# Financing your own sales in Missouri: buy here pay here contracts, late fees and the right to cure > Missouri dealers need no license to hold their own BHPH contracts. Late fees cap at 5% or $25, and repossession waits 20 days after a right-to-cure notice. - Canonical URL: https://www.leftlanesoftware.com/blog/missouri-buy-here-pay-here-financing-rules - Language: en-US - Spanish version (Español): https://www.leftlanesoftware.com/blog/financiamiento-propio-en-missouri-reglas-bhph - State: Missouri - Topic: In-house financing - Last verified: 2026-11-09 _Last verified: November 9, 2026. Every rule links to its official source._ A Missouri buy here pay here dealer needs no separate license to hold its own contracts: the [Division of Finance](https://finance.mo.gov/consumer-credit-licensing/motor-vehicle-time-sales) says a dealer "may hold and collect his own contracts" without one. A finance company that buys them needs the Division's $2,000 Motor Vehicle Time Sales license. [Chapter 365](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.120) lets the buyer agree to the rate ($25 minimum) and [caps late fees at 5 percent or $25](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100), whichever is less. ## Missouri buy here pay here rules at a glance | What | The rule | Source | | ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | License to hold your own contracts | None needed | [Division of Finance: Motor Vehicle Time Sales](https://finance.mo.gov/consumer-credit-licensing/motor-vehicle-time-sales) | | License to buy contracts | Motor Vehicle Time Sales (MVTS): $2,000 first location, $300 each added location, $300 for small operations | [MVTS application packet](https://finance.mo.gov/media/221) | | Rate | Any time price differential the buyer agrees to, as a percent per annum; $25 minimum | [RSMo 365.120](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.120) | | Late charge | After 15 days: 5 percent of the installment or minimum payment due, or $25, whichever is less; $10 minimum | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Right to cure | No repossession until 20 days after a cure notice | [RSMo 408.554](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.554) | | Deficiency | Only if over $500 was financed and $300 or more was unpaid at default | [RSMo 408.556](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.556) | | Administrative fee | Up to $620.79 in 2026; 10 percent goes to the state monthly | [12 CSR 10-26](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/12csr/12c10-26.pdf) | | Sales tax on finance charges | None | [RSMo 144.070](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=144.070) | ## Do you need a license to finance your own sales in Missouri? No, as long as the contracts stay yours and you collect under the dealership's name. You still need your Department of Revenue (DOR) dealer license to sell; see [how to get a Missouri dealer license](/blog/missouri-dealer-license-step-by-step) and the [Missouri startup path](/blog/how-to-start-a-used-car-dealership-in-missouri). The license that matters for financing is the Motor Vehicle Time Sales (MVTS) license. [RSMo 365.030](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.030) says: "No person shall engage in the business of a sales finance company in this state without a license." The Division says a dealer needs one in two cases. - **A related finance company.** You set up a company that buys or takes assignment of your contracts. - **Another name.** You collect under a name other than the dealership's ([20 CSR 1140-4.030](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c1140-4.pdf)). Banks, trust companies, consumer lenders licensed under section 367.100, and "a person who makes only occasional purchases" are exempt. **Operating without it.** [RSMo 365.150](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.150) makes a knowing violation of Chapter 365 a class B misdemeanor. We found no penalty written only for buying contracts without the license. ## How do you apply for a Missouri MVTS license, and what does it cost? On paper, to the Division of Finance's consumer credit section in Jefferson City. Neither its page nor its [application packet](https://finance.mo.gov/media/221) mentions NMLS, the national licensing system. | Fee | Since August 28, 2026 | Ceiling in RSMo 365.030 | | ------------------------ | --------------------- | ----------------------- | | First location | $2,000 | Not over $5,000 | | Each additional location | $300 | $1,000 per location | | Small operations | $300 | Up to $1,000 | The fees reflect House Bill 2423. The packet defines small operations as "less than one hundred active accounts"; the statute says "not exceeded one hundred active accounts" in the prior licensing year. At exactly 100, ask the Division which fee applies. The packet asks for a balance sheet, a contact person for examination reports, and a notarized signature ("Application must be signed before a notary public."). Mail it to PO Box 716, Jefferson City, MO 65102, or send it by express to 301 W. High Street, Room 630. We found no bond or net-worth minimum in the packet. The licensing year runs January 1 through December 31, and the renewal fee is due "on or before December thirty-first". ## How much can you charge on a buy here pay here contract in Missouri? We found no maximum rate in section 365.120. You may charge "any time price differential agreed to by the retail buyer"; the time price differential is the finance charge. Each fee around it has its own limit. | Charge | The limit, as the law words it | Source | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Time price differential | "expressed in the contract as a percent per annum"; "A minimum time price differential of twenty-five dollars may be charged" | [RSMo 365.120](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.120) | | Late charge | "not to exceed five percent of each installment due or the minimum payment due or twenty-five dollars, whichever is less"; "a minimum charge of ten dollars may be made" | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Late charge, installment of $25 or less | "shall not exceed five dollars"; $1 minimum | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Returned payment | A reasonable fee up to the amount in section 570.120, plus the bank's actual charges | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Attorney fees | "not exceeding fifteen percent of the amount due" if referred to a non-salaried attorney, plus court costs | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Convenience fee | Allowed with notice; "fixed or flat, except that the fee may vary based upon method of payment used" | [RSMo 365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100) | | Extension fee | Unit charge (sum of the digits) times the number of full remaining installments; $1 minimum | [20 CSR 1140-4.040](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c1140-4.pdf) | **When a late charge applies.** On contracts made on or after August 28, 2005, only "if the contract so provides", and only once the installment is late "not less than fifteen days". **Do not borrow the consumer-loan number.** [RSMo 408.140](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.140) sets different late-fee figures for consumer loans, and we did not confirm it reaches a Chapter 365 car contract. Build on section 365.100, and have Missouri counsel review any template that charges more. **Prepayment.** The buyer may pay off early, with the refund figured by the actuarial method under [RSMo 365.140](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.140). "The lender shall retain no more interest than is actually earned." In LeftLane, card and ACH payments post to the customer's account on their own. Automatic texts with a payment link go out on the due date and after a missed payment. You can [try it on your own accounts](https://sandbox.leftlanesoftware.com/signup). ## What must a Missouri retail installment contract include? [RSMo 365.070](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.070) sets the form: - In writing, signed by the buyer and by you, and complete before the buyer signs. - Itemized: cash price, down payment, insurance, official fees, principal balance, time price differential, time balance, installments and time sale price. - Printed in at least 8-point type, with a 10-point bold notice that includes the line "Do not sign this contract before you read it or if it contains any blank spaces." You give the buyer a copy signed by you. Until you give or mail it, a buyer who has not received the vehicle may cancel. This right is narrow: we found no general three-day cancellation right for Missouri car purchases. Under [RSMo 365.150](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.150), certain violations bar you from recovering "any time price differential, delinquency or collection charge on the contract". You may correct a failure within 30 days after the sale. ## What administrative fee can a Missouri dealer charge? Up to $620.79 per sale in 2026 ($604.47 in 2025), if you charge one. [RSMo 301.558](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.558) set the base at "five hundred dollars or less", raised each year by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) "or by zero, whichever is greater". DOR lists each year's maximum in [12 CSR 10-26.231](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/12csr/12c10-26.pdf) and on its [Dealers and Lienholders page](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealers-lienholders/). It updates the figure "as soon as practicable after January 14th of each year"; the 2027 maximum was not out on November 9, 2026. 1. **The notice.** Near the fee on the worksheet, buyer's order or contract, in bold, capitals, underlined or otherwise conspicuous. It begins: "AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE IS NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE AND IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW BUT MAY BE CHARGED BY A DEALER." Copy the full notice from the statute. 2. **Its own line.** The fee goes on the retail buyer's order "as a separate itemized charge." 3. **One fee for everyone.** "The same administrative fee shall be charged to all retail customers." **The state's share.** Ten percent of each fee goes to the Motor Vehicle Administration Technology Fund. DOR collects it by ACH "on or about the 20th of each month thereafter for sales occurring the month prior". Senate Bill 28 (2025) cuts the share to 3.5 percent once the modernized titling system is developed and the director of revenue notifies dealers and implements it. DOR had announced no start date by November 9, 2026. ## Can you sell GAP and service contracts on a Missouri contract? Yes. [RSMo 365.080](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.080) says nothing in Chapter 365 bars a "deficiency waiver addendum, guaranteed asset protection, extended service contract" if the contract meets section 365.070. Guaranteed asset protection (GAP) covers some or all of what a buyer still owes after a total loss. The same section protects the buyer's insurance choice. The buyer may buy insurance "from an agent or broker of his own selection", and you may not decline existing insurance. Other coverage is allowed only if the buyer contracts for it voluntarily, credit life may not exceed the unpaid balance, and the buyer receives the policy or certificate within 30 days. ## How does sales tax work on a financed sale in Missouri? Finance charges are not taxed. [RSMo 144.070](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=144.070) taxes the price "exclusive of any charge incident to the extension of credit", and a trade-in allowance comes off it ([RSMo 144.025](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=144.025)). Today most Missouri buyers pay at the license office when they title, within 30 days: 4.225 percent state sales tax plus local tax, less trade-in ([DOR: buying a vehicle](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/buying-vehicle.html)). That changes with FUSION, DOR's new titling system, announced for February 2027 ([October 2026 FUSION newsletter](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/fusion-rollout/October-2026-Dealer-FUSION-Newsletter.pdf); [FUSION dealer manual](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/fusion-rollout/missouri-titling-registration-dealer-manual.pdf)): - You enter the sale in your MyDMV-Business account and keep 2 percent of the tax. - The tax and fees are "remitted to the state, via ACH, 10 business days after the sale". - You set up an ACH bank account in FUSION "before the system rollout". The pull follows the sale, not your customer's payments, so plan cash for it. More in [After the sale in Missouri](/blog/missouri-dealer-after-the-sale-and-inspections). **Repossessions and bad debts.** Whether you can claim a sales tax credit after a repossession or bad debt is a question for a Missouri tax adviser; we did not confirm the rule. We found no tax on the finance contract itself. ## How do you record your lien in Missouri? Deliver a notice of lien to the director of revenue. Under [RSMo 301.600](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.600), delivery within 30 days makes perfection date from the lien's creation. Electronic notices are allowed but not required; DOR's forms are 4809, 4678 and 5017 on its [Dealers and Lienholders page](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealers-lienholders/). FUSION replaces the Notice of Lien system when it starts. ## When can you repossess in Missouri? After the right-to-cure period runs. You may then act without going to court only if there is no breach of the peace. [RSMo 365.145](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.145) applies sections 408.551 to 408.562 to every Chapter 365 contract: 1. **Notice.** Once the buyer "has been in default for ten days for failure to make a required payment", you may send a written notice of right to cure, with the contents [RSMo 408.554](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.554) prescribes. 2. **Wait.** No acceleration or repossession "until twenty days after a notice of the borrower's right to cure is given". 3. **Cure.** A buyer who cures is restored to the contract ([RSMo 408.555](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.555)). 4. **Limits.** No cure right applies after two defaults on the same transaction. A buyer may surrender the vehicle voluntarily, with a warning about the deficiency. **Taking the car.** [RSMo 400.9-609](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=400.9-609) allows possession after default "Without judicial process, if it proceeds without breach of the peace". The cure period comes first. **The deficiency.** [RSMo 408.556](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.556) allows one only if "the amount financed in the transaction was more than five hundred dollars" and the unpaid amount at default was "three hundred dollars or more". Your petition must plead that you followed the rules for disposing of the vehicle. **Questions for Missouri counsel.** We did not confirm the notice before you resell a repossessed car or its timing, so have counsel review yours. We found no Missouri licensing rule for repossession agents, and no Missouri statute on GPS trackers or starter-interrupt devices; ask counsel before you use either. ## Who examines a Missouri buy here pay here dealer, and what records do you keep? The Division of Finance examines MVTS licensees; DOR and law enforcement can inspect your dealer records. - **Division of Finance.** The director "may examine the licensee or any other person having personal knowledge of the matters under investigation" ([RSMo 365.050](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.050)). After a buyer's written complaint, the director may inspect the records it concerns. - **Licensee records.** [20 CSR 1140-4.020](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c1140-4.pdf) requires a cash journal, a general ledger posted at least monthly, an account ledger per buyer and an alphabetical buyer index. Keep them 2 years from the final payment, open to the examiner "at any time without previous notice". - **Paid contracts.** The rule has the holder mark the original contract paid in full and return it to the buyer. Whether it binds a dealer holding its own paper without a license is not confirmed. Returning the contract is good practice either way. - **Dealer records.** Keep deal files at the licensed location for at least five years ([RSMo 301.280](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.280)). DOR and law enforcement may inspect titles and inventory records during normal business hours ([RSMo 301.564](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.564)). In LeftLane, each finance account keeps an activity log of payments, adjustments and status changes, and LeftLane produces Metro 2 credit reporting files and repossession reports from live data. ## What trips people up - **Borrowing the consumer-loan late fee.** Chapter 365 governs car contracts; section 365.100 caps the fee at 5 percent or $25, whichever is less. - **A late fee your contract does not mention.** Section 365.100 allows one only if the contract provides for it. - **Repossessing inside the cure window.** Wait 20 days after the cure notice. - **Suing on a small contract.** No deficiency unless more than $500 was financed and $300 or more was unpaid. - **A lower doc fee for a favorite customer.** Every retail customer pays the same fee. - **An unlicensed related finance company.** Buying your contracts takes the MVTS license. - **Holding back the signed copy.** Until the buyer gets it, a buyer without the car may cancel. ## What changed recently - **February 2027 (announced).** FUSION: dealers collect the sales tax, keep 2 percent and remit by ACH 10 business days after each sale. - **November 9, 2026.** DOR said its FUSION test environment would open to all remaining licensed entities. - **August 28, 2026.** After House Bill 2423, MVTS fees became $2,000, $300 per added location and $300 for small operations. - **2026 licensure year.** The administrative fee maximum rose to $620.79. - **August 28, 2025.** Senate Bill 28 set the state's share of the administrative fee at 3.5 percent once the new system is in place. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a license to do buy here pay here in Missouri? Not for your own contracts. The Division of Finance says a dealer may hold and collect its own contracts without a license. You need a Motor Vehicle Time Sales license if a finance company you set up buys or takes assignment of your contracts, or if you collect under a name other than the dealership's. ### What is the maximum interest rate on a Missouri car contract? We found no maximum in section 365.120. The seller may charge any time price differential the buyer agrees to, stated in the contract as a percent per annum, with a $25 minimum. The fees around it, including the late charge, attorney fees and returned-payment fee, are capped one by one in section 365.100. ### How much can a Missouri dealer charge for a late payment? If the contract provides for it, an installment at least 15 days late may carry up to 5 percent of the installment or minimum payment due, or $25, whichever is less, with a $10 minimum. On an installment of $25 or less, the cap is $5 and the minimum $1, under section 365.100. ### How long do I have to wait to repossess in Missouri? Once a buyer has been in default 10 days for a missed payment, you may send a written notice of right to cure. You may not accelerate or repossess until 20 days after that notice. A buyer who cures is restored to the contract. No cure right applies after two defaults on the same transaction. ### Can I collect a deficiency after a Missouri repossession? Only if the amount financed was more than $500 and the unpaid amount at default was $300 or more, under section 408.556. Your petition must plead that you followed the rules for disposing of the vehicle. Have Missouri counsel review your notices before you resell a repossessed car. ### What is the maximum doc fee in Missouri for 2026? $620.79. The statute's $500 base rises each year with the CPI-U, and DOR updates the maximum after January 14. Every retail customer pays the same fee, it is itemized on the buyer's order, and a conspicuous notice sits near it. Ten percent of each fee goes to the state monthly. ## Your next step Before your first financed sale, put the contract, the payments and the reminders in one system. In LeftLane, card and ACH payments post on their own, reminder texts carry a payment link, and each account keeps an activity log. [Start a free trial](https://sandbox.leftlanesoftware.com/signup) and call 512-222-9549; a real person will help you set it up. ## Sources - [Missouri Division of Finance: Motor Vehicle Time Sales](https://finance.mo.gov/consumer-credit-licensing/motor-vehicle-time-sales) and [MVTS application packet](https://finance.mo.gov/media/221) - [20 CSR 1140-4: motor vehicle time sales rules](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c1140-4.pdf) and [12 CSR 10-26: dealer rules](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/12csr/12c10-26.pdf) - RSMo Chapter 365: [365.030](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.030), [365.050](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.050), [365.070](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.070), [365.080](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.080), [365.100](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.100), [365.120](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.120), [365.140](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.140), [365.145](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.145), [365.150](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=365.150) - RSMo Chapters 408 and 400: [408.140](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.140), [408.554](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.554), [408.555](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.555), [408.556](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.556), [400.9-609](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=400.9-609) - RSMo Chapters 301 and 144: [301.280](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.280), [301.558](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.558), [301.564](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.564), [301.600](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.600), [144.025](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=144.025), [144.070](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=144.070) - Missouri DOR: [buying a vehicle](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/buying-vehicle.html), [Dealers and Lienholders](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealers-lienholders/), [October 2026 FUSION newsletter](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/fusion-rollout/October-2026-Dealer-FUSION-Newsletter.pdf) and [FUSION dealer manual](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/fusion-rollout/missouri-titling-registration-dealer-manual.pdf) _This guide is general information for dealers, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Confirm with the agency or a licensed attorney in your state before you act._