County Records
Shiawassee County Clerk - Vital Records Division
208 N Shiawassee St
Corunna MI 48817
```Telephone: (989) 743-2242
Fax: (989) 743-2241
Birth Records:
Vital statistic records for Shiawassee County have been indexed from 1867 to the present day. These records are not available to the public. Birth records are closed, however, they are available to the individual named on the birth record, parents of the person named, a legal guardian, a legal representative or an heir of the person named on the record. An heir is defined as any relative of a deceased person. Copy of death certificate must be provided.
This is the law throughout Michigan. MCL 333.2882.
Marriage and Death Records: Marriage and death records are available to the public and have been indexed from 1867 - 1933 in ledger books. After that, they are available on microfilm.
Divorce - Naturalization - Veteran's Discharge Records:
Divorce records are available from 1861 to present.
Naturalization records are available from 1890's to 1960's.
Veteran's Discharge records are available to the veteran or if deceased, to a dependent, from 1865 to present, at no charge. Copy of death certificate must be provided.
Searching and Obtaining Records:
When you enter the Clerk's office you may ask the Clerk for assistance by providing the Clerk with the year of the event that you need. The Clerk will give you an Index book that is set up chronologically by the event you need. When you have your event indicated and/or identified, the Clerk will bring out the Record book. When the event is located in the Record book, copies can be made by the Clerk. All copies of vital records are certified copies. The cost of a certified copy is $10. If more than one certified copy is needed of the same document, the additional copy cost is $3 for each additional certified copy. You may make hand-written notes of the records you view.
The Clerk's office offers counter service only. Due to limited space on the counter, only three genealogists are allowed at a time.
The Clerk's office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is not closed for lunch.
On a weekly average, 10 people usually visit the Clerk's office - vital statistic records division - to search files for records.
Shiawassee County Circuit Court Clerk - Legal Division
208 N Shiawassee St
Corunna MI 48817
Telephone: (989) 743-2262
Fax: (989) 743-2241
General Civil - Criminal Records:
General civil and criminal lawsuit records are available to the public, unless the matter has been suppressed. Index books are available to assist you in conducting your search and are kept in chronological order.
Searching and Obtaining Records:
Upon entering the Clerk's office, you may ask the Clerk for assistance in providing you with the Index book for the year(s) you are searching for. To conduct your search once the year(s) has been determined, you would then search for the name of the party you are seeking. Records have been kept from December 4, 1837 until present.
Currently, the actual files from 1984 until present are located in the Clerk's office filing rooms. Files are continuously moved to the attic when the space adjacent to the Clerk's office for filing becomes full. If the Clerk cannot locate the file due to the file being moved, the Clerk will check in the attic for the stored file, and/or look on microfilm. Some older files are stored off site.
When the file has been located for you and after your review you would like copies, the Clerk will make copies for you. Copy costs are $1 per page for the first 5 pages and after that, a charge of $0.15 per page is charged. If a certified copy is needed, the cost is $10 for each certification. You may make hand-written notes of any records that you review.
The Clerk's office offers counter service only. Due to limited space on the counter, only two genealogists are allowed at a time.
The Clerk's office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is not closed for lunch.
On a weekly average, 2 people usually visit the Clerk's office - legal division - to search files for records.
Shiawassee County Probate Court
110 E Mack St
Corunna MI 48817
Telephone: (989) 743-2372
Fax: (989) 743-2349
Probate Records, Wills and Estates:
Probate records are available to the public and have been kept from 1836 through the present. They are not indexed, however, and it is better to request this type of information in writing. You will need to provide the full name, date of death and place of death when requesting probate records.
The Clerk will notify you if a record is found. As most records are kept off-site, it will require approximately a week after records are located to be brought on-site. Copies are available at $1 per page.
Certified copies are $10 each. Most documents of this type can be quite lengthy. You may view documents on-site and choose those you wish to copy. You may make hand-written notes of any record you review.
The Clerk's office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is not closed for lunch.
On a weekly average, 1-2 people usually visit the Clerk's office to make a request to search files for records.
Mental Illness & Adoption Records:
The Probate Court also has records pertaining to mental illness cases and adoptions. Mental illness and adoption records are closed as a rule. It is up to the Court's discretion whether or not information may be made available to an adopted person regarding their file. Requests for this information should be sent directly to the Probate Court's Family Division, formerly known as the Juvenile Division at the same address.
66th District Court
110 E Mack St
Corunna MI 48817
Telephone: (989) 743-2395
Fax: (989) 743-2469
District Court Records:
District Court records, to include general civil, criminal, landlord-tenant, and small claims, are available and kept from the District Court's inception in 1963 until present. Until the last five (5) years, the records are not completely indexed, and it is better to request this type of information in writing. When writing a request, you need to identify what or who you are looking for.
The District Court shared space in the Circuit Courthouse building until moving into its new building in 1975
Searching and Obtaining Records:
Upon entering the Clerk's office, you may ask the Clerk for assistance in providing you with the name you are searching for during the past five (5) years. The Clerk will look up the name on the computer and pull whatever file you have requested. If the request is for a file older than five (5) years, you will need to leave your request in writing and the Clerk will search for this through their microfilm and/or their register or action card.
Currently, the actual files from 1996 on criminal and state matters, and landlord-tenant and small claims are kept in their office. Actual files from 1995 on ordinances and general civil are kept in their office. Files older than these have been sent to storage in the attic of the Circuit Court building.
Copy costs are, $1 per page for the first 5 pages and after that, a charge of $0.25 per page is charged. If a certified copy is needed, the cost is $10 for each certification. You may make hand-written notes of any records that you review.
Shiawassee County Register of Deeds
208 N Shiawassee St
Corunna MI 48817
Telephone: (989) 743-2374
Fax: (989) 743-2459
Land Records-deeds-tax Rolls:
Land records and deeds are available from 1834 to present. The ledger books are set up chronologically, and then indexed alphabetically by both grantor and grantee's name. Most land records are one or two pages in length. These records may be found in the Lands register's office on the lower floor of the county courthouse. Platte maps for all townships are also available. These maps include the names of property owners at the time they were made.
Tax rolls are available only for recent years. Records older than three or four years are in the possession of the Shiawassee County Historical Society. The records that are at the courthouse are located in the Assessor office on the main floor.
Searching and Obtaining Records:
Clerks are available for assistance and will seat you in a research room that is available. Several genealogists may do research at the same time. Only pencils can be used in the research room thereby eliminating alterations of documents as the documents, many times, are completed in ink. The Index books are made available in the research room and you would first determine what year that you wish to search and obtain the Index book for that year. From the year, you can look up the name of either grantor or grantee as they are listed in alphabetical order. Records from 1980 until present are available to search on microfilm rather than in the Index book, simplifying your search. You may make hand-written notes, in pencil, of any record that you review.
Copies can be made by the Clerk from the files and/or microfilm and cost $1 per page for each page you have made.
Record Checks:
District Court also provides criminal and/or civil record checks. If the record check is requested from 1995 until present, the cost is If the record check is requested from 7-10 years ago,the cost is $10. And, if a record check is requested from more than 10 years ago, the cost is $15.00.
The Clerk's office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is not closed for lunch.
For information on tax rolls in the possession of the historical society please write to:
Shiawassee County Historical Society
Curwood Castle Museum
224 Curwood Castle Drive
Owosso, MI 48867.
The Clerk's office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is not closed for lunch.
For Vital Records Requests:
Michigan Dept of Community Health
3423 N Martin Luther King Blvd
Po Box 30195
Lansing MI 48909
Telephone: (989) 335-8666
Fax: (989) 321-5884
Application Is Necessary
There Is A Cost Involved