St. Francois County Circuit Clerk Office
The St. Francois County Circuit Clerk is the court-record office for the county's Circuit Court. Missouri does not use a Texas-style district clerk and county clerk split for these court files. The Circuit Clerk supports Circuit Judges, Associate Circuit Judges, visiting judges of the 24th Judicial Circuit, courtroom operations, jury administration, and the electronic case records maintained for St. Francois County court proceedings. The county page describes the office as having civil, criminal, and probate divisions, with the original courthouse building used across the first and second floors.
The St. Francois County Circuit Clerk office page shows the official county source for clerk contact and division information.
That county office page is the local starting point for court-record questions that cannot be resolved through the statewide public case portal.
St. Francois County Circuit Clerk
1 North Washington Street, Suite 102
Farmington, MO 63640
573-756-4551
573-431-6505, Option 2 then 1
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
St. Francois County Clerk Distinctions
Three county offices are easy to confuse. The Circuit Clerk is the court-record office. The Recorder of Deeds handles deeds, liens, marriage licenses, surveys, plats, military discharge documents, Tapestry, Laredo, and certified marriage copies. The County Clerk is an administrative and election-focused county office. A request for a divorce decree, probate order, traffic docket, criminal case entry, small claims file, or civil judgment belongs with the Circuit Clerk. A request for a marriage license belongs with the Recorder of Deeds. A request about county elections or county administration belongs with the County Clerk.
| Office | Main record role | Farmington location |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk | Court files, dockets, certified court copies, jury support, probate division records | Courthouse, 1 North Washington Street |
| Recorder of Deeds | Marriage licenses, deeds, liens, plats, surveys, military discharge records | County Annex, 1 West Liberty Street |
| County Clerk | County administration and elections | County Annex, Suite 300 |
Note: Sending a court-copy request to the County Clerk can slow the process because the County Clerk is not the principal keeper of Circuit Court case files.
St. Francois County Circuit Clerk Duties
The Circuit Clerk's office is where local court proceedings begin and where electronic case records are maintained after filing. The county lists misdemeanor and felony criminal cases, traffic, dissolutions of marriage, modifications, paternity, adult abuse, adoptions, abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquent matters, associate and circuit civil cases, probate, small claims, and garnishments among the electronic proceedings the office handles. Clerks also assist courtrooms, summon jurors, maintain jury pools, and provide Passport Acceptance Agency service by appointment.
Clerk staff may answer procedural questions, help route a request to the correct division, and explain where records are kept. They cannot give legal advice. That means a clerk can explain copy procedures, fees, docket access, filing windows, and whether a form is available, but cannot tell a person what to file, what claim to make, how to defend a case, or whether a party is likely to win.
- Civil division: circuit civil, associate civil, small claims, garnishments, judgments, and related filings.
- Criminal division: felony, misdemeanor, traffic, charge, bond, plea, disposition, and sentencing docket records when public.
- Probate division: estates, wills, small estates, guardianship, conservatorship, trusts, and heirship matters.
- Family and juvenile-related files: dissolutions, modifications, paternity, adult abuse, adoption, abuse and neglect, and juvenile delinquent matters, with access limits where required.
- Jury and courtroom work: jury pool maintenance, juror summons duties, and courtroom assistance for local and visiting judges.
Request St. Francois County Clerk Records
Most public court-record searches begin with Missouri Case.net. The portal supports litigant name search, case number search, filing date search, scheduled hearings and trials, and judgment index searches. St. Francois County does not advertise a separate county-built court-record search for Circuit Clerk files. If Case.net does not show the record, the next step is direct contact with the Circuit Clerk by phone, in person, or by the official email contacts listed on the county page.
A written request does not need to be complex, but it should be specific. The clerk needs enough information to identify the file and produce the correct record. Older files, sealed or restricted matters, recently filed cases, and certified records often require more detail or office follow-up. For non-court county records, Missouri Attorney General Sunshine Law guidance routes the request to the agency that created or keeps the record.
| Request field | Required | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best when known | Directs the clerk to the exact court file and reduces name-match issues. |
| Party names | Yes | Needed when a case number is unknown or multiple cases may exist. |
| Case type | Helpful | Criminal, civil, traffic, probate, family, small claims, or garnishment narrows the division. |
| Document needed | Yes | Examples include decree, judgment, docket sheet, order, letters, or certified copy. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain copy and certified copy requests are handled differently. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Needed for fee totals, pickup, mail, or follow-up questions. |
St. Francois County Certified Copies
A certified court copy is a clerk-issued copy bearing official certification that it is a true copy from the court record. Certified copies are often needed for legal, licensing, employment, immigration, name-change, probate, or agency purposes. A printed online docket is not the same as a certified court copy. In St. Francois County, certified copies of divorce decrees, judgments, orders, probate letters, and other court papers should be requested from the Circuit Clerk.
- Search Case.net first and write down the case number, case type, party names, and document title if visible.
- Call or visit the Circuit Clerk to confirm the record is public, available, and eligible for certification.
- State whether a plain copy, certified copy, or both are needed.
- Ask for the current fee total, accepted payment method, and pickup or mail options.
- Review the copy when received to confirm the case number, party names, and certification match the request.
Certified-copy rule: Use the Circuit Clerk for certified court papers and the Recorder of Deeds for certified marriage copies.
St. Francois County Clerk Fees
The researched fee schedule gives filing fees for several St. Francois County Circuit Clerk case types. It did not provide a complete plain-copy or certified-copy per-page schedule in the captured text, so copy totals should be confirmed with the clerk before payment. Filing fees, however, are concrete local figures and help distinguish the court-record office from recorder or county administration fees.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Circuit civil filing | $95.50 |
| Domestic filing | $97.50 |
| Motion to modify | $97.50 |
| Family access motion | $97.50 |
| Adoption, not including birth certificate | $145.50 |
| Associate civil | $43.50 |
| Small claims | $20.50 |
| Small claims certified mail, one defendant | $39.50 |
| Small claims certified mail, two defendants | $58.50 |
| Mechanic's lien | $5.00 |
| Garnishment clerk fee | $10.00 |
| Expungement, circuit conviction | $93.50 |
| Expungement, circuit arrest records | $95.50 |
St. Francois County Clerk Forms
The county court information page links 24th Judicial Circuit local rules and domestic-relations forms. The researched form inventory names Rule 68-A through Rule 68-Q materials for dissolutions, legal separations, modifications, and family-law cases. These forms include party information, certificate of dissolution, interim family law order, asset and debt statement, income and expense statement, interrogatories, certificate of service, affidavits, waivers, venue forms, trial setting papers, and stipulations.
Forms and request channels are not interchangeable. Domestic forms are used to file or manage a family case. Case.net is used to search public dockets. The Circuit Clerk is used for copy requests and certified copies. Sunshine Law requests to other county agencies should go to the office that created or keeps the record, not to the Circuit Clerk simply because the courthouse is nearby.
- 24th Judicial Circuit local rules and domestic forms for family-law filings.
- Circuit Clerk filing fees for civil, family, probate, expungement, and small claims filings.
- Missouri Sunshine Law guidance for requests to the agency that maintains a non-court record.
For the broader public case search process, the St. Francois County court records page separates online lookup, clerk copy requests, and records that may be restricted or unavailable online.