Bankruptcy in Missouri

In Missouri you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): $15,000 in your home and the land used with it.

You file in one of 2 federal bankruptcy courts:

What can I keep?Do I pass the means test?Where do I file?Free help

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓

What you can keep in Missouri

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Missouri list. The federal list is not available in Missouri.

Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.427

What	Missouri exemption
Home (homestead)	$15,000 in your home and the land used with it. If several owners claim it, they share one $15,000 total. A mobile home you live in that is not on land you own: up to $5,000 instead. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2027, the homestead rises to $40,000. Law: 513.430.1(6); 2026 H.B. 1870; Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.475
Car or other vehicle	$3,000 total in motor vehicles. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(5)
Household goods and clothing	$3,000 total in household furnishings, goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments; a wedding ring up to $1,500 and other jewelry up to $500 total; firearms and ammunition up to $1,500 total. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(1), (2), (12)
Wildcard (any property)	$600 in any property. If you are the head of a family: another $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 (or disabled dependent). Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(3); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.440
Tools of your trade	$3,000 total in tools, implements and professional books of your trade (or a dependent's). Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(4)
Wages	Missouri limits how much of your pay a creditor can garnish: no more than the smallest of 25% of weekly earnings after required deductions, the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 10% if you are a head of family living in Missouri. Support orders, tax debts and Chapter 13 orders are not limited this way. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 525.030.2
Retirement accounts	Money in, and payments from, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, health savings plans or similar plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 are exempt, including inherited accounts, except against an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, and IRAs/Roth IRAs are not exempt from child support or maintenance orders. In bankruptcy, money put into a plan as a fraudulent transfer within 3 years before filing is not exempt. Other pensions and annuities are exempt as far as reasonably necessary for your support. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(10)(e)-(f), 513.430.2
Public benefits	Your right to Social Security, unemployment, public assistance, veterans' benefits, and disability or illness benefits is exempt. Alimony or support: up to $750 a month. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(10)(a)-(d)
Other exemptions	Unmatured life insurance policies; their cash or loan value up to $150,000 in bankruptcy (not policies bought within 1 year before filing), and up to $15,000 of life insurance paid for funeral costs of a spouse, child or parent. Wrongful death payments for a person you depended on, as needed for support. MOST 529 college savings accounts for a lineal descendant, except contributions made in the 2 years before filing. Professionally prescribed health aids. Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(7)-(8); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(11); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(13); Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430.1(9)

Amounts: Current amounts: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.430 version effective August 28, 2022, and 513.475 version effective August 28, 2003 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes). Both are replaced on January 1, 2027 by 2026 SS HCS H.B. 1870 (approved by the Governor May 6, 2026; Section B sets the January 1, 2027 date). From April 1, 2029 the amounts will be adjusted for inflation every 3 years.

The means test in Missouri: first step

Official Form 122A-1 compares your household's yearly income with the median income in Missouri. Here are the official medians:

1 person$64,972
2 people$82,075
3 people$100,228
4 people$118,530
Each extra person+$11,100

Applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. 1 = one earner; 2, 3, 4 = people in the household; add = amount added for each person over 4

Where to file in Missouri

You file in the federal bankruptcy district where you lived (your domicile) for most of the 180 days before you file. Missouri has two districts, Eastern and Western. Eastern District divisional map: https://www.moeb.uscourts.gov/divisional-map; Western District courthouse locations: https://www.mow.uscourts.gov/offices

Law: 28 U.S.C. 1408

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Divisions: St. Louis (Eastern, staffed); Cape Girardeau (Southeastern) and Hannibal (Northern), staffed only on court days

Clerk's phone: (314) 244-4500

Court's self-help page

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri

Divisions: Clerk's office in Kansas City; courthouses in Kansas City, Jefferson City and Springfield

Clerk's phone: 816-512-1800

Court's self-help page

Free help in Missouri

Free letter and checklist

Letter: tell a creditor you filed bankruptcy

Notice to a creditor or debt collector with your case number, court, filing date and chapter.

Checklist: what to gather before you file

Income, tax returns, debts, property and budget papers the federal forms ask about, with Missouri's courts.

Bankruptcy in Missouri by topic

Exemptions in Missouri

Home, car, household goods, wildcard and more, with the law for each.

The means test in Missouri

The official median income and the first-step check.

Where to file in Missouri

The bankruptcy courts, divisions, fees and the 341 meeting.

Good to know in Missouri

Missouri does not let you use the federal exemption list. You must use Missouri's exemptions.
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.427
Big increases start January 1, 2027: homestead $40,000; household goods $15,000; motor vehicles $5,000 plus up to $10,000 of any unused household-goods amount; jewelry $1,700 plus a wedding ring up to $1,500; wildcard $1,700; mobile home $12,000. Your exemptions are the ones in effect on the day you file, so a case filed before January 1, 2027 uses the current amounts.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(A)
If you are a head of family, Missouri gives an extra $1,250 wildcard plus $350 per unmarried dependent child under 21 or disabled dependent.
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.440

Changes in 2024–2026

Enacted in 2026: SS HCS H.B. 1870, approved by the Governor May 6, 2026, effective January 1, 2027 for 513.430 and 513.475: homestead $15,000 to $40,000; household goods $3,000 to $15,000; other jewelry $500 to $1,700 (wedding ring stays $1,500); wildcard $600 to $1,700; motor vehicles $3,000 to $5,000 plus up to $10,000 of unused household-goods exemption; mobile home $5,000 to $12,000; health savings accounts (IRC 223) named expressly. Tools of trade ($3,000), firearms ($1,500), life insurance cash value ($150,000) and the head-of-family amounts are unchanged. New 513.423: amounts adjusted for inflation on April 1, 2029 and every 3 years after; an adjustment does not apply to cases filed before it.

Law: 513.440

Questions about bankruptcy in Missouri

Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in Missouri?

No. Missouri requires you to use the state exemptions.

What is the homestead exemption in Missouri?

$15,000 in your home and the land used with it.

How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in Missouri?

$3,000 total in motor vehicles.

Does Missouri have a wildcard exemption?

$600 in any property. If you are the head of a family: another $1,250 plus $350 for each unmarried dependent child under 21 (or disabled dependent).

What household goods can I keep in Missouri?

$3,000 total in household furnishings, goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops and musical instruments; a wedding ring up to $1,500 and other jewelry up to $500 total; firearms and ammunition up to $1,500 total.

Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in Missouri?

Money in, and payments from, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, health savings plans or similar plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRAs), 408A (Roth IRAs) or 409 are exempt, including inherited accounts, except against an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, and IRAs/Roth IRAs are not exempt from child support or maintenance orders. In bankruptcy, money put into a plan as a fraudulent transfer within 3 years before filing is not exempt. Other pensions and annuities are exempt as far as reasonably necessary for your support.

Are my wages protected in Missouri?

Missouri limits how much of your pay a creditor can garnish: no more than the smallest of 25% of weekly earnings after required deductions, the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 10% if you are a head of family living in Missouri. Support orders, tax debts and Chapter 13 orders are not limited this way.

Where do I file bankruptcy in Missouri?

What is the median income for the means test in Missouri?

For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026: 1 person: $64,972; 2 people: $82,075; 3 people: $100,228; 4 people: $118,530; Each extra person: +$11,100.

Where can I get free help with bankruptcy in Missouri?

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Legal Aid of Western Missouri and The Missouri Bar (main office).