1. Get the salvage title assigned to you. Get a bill of sale showing the price. Model year 2011 and newer cars need an odometer disclosure until they are 20 years old.
- 2. Rebuild the car and keep every receipt. Major parts need notarized bills of sale in your name, plus copies of the front and back of the title for each car they came from. Used parts need a receipt that lists the donor car’s VIN.
- 3. Buy Form 551, the Vehicle Examination Certificate. It costs $25 at any license office or the Motor Vehicle Bureau. You fill out the top half.
- 4. Book and pass the salvage exam. A Highway Patrol inspector, or in St. Louis the city or county auto theft unit, completes the bottom half of Form 551. The certificate is good for six months.
- 5. Get a safety inspection. To register the car, Form 5043 calls for a current safety inspection no more than 60 days old. See our Missouri safety inspection guide for what fails a car.
- 6. Apply for the title. Bring Form 108, the assigned salvage title, the white copy of Form 551, your parts paperwork, the fees, and sales tax to a license office, or mail them to the Special Titling Unit.
The sales tax piece surprises people. Form 4698 says you pay state and local tax on the purchase price and on any parts where you cannot prove tax was already paid. Our guide to Missouri car sales tax in St. Louis shows the local rates, and the Missouri title transfer guide covers Form 108 and the 30-day titling clock.
Does the car have to be fully repaired?
It depends on age. The Highway Patrol says cars under 10 years old must be repaired to their pre-salvage condition. For a salvage car 10 years old or older, RSMo 301.190 says the owner is not required to restore it to its original appearance to get the Prior Salvage brand. It still has to pass a safety inspection before it can be registered.
What does the Missouri salvage inspection check?
The exam is about identity and ownership, not brakes and tires. Under RSMo 301.190 it verifies the vehicle identification numbers and decides how the car is classified. The inspector wants to see that every part on the car came from a legal source.
For a salvage car, the Highway Patrol asks you to bring:
- The title: correctly assigned to you.
- Form 551: with your half filled out.
- Parts receipts: in your name, for every replaced part, with donor VINs on used parts.
- Form 4808, if you already applied: the Incomplete Transaction Notice a license office fills out for a rebuilt salvage car.
If the VIN plate is damaged, missing, or altered, you may also need a replacement or state-assigned VIN plate. That adds Form 5062, a $7.50 plate fee, and a $9 processing fee, and the title waits until an officer attaches the plate.
Where do you get a salvage inspection in St. Louis?
Highway Patrol Troop C runs exam sites in St. Louis and in Park Hills. The Patrol’s VIN and salvage exam schedule lists the current sites and phone numbers, and every exam is by appointment only. Have the year, make, model, and VIN ready when you call. Because a salvage car cannot be driven there, line up a tow or trailer before you book.
How much does a Missouri rebuilt title cost?
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Salvage title (if you need one first) | $8.50 title fee plus $9.00 processing |
| Form 551 Vehicle Examination Certificate | $25.00 |
| Prior Salvage title | $8.50 title fee plus $9.00 processing |
| Replacement or state-assigned VIN plate, if needed | $7.50 plus $9.00 processing |
| Safety inspection | Set by the station, under a state cap |
| Sales tax | State and local rate on the price and on untaxed parts |
The state fees are small. The real cost is parts, labor, towing, and the time the car sits while you gather receipts. Price all of that into your bid.
Can the public buy salvage cars at auction in Missouri?
Not at salvage pools. The DOR salvage titling manual says only these buyers can take part in salvage pool or disposal sales:
- Missouri salvage license holders: businesses with a current Missouri salvage license.
- Out-of-state businesses: buyers legally allowed in their home state to buy for resale.
- Exporters: people living in a foreign country who buy salvage cars for export.
That is why private buyers in St. Louis usually go through a broker for salvage lots. Our guide to Copart and IAA in St. Louis explains which lots the public can bid on and what brokers add. For bidding strategy on damaged cars, read mastering salvage auctions, and if you plan to fix and sell, repairing and flipping salvage cars covers the math. Every other public option in the area is in our hub on car auctions in St. Louis.
Bringing a salvage or rebuilt title into Missouri
Missouri keeps the history. Under RSMo 301.190, if another state branded the car as prior salvage, reconstructed, or similar, the new Missouri title shows that brand and the name of the state that issued it. The DOR manual says an out-of-state title showing the car was salvage, damaged, or rebuilt gets branded Prior Salvage in Missouri.
A car brought in wrecked or damaged has to be inspected by the Highway Patrol, and any salvage designation follows it onto later titles. For the normal out-of-state paperwork, see registering an out-of-state car in Missouri.
Live in the Metro East? Illinois rebuilt title rules
If you live across the river and will register the car in Illinois, Illinois rules apply, not Missouri’s.
| Missouri | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Damaged car document | Salvage title | Salvage certificate |
| Brand after rebuild | Prior Salvage | REBUILT |
| Who inspects | State Highway Patrol (or St. Louis auto theft unit) | Secretary of State, at an assigned inspection station |
| Exam fee | $25 (Form 551) | $75 per inspection |
| Appointment needed | Yes | Yes |
Under 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1020.80, you bring the assigned Illinois salvage certificate, the rebuilt title application, an essential parts affirmation, and proof of ownership for the parts. The inspection fails if the car was rebuilt with damaged parts or has stolen parts. Our Illinois car auctions guide covers where Metro East buyers can bid.
Is a Missouri salvage car worth buying?
Sometimes, if you can do the work and you price in the risk. Before you bid, check these:
- The damage: frame, flood, and airbag damage cost far more than a bumper and a headlight.
- Parts paperwork: if you cannot get receipts with donor VINs, the exam can stall.
- Insurance: call your agent with the VIN before you bid and ask what coverage they will write on a Prior Salvage car.
- Resale: the Prior Salvage brand never comes off, so expect future buyers to pay less.
- Time: repairs, the exam appointment, and title processing can keep the car off the road for weeks.
Use our free pre-bid inspection checklist on the listing photos either way. Buying in Minnesota instead? The rules are different there, so read our guide to Minnesota salvage titles.
Want a car you can register right away?
If you need a daily driver more than a project, skip the salvage paperwork and know the title history before you bid. Remarket Space is an online car marketplace open to the public. You need a free account and an ID, not a dealer license or a broker. Every listing shows a full inspection by a Verified Remarket Space Inspector, a free Carfax, an HD virtual test drive, and your out-the-door total with delivery, including to the St. Louis area. Title issues are guaranteed for life, and undisclosed frame or flood damage reported within 72 hours of delivery is covered by our 3-Day Major Mechanical Guarantee.
See cars up for auction now, read how bidding works, or check the buyer premium and fees. St. Louis-area listings right now include a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4WD and a 2011 Honda CR-V LX. You can also browse cars under $5,000 and used SUVs in Minnesota that ship to Missouri with a quote.
Frequently asked questions
No. Missouri will not register or license a car on a salvage title, so it cannot legally be driven on public roads. Tow it to the repair shop and the exam. Once it has a Prior Salvage title and a passing safety inspection, it can get plates.
It is the title Missouri issues after a salvage car is rebuilt and passes the Highway Patrol exam. It works like a rebuilt title in other states. The car can be registered and driven, but the Prior Salvage brand stays on every future title.
The Vehicle Examination Certificate, Form 551, costs $25 at a license office. The Prior Salvage title adds an $8.50 title fee and a $9 processing fee. A new VIN plate, if needed, is $7.50 plus $9. Sales tax and a safety inspection are extra.
Bring the salvage title assigned to you, Form 551 with your half filled out, and receipts in your name for every replaced part. Used parts need receipts that list the VIN of the car they came from. Exams are by appointment only.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C handles salvage exams for the St. Louis area, with sites in St. Louis and Park Hills. Exams are by appointment only. The DOR also allows the St. Louis city or county auto theft unit to complete Form 551.
Not directly at a salvage pool. Missouri limits salvage pool sales to salvage license holders, qualified out-of-state businesses, and exporters. Private buyers usually bid through a licensed broker, which adds a fee on top of the auction’s own fees.
Not by that name. Missouri brands a rebuilt salvage car as Prior Salvage. Illinois, across the river, marks the new title REBUILT after a $75 Secretary of State inspection. Cars titled as rebuilt in another state keep that history on a Missouri title.
Sources
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.010: Definition of salvage vehicle
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.190: Title applications and vehicle examinations
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.227: Salvage titles
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.573: Title designations carry forward
- Missouri Department of Revenue Form 4698: Titling a rebuilt motor vehicle
- Missouri Department of Revenue Form 5043: Notice of vehicle titling requirements
- Missouri Department of Revenue: Salvage titling manual
- Missouri State Highway Patrol: VIN and salvage exam requirements
- Missouri State Highway Patrol: VIN and salvage exam sites
- Illinois Administrative Code 92-1020.80: Rebuilt vehicle inspections
- Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/3-118.1: REBUILT title notation
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Titling rules and fees can change, so confirm with the Missouri Department of Revenue or the Highway Patrol before you buy or rebuild a salvage car.
