Moving here: the first 60 days — Move to St. Louis

Jump to: city or county? · driver's license · your car · the car tax · utilities · library card and voting

First: city or county?

Nearly every errand below depends on one question: is your new address in the City of St. Louis or in St. Louis County? They are separate governments. The city left the county in 1876 and never rejoined, so the city has its own assessor, water department and trash service. "St. Louis" on a mailing address doesn't settle it, because many county suburbs use St. Louis mailing addresses. Your lease or closing papers will name the jurisdiction. Your landlord or agent can also tell you.

St. Charles County, west across the Missouri River, is a third government with its own offices. Inside St. Louis County, most addresses also belong to one of about 90 small municipalities. Kirkwood, Webster Groves and Chesterfield are examples, and each handles its own trash contract and local permits.

The city also charges a 1% earnings tax. Living in the county doesn't avoid it if you work in the city. See who pays it.

Driver's license

Missouri's rule is short: once you live here, you're expected to apply for a Missouri license. Commercial license holders have a firm 30 days Missouri DOR. The DOR is the Missouri Department of Revenue, which runs both licenses and car registration. You do this at a license office, which locals call the "license bureau." These offices are run by contractors for the state.

What to bring: - Your current license. Hand in a valid license from another state and Missouri skips the written and driving tests. You'll still take a vision test and a road-sign test, and the old license is invalidated Missouri DOR. - Documents. You need proof of identity, lawful status and your Social Security number, plus two documents proving your Missouri address. A signed lease and a utility bill are the usual pair Missouri DOR (2). - REAL ID choice. Missouri offers both REAL ID and standard licenses. REAL ID is the federal standard for boarding a domestic flight with a license instead of a passport.

Set up one utility first. The bill is the easiest second proof of address, and the license office is the first stop for almost everything else.

Your car: title, plates, inspections

New residents have 30 days to move a car's title to Missouri Missouri DOR. The title is the ownership document; registration is the plates. The late penalty starts at $25 and grows every 30 days, up to $200 Missouri DOR (2). Both happen in one visit to a license office.

The checklist, from the DOR's new-resident sheet Missouri DOR: - Your out-of-state title. If a lender holds it, use the DOR's title-request form (Form 5834). Your lender either releases the title or sends proof of ownership. - A VIN and odometer check. VIN is the vehicle identification number. Any licensed Missouri inspection station does this check, and a Missouri safety inspection also counts. - A safety inspection, unless the car is under 10 model years old and has under 150,000 miles. - An emissions test if you live in St. Louis City or in St. Louis, St. Charles or Jefferson County. Very new cars and models from 1995 or earlier are among the exemptions Missouri DOR (2). - Proof of insurance. - Proof that you don't owe personal property tax. For a new resident, that's a waiver. Read the next section before you go. - The fees: a $17.50 title and processing fee, plus registration.

Each inspection certificate is good for 60 days, so get inspections done shortly before your license-office visit. A safety inspection also covers the VIN and odometer check Missouri DOR, and many shops do safety and emissions in the same stop.

The car tax nobody warns you about

Missouri taxes cars every year. It's called personal property tax. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats and trailers count; household goods don't. You're taxed on what you owned on January 1. The assessed value is one-third of the car's average trade-in value, and the local tax rate applies to that City of St. Louis. Bills arrive in November and are due December 31.

It matters at the license office, because Missouri won't issue or renew plates without proof you've dealt with it. Each year you show last year's paid tax receipt Missouri DOR.

Your first year: get a waiver. You weren't a Missouri resident on January 1, so you owe nothing yet. You prove that with a free tax waiver, officially a "statement of non-assessment." It comes from the assessor's office for where you live:

City of St. Louis. Go in person to City Hall (1200 Market Street, Rooms 115 and 117), or email a copy of your ID, your title or registration and proof of address. Emailed requests are answered by mail, so allow time City of St. Louis.
St. Louis County. The county Assessor issues waivers in person, by appointment or online. For a new resident, it accepts a title in your name, your current out-of-state registration or a Missouri title receipt St. Louis County.
Elsewhere in Missouri, including St. Charles County: the county assessor.

Then declare. Get onto the assessor's list so next year's bill reaches you. The county has a New Resident Personal Property Declaration form St. Louis County. In the city, declaration forms go out in January and are due April 1, with a 10% penalty for filing late City of St. Louis.

Moving within the region later? The waiver or receipt comes from wherever you lived on January 1. Someone who moves from the county into the city in June still deals with the county for that year City of St. Louis.

Utilities

Electricity: Ameren Missouri serves the city and most of the suburbs. New customers, or anyone without Ameren service in the past five years, may be asked for a deposit if a credit-based score Ameren checks (from Equifax) comes in below its cutoff Ameren.
Natural gas: Spire, the former Laclede Gas.
Water and trash, city: the city's Water Division handles both on one account. Signing up for water creates the trash account automatically, and trash costs $14 a month per unit. The application has to be signed by you and the property owner. Moving an existing connection into your name takes about five business days City of St. Louis.
Water, county: Missouri American Water, a private utility regulated by the state, serves most of St. Louis County Missouri American Water, 2025. In St. Charles County, water often comes from your city, so check with city hall.
Trash, county: your municipality contracts for it, so ask your landlord or city hall. Unincorporated parts of the county, meaning areas outside any municipality, are split into trash districts, each assigned one hauler Call Newspapers.
Sewer: the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) serves the city and most of St. Louis County, and bills separately. Many older city homes have no water meter, so the sewer bill is figured from the home's fixtures First Alert 4, 2025.

Typical monthly costs are on the cost of living page.

Library card and voting

Get a library card in week one. It's free at both the city's St. Louis Public Library and the St. Louis County Library if you live or own property in the city, St. Louis County or St. Charles County. Bring photo ID and something showing your new address St. Louis Public Library.

Register to vote online through the Missouri Secretary of State. The deadline is the fourth Wednesday before an election St. Louis Public Library. Your new license number makes the online form quick.

Where to go next

Neighborhoods and the suburbs, if you haven't picked an address yet.
Starting out, a guide to building a life here in your twenties and early thirties.
Families, for school districts, which in St. Louis County follow different lines from the municipalities.
Cost of living, for rent, utilities, car insurance and taxes.