If you are a first time vehicle owner
If you also recently moved from another Missouri county you should visit the Assessor’s office. Bring one of the following:
- your title
- registration
- renewal slip
- or application for title
They will be able to provide you with a tax waiver if you qualify.
If you have a leased vehicle
If it is a new lease the license bureau will be able to help you without a visit to the Collector’s office. If the lease has been in effect long enough for property taxes to have been paid on the vehicle then you should have received a receipt from the Collector’s office, which you can take to the license bureau. If you don’t have the receipt, bring either your registration or renewal slip to the Collector’s office and we can help you.
If you have a paid tax receipt but the vehicle is not listed
The vehicles listed on your tax receipt should be the ones that you owned on January 1st of the tax year. If the purchase date of the vehicle you are licensing is later than January 1st of the tax year then your tax receipt will work for you. The license bureau will realize that your vehicle was not taxable for that year and they will only need to confirm that you paid taxes for the vehicles that were taxable in that year.
If the vehicle you are licensing should have been on the tax receipt, contact the Assessor’s office to have the vehicle added to your account.
If you haven’t owned a vehicle for a while
If you also recently moved from another Missouri county you should visit the Assessor’s office. Bring one of the following:
- your title
- registration
- renewal slip
- or application for title
They will be able to provide you with a tax waiver if you qualify.
If you have recently moved to Phelps County from another Missouri county
- If you have your personal property tax receipt from your previous county, you have what you need to get your vehicle licensed. It is very important, however, to contact the Phelps County Assessor’s office so that you can establish an account and receive the important mailings you need to receive.
- If you paid the tax in your previous county but you don’t have your receipt, check the county information link to see whether your previous county reports paid tax information to the Department of Revenue. If they do, then the license bureau will have the information; ask them to look it up for you.
- If your previous county doesn’t report paid information to the DOR or if you didn’t pay personal property taxes last year, contact the Collector’s office of your previous county to tell them you have moved to Phelps County. Then ask them to please fax a tax clearance to the Phelps County Collector’s office. If they do this, you can come by our office in room 129 of the Phelps County Courthouse and we can help you. Otherwise, you will need to obtain the clearance directly from your previous county.
If you have recently moved to Phelps County from another state
You should visit the Assessor’s office. Bring one of the following:
- your title
- registration
- renewal slip
- or application for title
A personal property tax account will be opened for you so that you will receive important mailings which will be sent periodically. After your account has been opened, you will visit the Collector’s office where you will receive your tax waiver.
The County Collector’s Role in vehicle licensing
The Department Of Registration needs four things from you to license your vehicle in Missouri:
- proof of ownership
- proof of insurance
- safety inspection certificate
- personal property tax receipt or waiver
The County Collector’s office provides number four. See the information below to determine what you need to do. Please click personal property for more information.