Michigan Court Records: How to Find and Search Them

Michigan's trial courts are organized by county and local district, and each court keeps its own records. Many courts now share the state's MiCOURT case search, but it does not cover every court, and large courts such as those in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties run their own systems.

Michigan also has one of the broadest Clean Slate laws in the country, which automatically sets aside many older convictions, so some records you might expect will no longer be public.

How Michigan's courts are organized

Michigan has a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, and three kinds of trial courts, plus a Court of Claims for cases against the state.

Michigan Supreme Court

Seven justices decide which appeals to hear and supervise the state's courts.

Michigan Court of Appeals

Hears appeals from the trial courts. The Court of Claims, which hears lawsuits against the state, is part of this court.

Circuit courts

The general jurisdiction trial courts. They hear felonies, larger civil cases and appeals from lower courts. The family division handles divorce, custody, juvenile and adoption cases.

District courts

Hear misdemeanors, traffic, landlord-tenant, small claims, smaller civil cases and felony arraignments. A few cities have municipal courts instead.

Probate courts

Every county has a probate court for wills, estates, trusts, guardianships and mental health commitments.

Searching Michigan court records online

Try MiCOURT first, then the court's own website if the case is not there.

MiCOURT case searchFree search of cases in participating Michigan trial courts.
Michigan appellate case searchCase information and opinions for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Michigan court directoryFind any Michigan court, many of which link to their own case searches.

Getting records from the clerk's office

Circuit court records are kept by the county clerk, who serves as clerk of the circuit court. District court and probate court records are kept by those courts. All provide copies and certified copies for fees set by statute.

Deeds are kept by the county register of deeds, a separate office.

Michigan Courts: Find a courtContact information for each trial court.

What is public, and what is not

Michigan Court Rules 1.109 and 8.119 govern court records. Most are public, but juvenile, adoption, and many protected personal identifying details are not. Courts may seal records only under specific standards.

Under Michigan's Clean Slate law, many misdemeanor and some felony convictions are set aside automatically after a waiting period, and people can also apply to set aside other convictions. Set-aside records are hidden from the public.

Michigan Legal Help: ExpungementTools and guides on setting aside a conviction.

Older and archived records

Many historical circuit and probate court records have been transferred to the Archives of Michigan, which holds records from the territorial era onward, including case files and naturalization records.

Archives of MichiganHistorical state and county records, including court files.

Criminal history and background records

A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.

The Michigan State Police keeps the state's criminal history records and sells public name-based searches through ICHAT.

ICHATInternet Criminal History Access Tool: a public, name-based Michigan criminal history search for a fee.
Michigan sex offender registryPublic search of registered sex offenders.
OTISOffender Tracking Information System for people in Michigan Department of Corrections custody or supervision.

Federal court records in Michigan

Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in Michigan's state courts. Michigan is divided into 2 federal judicial districts, and each has its own clerk's office:

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from Michigan's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Tips for a faster search

If a court is not in MiCOURT, check its own website; Wayne County's Third Circuit Court and 36th District Court (Detroit) each run their own searches.
Michigan case numbers include the year, a case type code such as FH (felony) or NO (civil), and a sequence number.
Convictions removed by Clean Slate will not show up in public searches or ICHAT.
Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.

Legal help and law libraries

Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:

Michigan Legal HelpFree legal information, forms and self-help centers.
Library of Michigan law collectionThe state library, including its law library, in Lansing.

This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.