Northern Missouri
Fence law decides who maintains a boundary fence
In a livestock-and-crop county, Missouri fence law allocates responsibility for boundary fences between adjoining landowners, and which option a county uses can surprise new rural owners.
A boundary fence is the fence that sits on the line between your land and your neighbor’s land. In Missouri, the law says you and your neighbor often share the job of building and fixing that fence. So a new fence may not be only your neighbor’s problem. The exact rules can change from county to county. Missouri has a general state fence law, and a county can vote to use a “local-option” version instead. Putnam County has both crop ground and livestock, so this comes up a lot. Before you buy rural land, find out how shared fences work there. Check whether Putnam County uses the general state law or the local-option rules. The University of Missouri Extension has easy-to-read fence-law guides, and the full rules are in Missouri statute. Sorting this out early helps you avoid a long fight later. Confirm the details with your local county office.
References
Where this fits: this note belongs to Putnam County. See every local note for the county on its page.