County · St. Louis Region
Franklin County
Short answer
A St. Louis exurban county on the Meramec River and Route 66, with Washington's German river-town heritage, caves and karst, floodplain questions, and county-level tax paperwork.
Towns, cities & local places in Franklin County
BeaufortCatawissaGray SummitPacificRobertsvilleRoute 66St. ClairStantonSullivanUnionVilla RidgeWashington
- Region
- St. Louis Region
- Local notes
- 30
- Notes nearby
- 6
- Nearby counties
- 6
Property tax snapshot
Missouri has no single county rate. A bill is the sum of every taxing district on the parcel — county, school, city, fire, library, ambulance — and the school levy varies most within a county.
Practical guides
Common county next steps in Franklin County
Use these when the local office, parcel, vehicle, or deadline matters.
Property tax estimator Estimate a real-property bill, then confirm the exact parcel value and levy locally. Personal property tax guide Sort January 1 vehicle ownership, paid receipts, and statements of non-assessment. Vehicle title checklist Plan the license-office trip around title timing, inspections, emissions, and receipts. Assessment appeal guide If a value looks wrong, start with the county deadline and evidence about market value.
Local notes
Local rules and costs to check in Franklin County
Short notes on the taxes, paperwork, and local-government layers here — grouped by topic, each linking the official sources behind it.
Franklin County's property search is an assessor starting point Franklin County's assessor page points residents to property search for real-estate records and personal-property filing, but that is not the same as paying taxes. A Franklin County driveway onto a county road needs a permit check Franklin County says new or modified driveways and entrances from county roads need an entrance permit through the Highway Department. Franklin County value appeals have a Board of Equalization step Franklin County owners who disagree with an assessed value need to work through the assessor and Board of Equalization path before a later state appeal. Franklin County addressing is a Planning and Zoning task Franklin County's addressing page says unincorporated addresses, road names, and district validation run through the county addressing authority. Route 66 and Meramec Caverns put karst on display Franklin County's Route 66 corridor and well-known show caves reflect the area's karst geology, which also matters for groundwater and land near the river. Franklin County building permits are for unincorporated work Franklin County's Building Department handles permits and inspections for new construction in unincorporated areas, while cities may add their own requirements.
Browse 11 more practical notes
Home & Property
Cars & Driving
Money & Taxes
Local notes
Worth knowing in Franklin County
History, rivers, lakes, and quirks that give the county some shape.
Catawissa Conservation Area shows the Meramec floodplain after gravel mining Catawissa Conservation Area between Pacific and Catawissa turns former gravel-mining ground in the Meramec floodplain into MDC public access. Little Indian Creek Conservation Area is a Franklin County woods-and-glade stop Little Indian Creek Conservation Area gives Franklin County a large MDC area with woods, fields, glade restoration, trails, camping rules, and a shooting range. Pacific's Red Cedar Inn keeps Route 66 in the official visitor map The City of Pacific's Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center gives eastern Franklin County an official Route 66 history stop. River 'Round Conservation Area bends with the Meramec River 'Round Conservation Area near St. Clair gives Franklin County another MDC Meramec River access with sandbars, woods, fields, and a boat ramp. Shaw Nature Reserve brings prairie restoration to Gray Summit Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit gives Franklin County a Missouri Botanical Garden landscape focused on native habitats, trails, and prairie restoration. Franklin County public meetings point back to Union Franklin County's public meeting notices make the Government Center in Union a practical civic hub for commission, planning, and board meetings.
Browse 7 more stories and place notes
- Meramec State Park ties Franklin County's river and cave country together
- Noser Mill keeps the Bourbeuse River visible
- Franklin County's smaller river accesses fill in the map
- Robertsville State Park is a Meramec River access point
- Union has been Franklin County's seat since 1827
- Exurban growth means watching fire districts and roads
- Washington is a German Missouri River town
Official sources
Where to confirm it
A short set of official county and agency pages cited here. The other 45 source links stay with their individual notes.
Franklin County - Addressing Franklin County Assessor Missouri State Tax Commission - File an Appeal Franklin County Clerk Missouri Department of Conservation - Catawissa Conservation Area Missouri Department of Conservation - Little Indian Creek Conservation Area City of Pacific - Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center National Park Service - Red Cedar Inn Missouri Department of Conservation - River 'Round Conservation Area
Worth knowing nearby
Notes from the counties closest to Franklin County
Source-checked notes from the nearest counties — the local layer often carries across the county line.
The assessor and collector are separate Gasconade County offices Gasconade County · Gasconade County lists separate assessor and collector offices, and the collector says taxes are collected from the assessor's records. Little Lost Creek is Warren County's rugged creek country Warren County · Little Lost Creek Conservation Area brings glades, oak-hickory woods, sandstone outcrops, and a partially spring-fed stream into central Warren County. Jefferson County's assessment calendar comes before the bill Jefferson County · Jefferson County's assessor calendar shows the steps from January valuation to tax bills, which helps owners ask the right office at the right time. St. Charles County assessment appeals have a BOE step St. Charles County · A St. Charles County property value dispute must move through the Board of Equalization before the State Tax Commission path. Blue Springs Creek carries a self-sustaining trout story near Bourbon Crawford County · Blue Springs Creek Conservation Area protects spring-fed water that supports naturally reproducing rainbow trout before the creek reaches the Meramec. Washington County personal property starts with the Assessor's list Washington County · Washington County's assessor page explains that the office maintains taxable real and personal property and sends annual personal-property declaration forms.
Nearby counties
Closest counties to Franklin County
Nearby counties with their own local notes.
Gasconade County Unusually rich for its small size: Hermann and the Missouri Rhineland German wine heritage anchor a deep history-and-culture cluster (Deutschheim State Historic Site, the river-town identity), while the Missouri River, the Katy Trail, and the Gasconade River drive outdoors and floodplain topics. Warren County An I-70 exurban county west of St. Louis, with Missouri River bottoms, Katy Trail towns, wine-country history, growth around Warrenton, and floodplain and road questions. Jefferson County A St. Louis exurban county with Mississippi and Meramec River edges, rural and suburban land, floodplain and septic questions, courthouse offices at Hillsboro, and no city earnings tax. St. Charles County A fast-growing St. Louis metro county with Missouri and Mississippi River edges, older river towns, newer subdivisions, senior tax-credit questions, and vehicles inside the St. Louis emissions area. Crawford County A rural Ozarks county built around float streams and karst: Steelville as the Meramec/Huzzah/Courtois hub, Onondaga Cave State Park, the edge of Maramec Spring, and Mark Twain National Forest. Washington County Potosi is the seat of a county defined by one of Missouri's oldest mining districts: barite, locally called tiff, and early lead mining at Mine au Breton.
Reviewed June 18, 2026. These notes are a starting point — confirm exact parcel, license, tax, or permit details with the Franklin County office that controls each record.
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