Missouri judgment expiration is the question behind “how long is a judgment good for in Missouri”: a money judgment entered by a Missouri court is enforceable for a fixed number of years, it can be renewed if the creditor acts inside the window, and it earns interest the whole time.
This guide gives the Missouri figures in a dated table, explains what “dormant” means, how a creditor renews or revives a judgment, how the judgment becomes a lien on real property, what each side can do while it is alive, and how a paid judgment is cleared.
The Missouri judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Missouri statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Missouri Judgment Expiration at a Glance
| Enforceable for | 10 years from original rendition, or the last revival upon personal service, or the last payment entered on the record — whichever is latest |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Renewal window | before the 10 years run; after that the judgment is CONCLUSIVELY presumed paid and no execution, order or process may issue and no suit may be brought on it (516.350.1) |
| Post-judgment interest | non-tort judgments: the contract rate if the contract bore more than 9 percent, otherwise 9 percent per year until satisfied, on the full judgment balance (principal, prejudgment interest, costs… |
| Statute | RSMo 516.350 (10-year conclusive presumption of payment; revival; payment restarts); 408.040 (interest); Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.09 (revival procedure — court rule) |
In This Missouri Judgment Expiration Guide:
What a Money Judgment Is Before the Missouri Judgment Expiration Clock Starts
A money judgment is a court’s final ruling that one party owes another a set amount. In Missouri these are entered by the circuit courts, including their associate, small claims and probate divisions, and by federal courts sitting in the state. The judgment is the debt the court has recognized. A judgment lien is a separate claim that attaches that debt to the debtor’s real estate in a county.
The Missouri Judgment Expiration Figures
The Missouri Judgment Expiration figures in the table above apply to this part as well.
| Rule | Bonus Bank Daily verified figure |
|---|---|
| Statute | RSMo 516.350 (10-year conclusive presumption of payment; revival; payment restarts); 408.040 (interest); Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.09 (revival procedure — court rule)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Enforceable for | 10 yearsstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Clock runs from | original rendition, or the last revival upon personal service, or the last payment entered on the record — whichever is lateststatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewable | Yesstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| How it is renewed or kept alive | revival upon personal service on the debtor (the procedure is in the Missouri Supreme Court Rules, Rule 74.09 — a court rule; the page names it and links the court self-help page); a payment duly entered on the record also restarts the 10 years (516.350.1)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewal window | before the 10 years run; after that the judgment is CONCLUSIVELY presumed paid and no execution, order or process may issue and no suit may be brought on it (516.350.1)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Post-judgment interest | non-tort judgments: the contract rate if the contract bore more than 9 percent, otherwise 9 percent per year until satisfied, on the full judgment balance (principal, prejudgment interest, costs, fees); post-judgment payments apply to costs, then interest, then balance (408.040.1-2); tort judgments follow 408.040.3statute — verified Oct 2026 |
The Missouri judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Missouri statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Is there a judgment against you, or one you need to collect?
The renewal window and the exemption deadlines in Missouri are short and they do not wait. A Missouri debt defense or collections attorney can read the docket and tell you where you stand, usually in a free first consultation. Every state bar runs a lawyer-referral service that sets up a low-cost first consultation; legal aid represents many people in debt cases at no cost.
What Missouri Judgment Expiration Actually Means
This part of the Missouri Judgment Expiration guide uses the same sources listed at the end of the page.
When the time limit runs out without a revival or a payment entered on the record, Missouri treats the judgment as paid by law, even if no money changed hands. From then on, the creditor generally cannot use the court to collect: no garnishments, executions or new lawsuits on that judgment. Confirm the status of a specific judgment with the circuit clerk or an attorney.
Renewal and Revival Under the Missouri Judgment Expiration Rule
Check each Missouri Judgment Expiration point here against your own court papers before you act.
1) The judgment creditor files a motion for revival in the same court that entered the judgment. 2) The court issues an order to show cause. 3) The order is served on the judgment debtor (or their successors or legal representatives) under the court’s service rules. 4) The debtor may appear and object, and the court considers any response.
5) If the debtor does not appear or show cause, the court enters an order reviving the judgment, which also revives the lien (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.08).
The Judgment Lien in Missouri
If your paperwork differs from this Missouri Judgment Expiration summary, the court record controls.
Under RSMo 511.350, judgments of the circuit and probate divisions, appellate courts and federal courts in Missouri become liens on the debtor’s real estate in the county where the court sits. Small claims and municipal judgments do not create liens, and associate-division judgments generally must be filed with the circuit clerk first. For another county, the creditor files a transcript of the judgment with that county’s circuit clerk.
Under RSMo 511.360 the lien runs on the same clock as the judgment, revives with it, and reaches real estate the debtor acquires later.
Interest on a Missouri Judgment
Every Missouri Judgment Expiration figure on this page is dated and tied to a source below.
In most cases interest builds automatically on the unpaid balance from the date the judgment is entered until it is paid, without the judge making a separate finding. For tort judgments, the rate is tied to the federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve, and the judgment itself must state the rate, which then stays fixed.
To check the figure on a specific judgment, read the judgment or ask the circuit clerk.
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What a Creditor Can Do While the Missouri Judgment Is Alive
Keep the Missouri Judgment Expiration deadlines above in mind as you read this section.
Bank levy: the creditor can seek a garnishment in aid of execution (Rule 90) directing a bank to hold non-exempt funds. Wage garnishment: under Rule 90 and RSMo 525.030 an employer withholds part of each paycheck, generally capped at 25 percent of weekly earnings after required withholdings, or 10 percent for a Missouri-resident head of family.
Property execution: the creditor can have the clerk issue a writ of execution so the sheriff can levy on non-exempt property (Rule 76). Debtor examination: after an execution comes back unsatisfied, the court may order the debtor to answer questions under oath about assets (Rule 76.27), and discovery in aid of execution is available under Rule 76.28.
What a Debtor Can Do Before the Missouri Judgment Expiration
The Missouri Judgment Expiration rules here are general — a local court rule can add a step.
Claim exemptions: a debtor may file a request for exemptions under RSMo 513.430 and 513.440, including the head-of-family affidavit that releases 90 percent of wages (OSCA form CV96). Negotiate a satisfaction: parties may put a payment agreement in writing and file it with the court, as the Missouri Small Claims Court Handbook suggests.
Pay through the court: payments can generally be made through the circuit clerk so they are entered on the record; confirm the process with the clerk. Move to vacate a default: under Rule 74.05(d), a motion showing good cause and a meritorious defense must be filed within a reasonable time, and no later than one year after the default judgment.
Out-of-State Judgments in Missouri
A judgment from another state or a federal court is enforced by registering it under Missouri’s Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Law, RSMo 511.760, with a verified petition filed in a Missouri circuit court and served on the debtor. Under Rule 74.14 the debtor may plead to set the registration aside, generally only for lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice or fraud.
Once registered, it is treated like a Missouri judgment. In Leung v. Tuen Fu, a Missouri appellate court applied Missouri’s own time limit to a foreign judgment and refused registration of one that was already too old.
Clearing a Paid Missouri Judgment
Once a judgment is paid, Rule 74.11 requires the judgment creditor, their attorney of record or an authorized agent to file an acknowledgment of satisfaction immediately (form CV250, or SC60 for small claims, under RSMo 511.570). If the creditor does not, any interested person may apply to the court that entered the judgment for an order showing satisfaction.
RSMo 511.620 also provides proceedings when a creditor refuses to satisfy within a reasonable time after a request.
For child support and maintenance judgments, a separate subsection of the same dormancy statute starts the clock separately for each periodic payment from its due date, and a payment on the record can revive the arrears. The 90 percent head-of-family wage release does not apply to garnishments for child support, maintenance, or taxes plus interest. The satisfaction forms cannot be used for judgments with ongoing support obligations.
Next rung: what a creditor can take from a bank account, and what is protected, is the next question — the Missouri bank-levy page joins this guide when that cluster is live; until then, the CFPB debt-collection page in the sources below is the place to read.
Missouri — the bottom line
- Missouri judgment expiration runs on a fixed clock from the date in the table above; when it passes, the creditor’s court tools stop unless the judgment was renewed in time.
- Renewal under the Missouri judgment expiration rule is the creditor’s job, on the window in the table; a judgment nobody renewed is the one a debtor can finally stop paying on.
- Interest keeps running until the judgment is paid or the Missouri judgment expiration date arrives — the rate and who publishes it are in the table.
Missouri Judgment Expiration FAQ
How long is a judgment good for in Missouri?
A Missouri money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from original rendition, or the last revival upon personal service, or the last payment entered on the record — whichever is latest, and it can be renewed. When the time limit runs out without a revival or a payment entered on the record, Missouri treats the judgment as paid by law, even if no money changed hands.
Can a judgment be renewed in Missouri?
revival upon personal service on the debtor (the procedure is in the Missouri Supreme Court Rules, Rule 74.09 — a court rule; the page names it and links the court self-help page); a payment duly entered on the record also restarts the 10 years (516.350.1)
Does a Missouri judgment expiration mean the debt is gone?
When the time limit runs out without a revival or a payment entered on the record, Missouri treats the judgment as paid by law, even if no money changed hands. From then on, the creditor generally cannot use the court to collect: no garnishments, executions or new lawsuits on that judgment.
What interest does a Missouri judgment earn?
non-tort judgments: the contract rate if the contract bore more than 9 percent, otherwise 9 percent per year until satisfied, on the full judgment balance (principal, prejudgment interest, costs, fees); post-judgment payments apply to costs, then interest, then balance (408.040.1-2); tort judgments follow 408.040.3
Official Missouri Sources & Resources
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=516.350
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=408.040
- Missouri statute / opinion: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=511.350
- Missouri Courts (Supreme Court of Missouri) – Supreme Court Rules, Part 76 Executions, and Missouri Small Claims Court Handbook: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=200277
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: consumerfinance.gov
- CFPB — Debt collection: know your rights: consumerfinance.gov
This Missouri judgment expiration guide was last verified against official Missouri sources in October 2026. Rules change — confirm the current rule with the statute or a licensed attorney.
More Missouri Money Rights Guides
- Missouri Bank Levy Exemptions
- Missouri Debt Collection Lawsuit
- Missouri Small Claims Limit
- Money Rights Guides for All 50 States
Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Bonus Bank Daily is an independent educational resource — not a law firm, not a bank, not a debt collector and not a government agency. Judgment, levy, interest-rate and debt rules change — every figure here carries the date we verified it.
Confirm the current rule with the statute, the court clerk or a licensed attorney in your state before you act.