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Office: Scotland County Emergency Management – 117 S. Market St, Ste 100, Memphis, MO 63555 | (660) 465-7027.
Sheriff: Scotland County Sheriff’s Department – 117 S Market St #3, Memphis, MO 63555 | Non-emergency (660) 465-2106.
City Police: Memphis Police Department – 112 South Market Street #3, Memphis, MO 63555 | (660) 465-2612 | Non-emergency dispatch (660) 465-7277 / (660) 465-2151.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. NAMING TRAP: search results for “Memphis Animal Services” and general emergency-service searches for “Memphis” frequently return results for Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County) – always confirm Missouri context.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-136 serves Memphis, the county seat and largest city, in northeastern Missouri.
Notes: Scotland County, organized January 29, 1841, is named for the country of Scotland – proposed by early settler Stephen W. B. Carnegy, who also gave several nearby settlements Scottish names. Roughly 4,700-4,800 residents across 439 square miles – Missouri’s seventh-least populous county. The county’s original boundaries included what later became Knox County, split off in 1843. First white settlement dates to 1833.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Scotland County Courthouse – 117 S. Market Street, Memphis, MO 63555 | (660) 465-7027.
Notes: Scotland County’s historic landmarks include the Downing House Museum, the Boyer House and Museum, the Memphis Depot Museum, the Pheasant Airplane display, and the Barnett Statue. The Battle of Vassar Hill, a genuine Civil War engagement, took place within the county.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Scotland County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via scotlandcountymo.org.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Kirksville VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Scotland County Memorial Library – 306 W Madison St, Memphis, MO 63555 | (660) 465-7042 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM-5:30 PM; serves roughly 4,850 residents with about 31,600 volumes and 44,000 annual circulations; also functions as an extreme-weather warming/cooling site.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lake Show Me, Ella Ewing Lake, Indian Hills Conservation Area, the Downing House Museum, and the Memphis Depot Museum are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The county’s multiple small local museums and Scottish-heritage naming story are distinctive local facts.
No dedicated Scotland County, Missouri animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. NAMING TRAP: “Memphis Animal Services” and “Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County” refer to Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County, TN) – an entirely different jurisdiction from Memphis, Missouri (the seat of Scotland County). Confirm current local options via scotlandcountymo.org or the Sheriff’s Department, (660) 465-2106.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Scotland County – confirm current contact via scotlandcountymo.org.
NOTES: Scotland County is the fourth county in the fourteenth batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. A significant naming trap with Memphis, Tennessee’s animal services and humane society is flagged for accuracy – this is a recurring risk for any “Memphis” search in this county. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Scotland County County
Scotland County is northeast Missouri’s Wyaconda River agricultural county – the river bottomland and the rolling corn and cattle farming landscape define a small community where Memphis serves the surrounding farming population in one of Missouri’s most consistently rural northeast corners near Iowa.
Memphis (the county seat, population ~1,600) is Scotland County’s governmental hub, a small northeast Missouri agricultural community on US 136 near the Iowa border whose grain farming economy and courthouse anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Scotland County Assessor at 117 S. Market Street, Memphis, MO 63555, phone 660-465-7027. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Scotland County Circuit Court at 117 S. Market Street, Memphis, MO 63555, phone 660-465-7027, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
117 S. Market St., Memphis, MO 63555
(660) 465-7027
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Scotland County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Scotland County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Scotland County Circuit Court, Probate Division 117 South Market Street, Suite 200, Memphis, MO 63555 (660) 465-8605 Scotland County is on Missouri’s northern border, seated in Memphis.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
117 S. Market St., Memphis, MO 63555
(660) 465-8481
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
117 S. Market St., Memphis, MO 63555
(660) 465-7027
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Scotland County Health Department – confirm current phone via scotlandcountymo.org.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Memphis
Population: 4,800
Area: 440 sq mi
Established: 1841
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Scotland County County residents.
