State Foreclosure Law Library

missouri

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Missouri — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-01.

TWO PARALLEL TAX-FORECLOSURE REGIMES. Missouri runs two statutory systems in parallel, and which one applies depends on the county:

  • Chapter 140 RSMo — the “Jones-Munger” delinquent-tax sale (the default; used by most of Missouri’s 114 counties). Collector-run tax-lien certificate sale on the fourth Monday in August, with first / second / third offerings and a post-third “subsequent” offering. This is the regime most of this page covers.
  • Chapter 141 RSMo — the “Land Tax Collection Law” (a judicial foreclosure used by St. Louis City, Jackson County (Kansas City), and certain first-class / charter counties that have opted in). Suit in circuit court → sheriff’s sale → court confirmation. Both must now reconcile with tyler-v-hennepin-county; their surplus rules differ, and that difference is the live constitutional question (module 3).

0. Identity & Classification

  • Recording unit: county (114 counties) plus the independent City of St. Louis (a non-county recording/collection unit). Treat St. Louis City as a 115th unit for collection purposes.
  • Tax sale type: tax lien certificate under Chapter 140 — the collector issues a “certificate of purchase” that ripens into a collector’s deed if not redeemed (RSMo 140.290, 140.420). Post-third-offering “subsequent” sales convey an immediate deed with no redemption (RSMo 140.250). Chapter 141 counties use a judicial tax-deed model.
  • Tax foreclosure process: both — administrative/collector sale (Chapter 140, default) and judicial (Chapter 141, St. Louis City / Jackson Co. / opt-in counties).
  • Mortgage foreclosure process: non-judicial (deed-of-trust trustee’s sale under power of sale, RSMo 443.290, 443.310); judicial foreclosure of a mortgage is available but rarely used.
  • Selling authority: county collector (Chapter 140); sheriff under court order (Chapter 141); trustee (deed-of-trust foreclosure).
  • Statutory home: Title X, Chapter 140 “Collection of Delinquent Taxes Generally” — https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=140.250; Chapter 141 “Delinquent Taxes — Certain Subdivisions” (Land Tax Collection Law) — https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=141.580; Title XXIX, Chapter 443 (mortgages / deeds of trust) — https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=443.410.
  • Tyler v. Hennepin compliance: reformed_post_Tyler / compliant on its face (Chapter 140), unclear at the escheat tail. Chapter 140’s surplus statute (RSMo 140.230) does return surplus to the former owner (after lienholders), so on its face Missouri already gives back the equity — many commentators conclude no major change was needed. But unclaimed surplus escheats to the county permanent school fund after three years (RSMo 140.230), and the Chapter 141 Land Tax model historically routes unclaimed surplus to the taxing authorities (RSMo 141.580); both tails are the Tyler-vulnerable points. See tyler-v-hennepin-county and module 11.

1. Tax Sale Mechanics (Chapter 140 — default regime)

  • What is sold: a certificate of purchase (lien) at the first, second, and third offerings; a collector’s deed (immediate, no redemption) at any subsequent offering after the third. (RSMo 140.250, 140.290)
  • Bidding method: premium / highest-bid. The property is struck off to the highest bidder; the bid must be at least the sum of delinquent taxes, interest, penalty, and costs. (RSMo 140.250) Missouri is not a bid-down- interest or bid-down-ownership state.
  • Interest / penalty (redemption return to the certificate holder):
    • Up to 10% per annum on the certificate amount (the delinquent taxes/interest/penalty/costs the purchaser paid). (RSMo 140.340)
    • 8% per annum on subsequently-paid taxes (“subs”) the holder pays after purchase. (RSMo 140.340)
    • No interest is paid to the holder on any surplus/overbid amount the holder bid above the taxes-plus-costs. (RSMo 140.340)
  • Minimum bid composition: delinquent taxes + interest + penalty + costs of sale (recording, title search, postage, publication). (RSMo 140.250, 140.340)
  • Sale frequency: annual.
  • Typical month: fourth Monday in August (statewide statutory date). (RSMo 140.250; corroborated by Greene County Collector)
  • Venue: historically in person at the courthouse; some counties now run online sales. County-specific.
  • Platform vendors: county-specific (no single statewide platform). (Vendor list — needs_verification.)
  • Registration & deposit: county-specific; bidders generally must register and pay in full (often cashier’s check, same day) before the certificate issues. (Greene County Collector requires payment by 3:30 PM same day, cashier’s check.)
  • Subsequent taxes (“subs”): the certificate holder may pay later-accruing delinquent taxes and recover them at redemption with 8% per annum interest. (RSMo 140.340)

2. Right of Redemption → see right-of-redemption

  • Pre-sale right: the owner may pay the delinquency at any time before the sale to remove the parcel. (RSMo Chapter 140 generally)
  • Post-sale period (runs from the date of sale): (RSMo 140.340, 140.250, 140.405)
    • First or second offering: at least one (1) year to redeem, and a defeasible right continuing until the purchaser actually acquires the collector’s deed. (RSMo 140.340)
    • Third offering: 90 days (the redemption window collapses to the 90-day statutory notice period under RSMo 140.405). (RSMo 140.250, 140.405)
    • Subsequent (post-third) offering: NO redemption — immediate collector’s deed. (RSMo 140.250)
  • Who may redeem: “the owner; lienholder; or occupant of any land or lot sold for taxes, or any other persons having an interest therein.” (RSMo 140.340)
  • Redemption amount formula: the full certificate purchase amount + all sale costs (recording, title search, postage) + up to 10%/yr interest on that amount + all subsequent taxes paid by the holder with 8%/yr interest (and no interest on any surplus/overbid). Paid to the county collector for the use of the purchaser. (RSMo 140.340)
  • Premium to certificate holder: the holder’s return is the 10%/8% interest (above), not a fixed penalty premium; the overbid/surplus earns the holder nothing. (RSMo 140.340)
  • Procedure: pay the collector; the collector certifies redemption and pays the certificate holder. (RSMo 140.340)
  • Extinguishment: the right to redeem expires when the purchaser acquires the collector’s deed — which requires the purchaser to first complete the RSMo 140.405 90-day notice and affidavit. (RSMo 140.340, 140.405, 140.420)
  • Special tolling: the defeasible right runs until deed issuance, so a holder’s failure/delay in perfecting 140.405 notice effectively extends the owner’s redemption window. (Minors / incompetents / SCRA tolling specifics — needs_verification.)

3. Surplus / Excess Proceeds → see surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules

CORE business module.

  • Belongs to: priority waterfall, then the former owner. “The surplus shall be first distributed to the former lienholders of record, by priority of the former liens, if any, then to the former owner or owners of the property.” (RSMo 140.230) The collector pays the surplus money into the county treasury. (RSMo 140.230)
  • Claim waterfall (Chapter 140):
    1. costs of the sale (publication, collector/sheriff costs);
    2. delinquent taxes, interest, penalties;
    3. former lienholders of record, by lien priority;
    4. former owner(s). (RSMo 140.230)
  • Filing venue: written claim to the county commission (the commission may interplead in the circuit court if multiple parties claim and cannot agree). (RSMo 140.230)
  • Claim deadline: within 90 days after the expiration of the redemption period. Funds are held in the county treasury for the lesser of three years or 90 days following expiration of redemption; no interest is paid to claimants. (RSMo 140.230)
  • Escheat: “At the end of three years, if any funds have not been distributed or called for … such funds shall become a permanent school fund of the county.” (RSMo 140.230) — this three-year escheat of surplus equity is the point most exposed to a tyler-v-hennepin-county takings challenge.
  • Documentation required: the county commission “shall compel owners, lienholders of record, or agents to make satisfactory proof of their claims”; lien claims must include the recording reference for the lien. (RSMo 140.230)
  • Chapter 141 (Land Tax) surplus: after sheriff’s-sale confirmation, proceeds pay (1) publication/sale costs, (2) collector/sheriff/appraiser/attorney costs, (3) tax bills by priority; remaining funds address other issues in the suit, and unclaimed funds after two years go to the taxing authorities (school funds in partial opt-in counties). (RSMo 141.580) This is the regime whose surplus tail most resembles the pre-Tyler “government keeps the equity” model — flagged in module 11.
  • Third-party recovery (recovery-agent rules):
    • fee_cap_pct: null — no Chapter 140 percentage cap on a surplus-claim agent’s fee was located. The county commission may compel an “agent” to prove the claim (RSMo 140.230), implying agents may act, but the section sets no fee cap. (A separate cap may exist under the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act once funds escheat — needs_verification.)
    • licensing_required: not located for tax-sale surplus specifically; needs_verification.
    • assignment_of_claim_allowed: certificates of purchase are assignable (“his heirs, successors, or assigns,” RSMo 140.340); whether a former owner’s surplus claim may be assigned to a recovery agent is not squarely addressed in 140.230 — needs_verification.
    • practical constraint: the Greene County Collector states surplus “can only be distributed to owners or lienholders — not unrelated third parties,” consistent with RSMo 140.230’s “owners, lienholders of record, or agents” language; an agent must act on behalf of an entitled party, not as an independent claimant. (Greene County Collector FAQ)
    • unclaimed-property locator caps (post-escheat): Missouri’s Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property regime restricts paid locators for property held < 24 months and shields the public record from commercial finders for 90 days after disclosure. (Exact fee cap and applicability to escheated tax surplus — needs_verification; this applies to general unclaimed property, and tax surplus escheats to the county school fund, not necessarily the state UPA pool.)
    • cooling_off_period / contract_disclosure_rules: not located; needs_verification.
    • citation: RSMo 140.230 (claims by owners/lienholders/agents); 15 CSR 50-3 (unclaimed property, locators) — see module 11.
  • Notice to former owner required? Yes pre-deed: the RSMo 140.405 90-day redemption notice to the owner of record and recorded lienholders. A dedicated surplus-availability notice to the former owner is not specified by 140.230 (claim is owner-initiated within 90 days of redemption expiry) — a potential Tyler/due-process gap. (RSMo 140.230, 140.405)

4. Mortgage Foreclosure → see sheriff-sale, trustee-sale

  • Process: non-judicial — foreclosure of a deed of trust by the trustee’s sale under the power of sale, “in the same manner and in all respects as in case of mortgages with power of sale.” (RSMo 443.290, 443.310, 443.410)
  • Timeline (key milestones):
    • Notice of sale: statutory publication of the trustee’s sale notice; Missouri also requires mailed notice to the grantor. (Exact publication days/weeks and mailing lead time — needs_verification against RSMo 443.325.)
    • Sale: trustee’s sale at the courthouse to the highest bidder.
    • Confirmation: none required for a trustee’s sale (non-judicial).
  • Reinstatement right: Missouri does not provide a broad statutory reinstatement right in Chapter 443; cure is typically governed by the deed of trust / note terms. (Statutory reinstatement — needs_verification.)
  • Redemption after sale: limited statutory redemption — one (1) year — available only when the property is bought in by the holder of the debt (or another for the holder), and only if the redeeming party (a) gives written notice at the sale or within 10 days before the advertised sale date that it intends to redeem, and (b) posts a bond to the satisfaction of the circuit court within 20 days after the sale covering interest, costs, taxes, prior encumbrances, and waste. (RSMo 443.410, 443.420) In practice this right is rarely exercised because of the notice-and-bond conditions.
  • Deficiency judgment: allowed — the trustee’s sale does not by itself satisfy the debt; the lender may sue on the note for any deficiency. Chapter 443 does not impose a fair-value-offset or strict one-action rule. (Fair-value / one-action specifics — needs_verification.)
  • Surplus distribution: trustee applies sale proceeds to the secured debt and costs, then to junior lienholders, then surplus to the grantor/former owner (general deed-of-trust law). (Statutory surplus cite — needs_verification.)
  • Sale officer: trustee (deed of trust); sheriff if judicially foreclosed.

5. Sale Procedure Playbooks

  • Tax sale (county collector, Chapter 140) — ordered steps: → see treasurer-sale
    1. Taxes go delinquent; collector advertises the delinquent land list.
    2. Fourth Monday in August sale; parcel struck to the highest bidder at ≥ taxes+interest+penalty+costs (RSMo 140.250).
    3. Collector issues a certificate of purchase (recorded). (RSMo 140.290)
    4. Redemption period runs — 1 yr (1st/2nd offering) / 90 days (3rd) / none (subsequent). (RSMo 140.250, 140.340)
    5. To get the deed, purchaser does a title search, sends the RSMo 140.405 90-day notice to the owner of record and all recorded lienholders by first class AND certified mail, return receipt requested, and files an affidavit of compliance with the collector. (RSMo 140.405)
    6. If unredeemed, collector executes a collector’s deed “in the name of the state” vesting fee simple. (RSMo 140.420)
    7. Any overbid above taxes+costs is surplus, paid into the county treasury and claimable per RSMo 140.230 (module 3).
  • Land Tax suit (Chapter 141, St. Louis City / Jackson Co. / opt-in) — ordered steps: → see sheriff-sale petition in circuit court → notice → judgment of foreclosure → sheriff’s sale → court confirmation hearing (≈ within 6 months; adequate-consideration review) → proceeds applied by RSMo 141.580 waterfall → sheriff’s deed.
  • Mortgage (deed of trust) — ordered steps: → see trustee-sale default → notice of sale (publication + mailed) → trustee’s sale → trustee’s deed → (rare) 1-year redemption only if bid in by debt-holder + 10-day notice + 20-day bond (RSMo 443.410, 443.420).
  • Notice requirements: tax — published delinquent list + the 140.405 90-day dual-mail notice + affidavit. Mortgage — published notice of trustee’s sale (+ mailed notice). (Exact publication weeks — needs_verification.)
  • Upset-bid / confirmation: Chapter 140 — none (no upset bid; the 140.405 notice + deed is the control point). Chapter 141 — court confirmation required, with an adequate-consideration review (RSMo 141.580).
  • Payment terms: tax — full payment (often cashier’s check, same day).
  • Deed issued: collector’s deed (Ch. 140, fee simple, RSMo 140.420); sheriff’s deed (Ch. 141, after confirmation); trustee’s deed (mortgage).

6. Due Process & Notice → see due-process-notice

  • Standard: notice “reasonably calculated” to reach the party (mullane-v-central-hanover); when certified mail is returned unclaimed, additional reasonable steps are required (jones-v-flowers); recorded mortgagees/lienholders get actual mailed notice (mennonite-v-adams). Missouri’s RSMo 140.405 codifies dual first-class + certified mail notice precisely because of these cases.
  • Required attempts: title search to identify the owner of record and all recorded lienholders; first class AND certified mail (return receipt requested) to each; affidavit of compliance filed with the collector. (RSMo 140.405)
  • Consequence of defective notice: voidable — a collector’s deed obtained without statutorily-compliant notice is subject to being set aside; Missouri courts have voided deeds where the 140.405 notice was constitutionally or statutorily deficient. (See schlereth-v-hardy-2009.)
  • Leading cases: schlereth-v-hardy-2009 (certified mail returned unclaimed insufficient; 140.405 unconstitutional as applied), harpagon-v-bosch-2012 (90-day notice must precede redemption expiry), jones-v-flowers, mennonite-v-adams, mullane-v-central-hanover.

7. Title & Marketability

  • Deed warranty level: the collector’s deed is a statutory deed that, when the proceedings are regular, “shall vest in the grantee an absolute estate in fee simple” (RSMo 140.420) — it is not a warranty deed; the buyer takes the state’s statutory conveyance, subject to challenge for procedural/notice defects.
  • Marketable immediately? No, practically. Missouri title insurers generally will not insure a fresh collector’s-deed title without either a quiet-title action or the running of limitations; insurers treat tax titles cautiously. (True Title — Missouri county tax-sale practice)
  • Quiet title required? Usually yes to obtain insurable/marketable title and to cut off redemption/notice challenges.
  • SOL to challenge the deed: Missouri has statutory limitations on actions attacking tax deeds, but a deed void for defective notice/due process can be attacked. (Exact limitations period (e.g., the 3-year suit-to-set-aside / 140 series) — needs_verification.)
  • Title insurance availability: available only after quiet title or seasoning, in most underwriters’ practice.
  • Common defects: defective/late 140.405 notice; missed recorded lienholders (mennonite-v-adams); certified mail returned unclaimed without further steps (schlereth-v-hardy-2009, jones-v-flowers); bankruptcy-stay violations; defective legal description; surplus/Tyler equity challenges.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

CaseYearTopicHolding (plain English)Source
schlereth-v-hardy-2009 (Schlereth v. Hardy, No. SC89402, 280 S.W.3d 47 (Mo. banc 2009))2009due_process / sale_procedureA RSMo 140.405 redemption notice sent to the former owner by certified mail but returned unclaimed is insufficient under the Due Process Clause; failing to retrieve certified mail is not an affirmative refusal, so the purchaser must take additional reasonable steps (applying jones-v-flowers). Section 140.405 was unconstitutional as applied; the collector’s-deed process was upended.https://styronblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/collectors-deed-opinion_sc89402.pdf
harpagon-v-bosch-2012 (Harpagon MO, LLC v. Bosch, Mo. banc 2012)2012redemption / sale_procedureThe RSMo 140.405 notice of the right to redeem must be sent at least 90 days before the redemption period expires; a late notice does not satisfy the statute and the purchaser risks having the collector’s deed voided. (Reporter citation flagged for verification — FindLaw blocked retrieval.)https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mo-supreme-court/1606544.html
tyler-v-hennepin-county (Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023))2023surplusGovernment retaining surplus equity beyond the tax debt is an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth Amendment. The landmark Missouri’s surplus statutes (RSMo 140.230 escheat tail; 141.580) must reconcile with.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_v._Hennepin_County
jones-v-flowers (Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220 (2006))2006due_processReturned/unclaimed certified mail obligates the state (or its tax-deed purchaser) to take additional reasonable steps to notify before extinguishing property rights — the federal rule Schlereth applied to RSMo 140.405.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_v._Flowers

Topic coverage: due_process ✓ (Schlereth; Jones), sale_procedure ✓ (Schlereth; Harpagon), redemption ✓ (Harpagon — 90-day notice/redemption interplay), surplus ✓ (Tyler — reconciled against 140.230/141.580; a Missouri-specific surplus-holding case is flagged in needs_verification).

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

  • bankruptcy-automatic-stay — a bankruptcy petition by the owner before the collector’s deed issues stays the deed; the certificate holder’s remedy is to seek stay relief. (Missouri-specific procedural cite — needs_verification.)
  • federal-tax-lien-redemption — the United States has a 120-day post-sale redemption right under 26 U.S.C. § 7425 when a federal tax lien encumbers the parcel; the collector’s deed does not extinguish it absent proper IRS notice.
  • heirs-property — heirs and equitable owners are “persons having an interest” entitled to redeem (RSMo 140.340) and to RSMo 140.405 notice; diligent record inquiry must locate them.
  • Post-third / subsequent-offering “no redemption” (state-specific): a purchaser at a subsequent (post-third) offering gets an immediate collector’s deed with no redemption period (RSMo 140.250) — the highest-risk, highest-reward Missouri tax-sale tier, and the one most exposed to Tyler/ due-process attack because the owner loses all equity with the shortest process.
  • Surplus escheat to county school fund (state-specific): unclaimed Chapter 140 surplus becomes the county permanent school fund after 3 years (RSMo 140.230) — the principal Tyler-vulnerability and the key business deadline for surplus recovery (claim within 90 days of redemption expiry, recover within 3 years).
  • void-vs-voidable — defective 140.405 notice renders the deed voidable/void as applied (Schlereth); quiet title commonly required (module 7).

10. Operations

  • Where records live: county collector (delinquency, sale, certificates of purchase, 140.405 affidavits, surplus), county commission (surplus claims), county recorder (certificates of purchase, collector’s deeds), circuit court (Chapter 141 foreclosure, interpleader of contested surplus, quiet title). St. Louis City: City Collector of Revenue / Sheriff (Chapter 141).
  • Public portals: Missouri Revisor of Statutes https://revisor.mo.gov/main/Home.aspx; county collector sites (e.g., Greene County https://greenecountymo.gov/collector/tax_sale/faq.php); Missouri State Treasurer / Unclaimed Property https://www.sos.mo.gov (escheated funds, after 3-yr county school-fund route per 140.230).
  • Typical costs: redemption = certificate amount + costs + 10%/yr + subs at 8%/yr (RSMo 140.340); buyer pays full bid (often cashier’s check, same day) plus recording and 140.405 title-search/mailing costs.
  • Typical timelines: sale 4th Monday in August; redemption 1 yr (1st/2nd offering) / 90 days (3rd) / none (subsequent); 140.405 notice ≥ 90 days before deed; surplus claim within 90 days of redemption expiry, escheat at 3 years; mortgage 1-yr redemption only on debt-holder buy-in with notice + bond.
  • Key agencies: County Collector; County Commission; County Recorder; Circuit Court; (Ch. 141) County/City Sheriff & Collector of Revenue; Missouri State Tax Commission (Chapter 140 procedure manual).
  • Useful forms: RSMo 140.405 notice of right to redeem + affidavit of notice; request for collector’s deed; surplus claim to the county commission (RSMo 140.230). (Form numbers vary by county.)

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