Car Accident Laws in Missouri: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

Missouri is an at-fault (tort) state, not a no-fault state. There is no state-mandated PIP coverage — the driver who caused the crash, or their liability insurance, is responsible for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. If you need to sue over a crash injury, Missouri's statute of limitations is generally five years from the date of the crash under RSMo § 516.120 — but if a government vehicle or government employee was involved, you may have to give formal written notice in as little as 90 days, so don't wait to sort out who was driving. The rest of this guide walks through insurance minimums, deadlines, and what shared fault does to a claim in Missouri.

Is Missouri a no-fault or at-fault state?

Missouri is a tort (at-fault) state. Missouri does not require drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) or no-fault coverage, and there's no threshold you have to clear before suing the at-fault driver. In practice this means:

• The at-fault driver's bodily-injury liability insurance is the primary source of payment for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
• You (or your own med-pay/health insurance) generally cover your own initial medical bills, then seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver's insurer or through a lawsuit.
• You can sue the at-fault driver directly for damages beyond what insurance pays, subject to Missouri's shared-fault rule (below).

Some drivers carry optional medical-payments ("med-pay") coverage that pays your own medical bills regardless of fault, but Missouri does not require insurers to include it. Confirm what's on your own policy with your agent or the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Minimum auto insurance required in Missouri

Missouri's financial-responsibility law, RSMo § 303.190, sets minimum liability limits commonly written as 25/50/25:

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident (when more than one person is hurt)
• $25,000 property damage liability per accident

Missouri also requires uninsured motorist (UM) bodily-injury coverage on every auto policy issued in the state, at the same $25,000/$50,000 limits, under RSMo § 379.203 — this protects you if the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is not mandatory in Missouri; you have to affirmatively purchase it (and higher limits) if you want protection against an at-fault driver who is insured but doesn't carry enough coverage to pay your damages.

Missouri does not require PIP or medical-payments coverage. These minimums are floors, not adequate protection in a serious crash — many injured drivers discover the at-fault driver only carried the state minimum, which is why UIM coverage is worth strong consideration. Verify current limits with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance or the Missouri Department of Revenue before relying on these figures, since minimums can change by legislation.

How long do you have to sue after a Missouri car accident?

Under RSMo § 516.120, Missouri gives you:

• Five years from the date of the crash to file a personal-injury lawsuit against another driver.
• Five years from the date of the crash to sue for property damage (vehicle repair or diminished value), also under RSMo § 516.120.

Related deadlines to know:

• Wrongful death claims arising from a fatal crash must generally be filed within three years under RSMo § 537.100.
• If a government entity or government employee (a city, county, or state vehicle) was involved, you may face a much shorter notice deadline — sometimes as little as 90 days — under the relevant municipal charter or tort-claims notice provision (see below). This is far shorter than the general five-year window, and missing it can bar your claim entirely regardless of the statute of limitations.

These deadlines and any tolling rules (for minors or claims of incapacity, for example) can be technical. Because filing even one day late generally forfeits the claim, confirm the exact deadline that applies to your facts with the current text of the statute or a Missouri attorney rather than relying on a general guide.

Missouri's shared-fault rule: pure comparative fault

Missouri follows pure comparative fault, the rule the Missouri Supreme Court adopted in Gustafson v. Benda in 1983 when it replaced the older, harsher doctrine of contributory negligence. (Missouri's separate comparative-fault statute, RSMo § 537.765, applies only to product-liability claims, not to ordinary car-crash negligence.) Under pure comparative fault:

• You can recover damages even if you were partly — or mostly — at fault for the crash.
• Your compensation is reduced by your own percentage of fault. If you're awarded $100,000 in damages but found 30% at fault, you'd recover $70,000.
• Unlike "modified comparative fault" states that cut off recovery entirely at 50% or 51% fault, Missouri has no cutoff — even a driver found 90% at fault can still recover the remaining 10% of their damages.

Fault percentages are typically decided by the insurance adjuster during a claim, or by a jury if the case goes to trial, based on the police report, witness statements, and physical evidence.

Crash reporting requirements in Missouri

Missouri law requires a crash to be reported when it involves injury, death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more to any one person:

• An investigating officer must forward a report to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's crash reporting system within 10 days of investigating, under RSMo § 43.250.
• Separately, under RSMo § 303.040, if no officer investigates the crash, the driver(s) involved may be required to file their own report — the Motor Vehicle Accident Report — with the Missouri Department of Revenue's Driver License Bureau.

Because the exact self-reporting deadline and current form can change, confirm the current requirement and get the form directly from the Missouri Department of Revenue's accident information page or the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash reports page. In practice, call 911 or local police any time there's an injury, and request an officer respond to any crash you're unsure meets the threshold — a police-generated report is far easier to rely on later than a self-filed one.

Damage caps and shorter deadlines for government-vehicle crashes

Missouri generally protects cities, counties, and the state from lawsuits through sovereign immunity — but RSMo § 537.600 waives that immunity specifically for injuries caused by a public employee's negligent operation of a motor vehicle in the course of their job. If you're hit by a police cruiser, city truck, school bus, or other government vehicle, you can generally still bring a claim, but two things are different:

• Damage caps: Under RSMo § 537.610, total recovery against certain public entities can be capped — the base statutory figures are $300,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence, and these amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. Confirm the current-year figures with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance or the Missouri Register before assuming a number.
• Shorter notice deadlines: Many Missouri cities and counties require written notice of a claim within a short window — commonly around 90 days of the crash — under their charter or applicable notice statute (for example, RSMo § 82.210 for certain cities). This is separate from, and much shorter than, the five-year lawsuit deadline. If a government vehicle or employee was involved in any way, treat notice as urgent and confirm the applicable deadline immediately — do not wait to see if you'll need to file a claim.

What to do after a crash in Missouri

1. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, and request police response for any crash involving injury or significant damage — a police report will be central to any claim.
2. Move to safety if the vehicles are drivable and it's safe to do so, and turn on hazard lights.
3. Exchange information — name, address, phone, driver's license number, license plate, and insurance company/policy number — with every other driver involved.
4. Get witness contact information before people leave the scene.
5. Photograph everything — vehicle positions, damage, license plates, road conditions, skid marks, traffic signs/signals, and any visible injuries.
6. Get medical care promptly, even if you feel okay — some injuries (especially soft-tissue and head injuries) don't show symptoms right away, and a documented gap in treatment can hurt a later claim.
7. Report the crash to police if they don't already respond, and separately notify your own insurer of the crash promptly (most policies require prompt notice regardless of fault).
8. If a government vehicle was involved, find out the notice deadline immediately — it may be far shorter than you'd expect.
9. Keep records of medical bills, lost wages, repair estimates, and any correspondence with insurers.
10. Be careful with recorded statements to the other driver's insurance company before you understand the full extent of your injuries and who was at fault.

This article is general information about Missouri law, not legal advice for your specific situation — confirm current statutes and deadlines with an official source or a Missouri attorney before acting.