Menominee County Clerk Records Access

About the Menominee County Clerk's Office

Marc Kleiman serves as the Menominee County Clerk. The office runs from the second floor of the county courthouse and acts as the record hub for two very different kinds of public files. On the court side, the clerk is the filing clerk for the circuit court judges. On the vital records side, the clerk holds birth, death, and marriage records and prepares certified copies of them.

That dual role is worth understanding before any records request. A person chasing a divorce file and a person chasing a birth certificate both end up at the same clerk, yet the two records follow different rules and different copy fees. The clerk also receipts fines and fees, opens new circuit cases, and processes personal protection orders.

The clerk's official page confirms the address, phone, and hours below. A quick look at the Menominee County Clerk department page shows the full sweep of duties, from court filings to elections.

The page groups vital records, court filings, and election work under one office, which is why callers should name the exact record they need so staff can point them to the right counter.

What the Menominee County Clerk Handles

The clerk's duties reach well past the courtroom. The office is the local keeper of vital statistics and the intake point for every new circuit court case. It also runs elections and keeps the records of the county board. For a records searcher, the court and vital record functions matter most.

• Files and records circuit court cases, opens new matters, and receipts all court fines and fees
• Keeps birth, death, and marriage records and prepares certified copies
• Issues marriage licenses and processes related exemptions
• Processes personal protection orders for the circuit court
• Administers elections, voter registration, ballots, and vote certifications
• Serves as clerk for the County Board, Gun Board, Election Commission, and Board of Canvassers

Because the clerk touches so many record types, the safest first step is a phone call. Staff can confirm whether the file you want is a circuit court record, a vital record, or a matter that belongs to another courthouse office entirely.

Note: The clerk receipts court fines and fees but questions about a district traffic ticket or a probate estate go to those separate court counters, not the County Clerk.

Menominee County Clerk and District Court Records

Michigan does not use the Texas-style split between a district clerk and a county clerk. In Menominee County the correct title is simply County Clerk, and that office handles circuit court filings and vital records. It does not hold every court file in the building.

District court records are kept by the 95A District Court, which has its own clerk. Traffic tickets, civil infractions, small claims, landlord-tenant cases, misdemeanors, and the first stage of every adult felony case live there. The district clerk can be reached at 906-863-8532, and the court's page is the 95A District Court department page.

Probate and family records follow a third path. The Probate Court keeps estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental health matters, and wills for safekeeping. Register of Probate Aimee Nutt handles those files at (906) 863-2634. A person who needs a will or estate file should call the register, not the County Clerk. The Menominee County Circuit Court page explains how the higher court fits above these counters.

Menominee County Clerk and Register of Deeds Records

One local quirk trips up many searchers. Marc Kleiman is both the County Clerk and the County Register of Deeds. The two offices sit in the same courthouse under the same official, yet they keep entirely different records.

The Register of Deeds holds land and lien records. That vault keeps deeds, mortgages, the tract index that traces each parcel back to its first sale from the federal government, tax liens, sheriff's deeds, UCC financing statements, and the county board's book of minutes. A person researching a foreclosure, a property title, or a judgment lien belongs at that office, not the court counter.

The comparison below sorts the two record sets so a request lands at the right desk the first time.

A closer look at the Register of Deeds department page confirms the land and lien records kept in the courthouse vault.

Because the same official runs both offices, a caller can be routed between the two desks quickly once staff know whether the request is a court file or a land record.

Note: The tract index in the Register of Deeds vault runs from a parcel's first federal land grant to the present, so old property history often survives at the courthouse even when it never reaches an online court search.

How to Request a Certified Copy in Menominee County

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and stands as official proof of a court judgment or a vital record. Uncertified printouts often will not be accepted for legal, benefit, or identity purposes, so most formal requests need the certified version. The clerk does not publish a full copy-fee schedule, which makes a first phone call part of the process.

1. Identify the record type and, for court files, the case number from a notice, judgment, or MiCOURT result.
2. Call the clerk at (906) 863-9968 to confirm the current copy fee, the identification required, and the accepted payment method.
3. Prepare the request in person at the second-floor counter or by mail to the courthouse address, including your contact details.
4. Submit the request with payment and any identification the clerk requires for a vital record.
5. Pick the copy up at the counter or wait for it to arrive by mail once the clerk processes and certifies it.

Vital records carry stronger identity rules than routine court files. Bring a government photo ID when requesting a certified birth, death, or marriage record, because access to those documents is limited.

Menominee County Records Request Form Fields

When a request reaches the clerk through the circuit court contact form, the same core fields appear. The form captures who is asking, how to reach them, and what they want. The table mirrors the field set used on the circuit court contact page so a request arrives complete.

The comment box is the place to name the case number, the parties, and the document type. The more detail the clerk receives up front, the faster staff can locate the file. Reach the form through the circuit court contact page.

Menominee County Clerk Fees

Only a few clerk fees are published in official county and state sources. The marriage license fee is set by state law. Copy and certification fees are not posted, so the clerk should be called before a copy request. The dollar limits below shape which court a civil case belongs to and appear often in clerk questions.

The $20 marriage license fee is fixed under MCL 551.103, which directs the payment to the county clerk. The civil and small claims limits are set by the district court and decide where a money case is filed.

Note: Because copy and certification charges are not posted on the county pages, confirm the exact amount and accepted payment method with the clerk before mailing a request.

Menominee County Marriage Licenses and Vital Records

Marriage licenses are a signature clerk service. Michigan law requires the application to be made by affidavit with the county clerk under MCL 551.102, and the clerk issues the license once the requirements are met. The same office later holds the marriage record and can produce a certified copy.

A certified marriage record from the county clerk stands as prima facie evidence under MCL 600.2133, which is why courts and agencies accept it. Birth and death certificates follow similar identity rules, and the clerk limits who may obtain them.

Divorce is a separate track. A divorce is a circuit court domestic relations case, and the county clerk is the filing clerk for it, but the judgment and case handling differ from a vital record. The Menominee County marriage and divorce records page walks through how those two record types split.

The county also posts general forms outside the court system. The lead-in link below points to the county's own document library.

The Menominee County forms and documents index gathers county forms in one place for residents.

That library is a useful backup when a needed form is not handed out at the clerk counter, though court-specific forms still come from the courts themselves.