Missouri Hit and Run Laws: Penalty Tiers and Reporting Duties

Under Missouri hit and run laws, leaving the scene of an accident is a Class A misdemeanor when only minor property damage occurred, a Class E felony if someone was injured, property damage topped $1,000, or you have a prior conviction, and a Class D felony if someone died.¹ A conviction under the state statute also adds 12 points to your driving record, which is enough on its own to trigger revocation.²

What Counts as Leaving the Scene

Any accident that causes injury, death, or property damage triggers a duty to stop and share information. You give the other party, or a law enforcement officer, your name, your residence including city and street number, your vehicle registration or license plate number, and your driver’s license number. If no officer is on scene, you report to the nearest law enforcement agency.¹

Hitting a parked car and leaving a note on the windshield doesn’t satisfy the statute. If you can’t locate the owner of the vehicle or property you damaged, you still have to report the accident to law enforcement.

The Three Penalty Tiers

The charge depends entirely on what happened in the accident.

Class A Misdemeanor

If the accident caused only minor property damage (under $1,000) and no one was hurt, leaving is a Class A misdemeanor.¹ That carries up to one year in county jail, plus any fine the court imposes.³ This is the baseline charge for the parking-lot backing incident where someone drives off.

Class E Felony

The charge jumps to a Class E felony in three situations: someone suffered physical injury, property damage exceeded $1,000, or you have a prior leaving-the-scene conviction, including an equivalent conviction from another state.¹ A Class E felony carries up to four years in prison, though a judge has discretion to impose up to one year in county jail instead of state prison.³ The $1,000 damage threshold catches people off guard; moderate fender damage often crosses it.

Class D Felony

If someone died as a result of the accident, leaving the scene is a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.¹³ This is a separate charge from any vehicular manslaughter the prosecutor may file. Staying and cooperating leads to a materially different outcome than fleeing a fatal crash.

License Points, Suspension, and Reinstatement

A leaving-the-scene conviction under Section 577.060 adds 12 points to your driving record. If the offense is charged under a county or municipal ordinance instead of the state statute, it adds 6 points.²

Missouri suspends your license at 8 points in 18 months and revokes it at 12 points in 12 months, 18 points in 24 months, or 24 points in 36 months. A single state-level hit and run conviction puts you at the revocation line in one shot. With proof of financial responsibility on file, reinstatement after a revocation comes one year later; without it, the revocation runs two years.⁴

Getting your license back requires filing an SR-22 form showing liability insurance and keeping that coverage for two years. You also pay a $45 reinstatement fee to the Department of Revenue.⁵ These administrative penalties apply no matter what the criminal court does. Probation with no jail time still leaves you with the points, the SR-22, and the higher insurance premiums that come with high-risk classification.

The 30-Day Written Report

Separate from anything that happens at the scene, Missouri requires a written accident report filed with the Department of Revenue within 30 days. The form is the Motor Vehicle Accident Report (Form 1140), available on the Department of Revenue website or at any license office.⁶

You must file this report if the accident involved an uninsured motorist and caused property damage over $500, or if someone was injured or killed. You also must file if you don’t carry liability insurance, regardless of fault.⁷ Skipping it when required can suspend both your driver’s license and your vehicle registration. The police report at the scene does not substitute for this filing.

If You Were the One Hit

Call 911 right away. You need a police report on file for both the criminal investigation and any insurance claim. If you can safely do so, write down the other vehicle’s plate number, make, model, and color. Photograph the damage, the surrounding area, and any debris left behind. Talk to bystanders and get their contact information before they leave.

Missouri requires every auto policy to include uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. When the driver who hit you can’t be identified, your UM coverage becomes the primary source of compensation for medical expenses and related damages. Read your policy carefully: some require physical contact between the vehicles for hit and run coverage to apply, while others cover no-contact incidents such as being forced off the road.

If investigators later identify the driver, you can sue for your injuries and property damage. Missouri gives you five years to file a personal injury claim.⁸ A criminal conviction against the driver doesn’t block a civil case; it often strengthens one by establishing fault.

Defenses That Actually Matter

The statute requires that the driver had “knowledge of such accident” before leaving becomes a crime.¹ That knowledge element is where most contested cases are fought. If you genuinely didn’t realize contact had occurred, say from a minor scrape at low speed or road conditions that masked the impact, the prosecution still has to prove you knew. Dash cam footage and witness statements matter heavily on both sides.

Emergency circumstances can also factor in. A driver who leaves to transport a seriously injured passenger to the hospital, or to reach a phone and call 911, stands on different ground than one who simply drove home. Courts look at whether the departure was driven by a genuine emergency and whether the driver took reasonable steps to report the accident afterward. Returning to the scene or contacting police soon after leaving weighs in the driver’s favor.

Prior convictions deserve attention of their own. Because a second leaving-the-scene offense becomes a Class E felony automatically, regardless of how minor the new incident is, anyone with a prior on their record faces much higher stakes on any new charge. An equivalent conviction from another state counts the same as a Missouri one.¹

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 577.060 – Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Penalties
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.302 – Point System, Assessment for Violation
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Imprisonment, Authorized Terms
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 302.304 – Suspension or Revocation of License, When
5
Missouri Department of Revenue. Reinstatement Requirements
6
Missouri Department of Revenue. Accident Information
7
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 303.040 – All Motor Vehicle Accidents to Be Reported
8
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 516.120 – Actions Within Five Years