Section 301.227

Title XIX MOTOR VEHICLES, WATERCRAFT AND AVIATION

Chapter 301

Effective - 28 Aug 2004, 5 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  301.227.  Salvage certificate of title mandatory or optional, when — issuance, fee — junking certificate issued or rescinded, when. — 1. Whenever a vehicle is sold for salvage, dismantling or rebuilding, the purchaser shall forward to the director of revenue within ten days the certificate of ownership or salvage certificate of title and the proper application and fee of eight dollars and fifty cents, and the director shall issue a negotiable salvage certificate of title to the purchaser of the salvaged vehicle. On vehicles not more than seven years old, it shall be mandatory that the purchaser apply for a salvage title, but on vehicles over seven years old, application for a salvage title shall be optional on the part of the purchaser. Whenever a vehicle is sold for destruction and a salvage certificate of title, junking certificate, or certificate of ownership exists, the seller, if licensed under sections 301.217 to 301.221, shall forward the certificate to the director of revenue within ten days, with the notation of the date sold for destruction and the name of the purchaser clearly shown on the face of the certificate.

  2. Whenever a vehicle is classified as "junk", as defined in section 301.010, the purchaser may forward to the director of revenue the salvage certificate of title or certificate of ownership and the director shall issue a negotiable junking certificate to the purchaser of the vehicle. The director may also issue a junking certificate to a possessor of a vehicle manufactured twenty-six years or more prior to the current model year who has a bill of sale for said vehicle but does not possess a certificate of ownership, provided no claim of theft has been made on the vehicle and the highway patrol has by letter stated the vehicle is not listed as stolen after checking the registration number through its nationwide computer system. Such certificate may be granted within thirty days of the submission of a request.

  3. Upon receipt of a properly completed application for a junking certificate, the director of revenue shall issue to the applicant a junking certificate which shall authorize the holder to possess, transport, or, by assignment, transfer ownership in such parts, scrap or junk, and a certificate of title shall not again be issued for such vehicle; except that, the initial purchaser shall, within ninety days, be allowed to rescind his application for a junking certificate by surrendering the junking certificate and apply for a salvage certificate of title in his name. The seller of a vehicle for which a junking certificate has been applied for or issued shall disclose such fact in writing to any prospective buyers before sale of such vehicle; otherwise the sale shall be voidable at the option of the buyer.

  4. No scrap metal operator shall acquire or purchase a motor vehicle or parts thereof without, at the time of such acquisition, receiving the original certificate of title or salvage certificate of title or junking certificate from the seller of the vehicle or parts, unless the seller is a licensee under sections 301.219 to 301.221.

  5. All titles and certificates required to be received by scrap metal operators from nonlicensees shall be forwarded by the operator to the director of revenue within ten days of the receipt of the vehicle or parts.

  6. The scrap metal operator shall keep a record, for three years, of the seller's name and address, the salvage business license number of the licensee, date of purchase, and any vehicle or parts identification numbers open for inspection as provided in section 301.225.

  7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a motor vehicle dealer as defined in section 301.550 and licensed under the provisions of sections 301.550 to 301.572* may negotiate one reassignment of a salvage certificate of title on the back thereof.

  8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, an insurance company which settles a claim for a stolen vehicle shall be issued a negotiable salvage certificate of title without the payment of any fee upon proper application within thirty days after settlement of the claim for such stolen vehicle. However, if the insurance company upon recovery of a stolen vehicle determines that the stolen vehicle has not sustained damage to the extent that the vehicle would have otherwise been declared a salvage vehicle pursuant to subdivision (51) of section 301.010, then the insurance company may have the vehicle inspected by the Missouri state highway patrol, or other law enforcement agency authorized by the director of revenue, in accordance with the inspection provisions of subsection 9 of section 301.190. Upon receipt of title application, applicable fee, the completed inspection, and the return of any previously issued negotiable salvage certificate, the director shall issue an original title with no salvage designation. Upon the issuance of an original title the director shall remove any indication of the negotiable salvage title previously issued to the insurance company from the department's electronic records.

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(L. 1979 H.B. 78 § 9, A.L. 1983 H.B. 149, et al., A.L. 1984 S.B. 648 Revision, H.B. 1045, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1367 & 1573, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1581, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1279, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1233, et al.)

*Section 301.572 was repealed in 1997 by H.B. 207.