What the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court Does
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is not a separate elected office in Ingham County. The elected Ingham County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Circuit Court for the 30th Judicial Circuit. The court-facing side of the Ingham County job covers every case filed in Circuit Court. The Ingham County office takes in new pleadings, stamps them with a file date, builds the official court file, and tracks each docket entry from the first filing to the final order. It is the Ingham County office that holds the paper or e-filed original of every Circuit Court record in the county.
The duties are set out on the Ingham County official Clerk of the Circuit Court page. The page says the Ingham County office receives and dockets all records filed in Ingham County Circuit Court cases. It also says the office protects official court records, collects and receipts filing fees, copy fees, criminal costs, and other court assessments, and supplies deputy clerks who sit with judges during Ingham County hearings and trials. In short, the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court keeps the file, takes the money, and staffs the courtroom.
Ingham County uses a split-clerk model in practice. Ingham County Probate Court and the 55th District Court each maintain their own clerk staff for the cases they hear. The Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court handles only Circuit Court matters. Vital records, marriage licenses, business filings, notary, election, and genealogy work also live with the Ingham County Clerk but on a separate, non-court track. Those non-court services are covered on the Ingham County Clerk page.
One source link is worth a quick look at the top of any visit. The county portal page for the office shows the current section structure and contact contacts.
Source: Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court official page.
The map marks the downtown Lansing block that hosts the Ingham County court complex, where in-person Clerk of the Circuit Court business is handled.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified copy is a court-stamped duplicate of an Ingham County Circuit Court record that carries the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court's seal. Banks, schools, immigration officers, and other courts almost always want a certified Ingham County copy, not a plain print-out from the online Ingham County search. Plain copies are fine for personal review. They are not accepted as proof in most legal settings. Knowing which type a person needs avoids paying twice in Ingham County.
- Find the case number. Use the Ingham County Circuit and Probate Court Record Search or the search-by-case-number screen to confirm the case is in Circuit Court. The portal says cases go back to 1986 for civil and family files and to 2000 for criminal files.
- Write down the full case caption. Take both party names and the case-type code from the docket page. That is what the Clerk of the Circuit Court will use to pull the file.
- Pick the document. Decide which order, judgment, or pleading is needed and how many certified copies. Final judgments, divorce decrees, and sentencing orders are the most common requests.
- Pick up or download the request form from the official Clerk of the Circuit Court page. Forms are listed under the Circuit Court section of the county site.
- Submit the request. Walk in to the Ingham County Veterans Memorial Courthouse complex in downtown Lansing, mail the form, or follow any e-filing or e-request method the Clerk of the Circuit Court has posted.
- Pay the fee. Copy and certification fees are listed on the official fee page. The Clerk of the Circuit Court accepts cash, check, and card per the posted rules for in-person service.
- Pick up the copy or wait for mail. Walk-in requests are usually filled while the requester waits, when staff time allows. Mail requests are sent back to the return address on the form.
Online docket views from the Ingham County court search portal are not certified. A note on the portal says the data is for general use, not the official Ingham County record. Anyone who needs a court-accepted Ingham County copy must go through the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Note: Certified copies of marriage records, birth records, and death records do not come from the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Those are Ingham County vital records and go through the County Clerk's vital records desk.
Filing With the Ingham County Clerk
Civil suits, family cases, and felony charging documents all land at the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Felony cases reach Ingham County Circuit Court after a bindover from the 55th Judicial District Court. Civil cases above the District Court jurisdiction limit start in Ingham County Circuit Court. Family matters such as divorce, custody, support, juvenile, and name change start in the Family Division of the 30th Judicial Circuit, again through the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court. That Ingham County office is the intake point for every one of those filings.
The filer brings or sends the complaint, petition, or other initiating paper, the proper fee, and any required form. The Ingham County Clerk stamps the document, assigns an Ingham County case number, builds the docket, and sets up the file. Self-represented Ingham County filers should check the SCAO-approved form set used statewide before drafting a custom document. Many family and civil forms have an official version on the Michigan Judicial Branch site, and the 30th Circuit Court points to those forms on its local Ingham County pages.
For court rules, the central source is Michigan Court Rules Chapter 8. MCR 8.119 sets the rules for case files, public access, and records management in every Michigan trial court, and it is the rule the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court follows. MCR 3.705 controls personal protection order case files. The Ingham County search portal cites MCR 3.705 as the reason PPO cases are kept off the online search.
Fees and Costs
Filing fees, copy fees, certification fees, and search fees for the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court are set by Michigan statute, court rule, and the local Ingham County Circuit Court fee schedule. The Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court page links a current Copies / Filing Fees / Record Search page under the Circuit Court section. Anyone planning an Ingham County filing or record request should check that page for the current dollar amount before sending payment, because court fees in Michigan change with state budget cycles.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Circuit Court filing fees | See official Clerk of the Circuit Court fee page |
| Plain copy per page | See official Clerk fee page |
| Certified copy | See official Clerk fee page |
| Record search fee | See official Clerk fee page |
| Marriage license (Ingham County resident) | $20 |
| ICHAT state criminal history check | Set by Michigan State Police |
The marriage license fee is the only court-side dollar amount published in plain text on the Ingham County pages reviewed. Other Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court fees are listed on the office's own fee page, and the official ICHAT search is run by the state, not Ingham County. Pulling a state-level criminal history is a separate workflow from an Ingham County Circuit Court file copy. Read the source. Ingham County marriage license page.
The marriage license screen shows the resident fee, the three-day waiting period, and the worksheet items applicants need to bring to a Clerk of the Circuit Court office.
Note: Fees paid for plain online portal access are not the same as Clerk of the Circuit Court copy fees. A printed page from the public search is not a certified record.
Records-Request Field Inventory
A copy or certified record request to the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court asks for a short set of facts about the case. The more exact the Ingham County request, the faster the office can pull the right file. Most fields below come from how Ingham County Circuit Court files are docketed. Bring the case number if at all possible. It is the fastest way for an Ingham County deputy clerk to locate the record.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Case number | Best single identifier. Pull it from the court search portal or a court notice. |
| Court | Confirm Circuit Court. Probate and District cases go to other clerks. |
| Party names | Full plaintiff/petitioner and defendant/respondent names. Business parties use the legal business name. |
| Year filed | Helps if the case number is partial. Circuit civil/family back to 1986; criminal back to 2000. |
| Document type | Judgment of divorce, sentencing order, complaint, motion, transcript request, full file copy, etc. |
| Number of copies | Each copy is priced per the Clerk of the Circuit Court fee page. |
| Certified or plain | Certified copies carry the court seal. Plain copies do not. |
| Requester contact | Name, mailing address, phone, and email so staff can flag missing fees or unclear field entries. |
| Return method | Pick up in person, U.S. mail, or other return method the Clerk allows. |
| Fee payment | Cash, check, or card per posted Clerk of the Circuit Court rules. |
Names of crime victims, juvenile parties, and PPO petitioners are suppressed on the public side and stay restricted in any Ingham County copy released. An Ingham County request that asks for sealed material, juvenile case files, adoption files, or mental health treatment records will be denied unless the requester has a court order or qualifies under MCL 712A.28, MCL 710.67, or MCL 330.1748. The Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court follows those statutes and the matching court rule.
Online Services Through the Clerk
The Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court relies on the Ingham County shared court services site for most online tools. Each tool covers one part of the Ingham County Circuit Court workflow. None of them replaces the official paper or e-filed file held by the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court, but they are the quickest way to scope a case before walking in.
- Ingham County Circuit and Probate Court Record Search for name, business, and party-type searches.
- Search by case number when the Ingham County case number is known.
- Court hearing schedule lookup for upcoming Ingham County Circuit Court hearings.
- Daily court schedule for the day's docket calls.
- Court payments portal for online fee and assessment payment.
- Michigan State Police ICHAT for the official statewide criminal history record, which the Clerk of the Circuit Court does not produce.
The Ingham County court record search portal warns that common name and date matches may show records that are not the right person. It also says victim data is hidden, PPO cases are blocked under MCR 3.705, and the online file is not the official Ingham County court record. For the official record, the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court counter or the Probate Register's Office is the right stop. Genealogy users get their own page through the Ingham County Clerk for older family records work.
Source: Ingham County genealogy research page.
The genealogy page covers older Ingham County records and points researchers to the right Clerk of the Circuit Court desk when the requested file is a court file rather than a vital record.
Visiting the Clerk's Office
Walk-in service for the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court runs from the Ingham County downtown Lansing court complex. The exact street address, phone, and posted hours should be checked on the official Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court page before a trip, because Ingham County changes counter hours and contact lines from time to time. Court security screening applies at the Ingham County entrance.
Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Office: Ingham County Veterans Memorial Courthouse complex
Downtown Lansing, MI
See current address, phone, and hours on the official Clerk of the Circuit Court page.
Court schedule: courts.ingham.org/CourtHearingSchedule
Court payments: courts.ingham.org/CourtPayments
Anyone bringing an Ingham County filing should arrive with the full fee, all required copies, and any service paperwork. Self-represented Ingham County filers should print SCAO-approved forms before walking in, because the Ingham County counter is not a forms drafting service. A short call ahead to the Ingham County Clerk of the Circuit Court line saves time when a filing needs a deputy clerk to confirm a fee, a court rule, or a local Ingham County procedure quirk.