Franklin County Circuit Court
Missouri uses circuit courts as its general trial courts. Franklin County belongs to Missouri's 20th Judicial Circuit. The Circuit Court includes divisions or case tracks for civil, criminal, domestic relations, juvenile, probate, associate circuit, small claims, municipal ordinance, and traffic matters. The elected Franklin County Circuit Clerk is the primary court-records clerk for cases filed in the Circuit Court. That structure is why many local records flow through the Circuit Clerk even when a case is labeled probate, domestic, traffic, associate, or municipal.
The main Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk record location is at the Judicial Center in Union. Franklin County also uses the Historic Courthouse for Franklin County Municipal Court. The county government ecosystem is split across nearby buildings, so a user looking for a court hearing, a certified court copy, a marriage license, a county Sunshine request, or a jail status update may need a different office even when all are in Union.
Franklin County Court Locations
The following table reflects the court and court-related locations captured in the research. It includes the main trial court, clerk departments, municipal court, and selected municipal divisions that may affect traffic, ordinance, and local case routing. The table is not a judge roster because the official research did not provide a current numbered-court roster for Franklin County.
| Court / Office | Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County Circuit Court, 20th Judicial Circuit | Primary trial court for civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, and related cases | 401 East Main St., Union, MO 63084 | (636) 583-7391 |
| Circuit Clerk Criminal Department | Criminal case files, court-charge records, case status, criminal records requests | 401 East Main St., Union, MO 63084 | 636-583-7365 |
| Circuit Clerk Civil Department | Civil, domestic, probate-related access and record requests | 401 East Main St., Union, MO 63084 | 636-583-7366 |
| Franklin County Municipal Court | Traffic citations, planning/zoning, health code, and building code violations | 15 South Church St., Room 306, Union, MO 63084 | 636-584-6286 |
| City of Union Municipal Division | Municipal cases now located at the Franklin County Courthouse | 401 East Main Street, Union, MO 63084 | 636-583-7391 |
| Pacific Municipal Court | Division of the 20th Judicial Circuit for city municipal matters | Pacific City Hall, city contact location | 636-271-0500 ext. 218 |
Missouri Circuit Court Structure
Missouri's court system places the Supreme Court of Missouri at the top, followed by the Missouri Court of Appeals and then the circuit courts as the trial courts. A Missouri judicial-circuit overview states that the state has 46 judicial circuits and that circuit courts have divisions managed by circuit judges, associate circuit judges, probate judges, municipal judges, and commissioners. For Franklin County, that means one court record category may include several kinds of cases and divisions.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is a separate federal trial court, not the Franklin County Circuit Court.
That distinction helps keep Missouri Circuit Court searches separate from federal PACER searches.
Circuit Associate Municipal Court
Franklin County court records can move through different divisions. Circuit Court has the broadest trial-level jurisdiction. Associate Circuit Court handles many lower-dollar civil cases, small claims, rent-and-possession matters, preliminary criminal matters, misdemeanors, and traffic depending on the filing. Municipal Court handles municipal ordinance violations, local traffic citations, planning and zoning code violations, health code matters, and building code violations.
| Point | Circuit Court | Associate Circuit Court | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical records | Felony, major civil, domestic, probate, juvenile, protection-order, and related case files | Small claims, lower-dollar civil, rent-and-possession, preliminary criminal, misdemeanor, and traffic matters | Traffic citations, municipal ordinance, planning/zoning, health code, and building code cases |
| Clerk channel | Franklin County Circuit Clerk | Franklin County Circuit Clerk | Franklin County Municipal Court or city municipal division |
| Online lookup | Case.net when public | Case.net when public | Case.net for many post-June-2022 matters, plus local municipal court channels |
| Copy route | Circuit Clerk request form for copies and certification | Circuit Clerk request form for copies and certification | Municipal court or Circuit Clerk depending on filing and case location |
Franklin County Case Movement
A Franklin County case record changes as pleadings, charges, motions, hearings, orders, payment entries, and dispositions are added. Criminal and civil matters do not move in the same path, but both create a docket trail that can be searched online if public and requested from the Circuit Clerk when a copy or certification is needed.
Criminal flow: Arrest or summons › charge filing › first appearance or arraignment › pretrial hearings › plea or trial › disposition › sentence, probation, payment, or appeal.
Civil flow: Petition filed › service › answer or default › motions and discovery › hearing or trial › judgment › post-judgment activity or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition or application › will or estate filing › fiduciary appointment › letters, notice, inventory, claims, accounting › final settlement and closing order.
Franklin County Probate Division
Probate is part of the Circuit Court in Franklin County. It is not a separate county probate court office. Probate case types can include wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, small estates, minor settlements, trust matters, creditor claims, inventories, accountings, letters testamentary or administration, and closing orders. Public probate cases may be searchable through Case.net, while copies and certified probate documents are requested from the Circuit Clerk.
Guardianship, conservatorship, mental-health-adjacent, minor, sealed, and protected records may have access limits. The Circuit Clerk page warns that confidential cases may require photo ID and a judge-approved application before inspection or copying. That warning is important because probate records often contain financial, medical, family, or capacity information.
Franklin County Courtroom Rules
The Circuit Clerk research includes courtroom audio-visual logistics. The court provides outlets for laptops, DVD/VCR hookup, a projector and screen, and electrical outlets. Attorneys and parties must provide their own cables, laptop, DVD/VCR, television, and other equipment. Scarlett Borgmann, court manager, can be contacted at (636) 583-6339 to test equipment at least three days before court.
These rules affect hearings more than record searches, but they are useful for litigants and attorneys preparing for a Franklin County Circuit Court proceeding. Courtroom technology needs should be resolved before the hearing date, not at the moment the case is called.
Franklin County Courthouse History
Franklin County was organized in 1818. The University of Missouri Extension courthouse guide says the county has had four courthouses. Newport, later known as Campbellton and Dundee, served as county seat from the county's organization until 1826 and was the site of the first courthouse. The guide identifies the later 1922 courthouse with architect Norman Howard of the firm Bonsack and Pearce. Modern sources also note a 2009 historic courthouse renovation with ADA, electrical, and HVAC upgrades.
The PACER lookup for the Eastern District of Missouri is included in the research because federal case access uses a different system from local Circuit Court records.
Federal PACER case lookup should not be used for ordinary Franklin County Circuit Court case files.
The Eastern District PACER page explains account access and fees for federal reports, docket sheets, and documents.
Those PACER fees apply to federal court access, while local Franklin County court copies use the Circuit Clerk fee schedule.
Franklin County Federal Distinction
Franklin County is in the Eastern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri under 28 U.S.C. 105. Federal cases include federal crimes, civil-rights cases, federal-question civil cases, diversity cases, federal agency matters, and cases removed from state court when jurisdiction exists. The federal courthouse listed in the research is the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis.
Bankruptcy is also separate from Franklin County Circuit Court. Bankruptcy for Franklin County is handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The bankruptcy court uses federal case systems, not Case.net, and its public access route is PACER or federal bankruptcy case information services.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri source documents bankruptcy court access separate from the Franklin County Circuit Court.
Bankruptcy court records are not held by the Franklin County Circuit Clerk.
The PACER bankruptcy court lookup is the federal access channel for Eastern District bankruptcy cases.
The local court path and federal bankruptcy path should be kept separate when searching by name or case number.
The 28 U.S.C. 105 source places Franklin County in the Eastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri.
The federal division fact affects federal venue, but it does not change local Franklin County Circuit Court jurisdiction.