Franklin County Property Records

Franklin County property records go back to 1819, making them some of the oldest land documents in Missouri. The Recorder of Deeds office in Union keeps all deeds, liens, plats, and other real estate filings for the county. You can search Franklin County property records at the courthouse or reach the office by phone to ask about a specific parcel. Whether you need a copy of a deed or want to check for liens on a piece of land, the recorder's staff can help you find what you need. Franklin County sits just west of St. Louis County and has grown steadily over the past two decades.

Franklin County Recorder of Deeds

Lisa A. Smart serves as the Franklin County Recorder of Deeds. Her office is on the first floor of the county building in Union. The staff handles all property document filings and provides copies of recorded instruments to the public. You can walk in during business hours or call ahead to check on a document before you visit.

The Franklin County Recorder of Deeds office accepts real estate transfers, deeds of trust, releases, liens, plats, and surveys for recording. Each document must meet Missouri formatting standards under Chapter 59 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, which calls for 8.5 by 11 inch paper with a 3-inch top margin and type no smaller than 8 points. Documents that do not meet these rules get hit with an extra $25 non-standard fee on top of the base recording cost. The office also records federal tax liens, state tax liens, and mechanic's liens filed against Franklin County properties. Staff can help you figure out which type of document you need to file or find in the records.

How to Search Franklin County Property Records

You can look up Franklin County property records in person at the recorder's office in Union. The office keeps a computer index that covers documents from 1870 to the present. For older records dating back to 1819, there is a grantee book that staff can pull for you. Bring the property address, the owner's name, or a legal description if you have one. The more details you can give, the faster the search will go.

The Missouri Recorders Association website lists contact info for all 115 county recorder offices, including Franklin County. If you are not sure which county a property falls in, the association's directory can help you sort that out. For historical land patents in Franklin County, you can also check the Missouri Digital Heritage database, which holds over 280,000 entries of land records from 1777 to 1969.

Franklin County property records can also be searched through the federal Bureau of Land Management site for original land patents. Missouri was a public-domain state, and eight federal land offices handled sales here starting in 1818. If you are tracing the full chain of title on a Franklin County parcel, these federal records can fill in the earliest part of the ownership history.

Franklin County Recording Fees

Franklin County charges standard fees for recording property documents. The first page of a real estate document costs $24 to record. Each extra page adds $3. These fees apply to deeds, deeds of trust, releases, and most other instruments filed with the recorder's office.

Plats have a different fee schedule in Franklin County. An 18 by 24 inch plat costs $44 for the first page and $25 for each additional page. Surveys of the same size cost $24 for the first page and $5 for each extra page. If your document does not meet the formatting rules set by Missouri law, the office adds a $25 non-standard document fee. This penalty applies when papers use the wrong size, lack proper margins, or have type that is too small to read. You can avoid this charge by checking your document against the rules in RSMo Section 59.310 before you bring it in.

Note: Recording fees may change, so call the Franklin County Recorder at (636) 583-6367 to confirm current rates before you visit.

Franklin County Historical Land Records

Franklin County was established in November 1821. The recorder's office holds real estate transfer records dating to 1819, two years before the county was formally created. Marriage licenses also go back to 1819. The computer index covers documents from 1870 forward, while the grantee book fills the gap from 1819 to 1869.

These older Franklin County property records are useful for title searches that go back more than a century. They also serve as valuable tools for genealogy research and historical land ownership studies. The FamilySearch Missouri Land and Property guide can point you to additional resources for researching early Franklin County land transactions. Pre-1900 deeds for most Missouri counties are available through the FamilySearch catalog on microfilm, and Franklin County is no exception. Researchers looking into the earliest days of settlement in the lower Missouri River valley will find the county's records especially helpful since the area was among the first parts of the state to see significant American settlement.

Property Tax Records in Franklin County

The Franklin County Assessor's office handles property valuations. Missouri law requires the assessor to appraise all real property every odd-numbered year under RSMo Section 137.115. Residential property in Missouri is assessed at 19% of its market value. Agricultural land is assessed at 12%, and commercial property at 32%. These rates are set by state law and apply in Franklin County the same as everywhere else in Missouri.

Property tax bills in Franklin County go out by November 1 each year. Payment is due by December 31. The county collector handles tax payments and can provide tax payment history for any parcel. If you need to check back taxes or confirm that taxes are current on a Franklin County property, the collector's office is the place to call. Tax records are separate from the deed records kept by the recorder, but both offices are in the same county building in Union.

Franklin County Property Document Search

The Missouri Recorders Association provides a central directory for finding county recorder offices across the state, including the Franklin County Recorder of Deeds.

This statewide resource can help you locate the right office if you need property records from Franklin County or any neighboring county in Missouri. The site also has info on recording standards and e-recording options that some counties now offer.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Franklin County in Missouri. Property records are filed in the county where the land sits, so make sure you are searching the right county for your parcel.