Missouri follows which recording system?

The Torrens system is a title registration system — not a recording statute — used in a small number of states like Minnesota and Hawaii, where a court issues a certificate of title that is conclusive evidence of ownership; Missouri does not use the Torrens system and instead relies on the traditional deed recording system.

A pure race statute, used in states like North Carolina and Louisiana, awards priority simply to whoever records first, regardless of whether they had knowledge of a prior unrecorded claim; Missouri rejects this approach because it would allow a bad-faith buyer who knows of a prior sale to win simply by running to the recorder's office first.

A pure notice statute protects subsequent bona fide purchasers without notice of prior claims, even if they never record their own deed; Missouri's statute is stricter than pure notice because it also requires the subsequent purchaser to actually record first, making 'pure notice statute' an incorrect characterization of Missouri law.