Legislative Changes

The following list contains substantive legislative changes to Missouri lending laws which took effect on August 28, 2021. This list is for reference purposes only and not intended to be exhaustive, a legal opinion, or official commentary. The entirety of the bills (SB 106 and SB 176) may be found at the following website: https://house.mo.gov/billcentral.aspx

Any questions regarding these changes may be sent to the Missouri Division of Finance via email at finance@dof.mo.gov or by phone to 573-751-3242.

Consumer Lending Laws

Statute 301.558 - Changes the administrative fee available to dealers under the safe harbor for the unauthorized practice of law from $200 to $500 under certain conditions. Also, the bill contains an annual inflation adjustment to allow the amount of the fee to change in the future.

Statute 365.140 - Adds a section to require that upon payment in full of a Motor Vehicle contract the holder of the contract must provide a copy of the contract marked paid or provide a letter referencing the paid account by including information such as the loan date and account number.

Statute 367.150 - Is repealed in its’ entirety eliminating the requirement of lenders to file the annual report previously required by the Division of Finance.

Statute 408.035 - The five thousand dollar minimum is removed for business loans and now includes ANY extension of credit primarily for agricultural, business, or commercial purposes.

Statute 408.100 - Amends the applicability of this section concerning interest on consumer loans to no longer exclude certain items such as livestock and farm machinery.

Statute 408.140 - Adds reasonable and bona fide third-party fees incurred for remote or electronic lien filings to the actual and necessary fees allowed to be passed on to customers on consumer loans. Statute 408.233 is amended to do the same for second mortgage loans. Statute 408.250 is amended to do the same for retail purchase contracts.

Statute 408.178 - The six hundred dollar minimum loan requirement was removed from this section. Coupled with the repeal of section 408.140.1(9) this section becomes the primary deferment/extension language for simple interest consumer loans.

Statute 408.234 - The limitation requiring all second mortgage loans to exceed an initial principal amount of twenty five hundred dollars or more has been removed.

Statute 408.554 - Subsection five is repealed thus eliminating the requirement that borrowers who default multiple times be given a notice that in case of further default the borrower will have no right to cure.