The Ingham County Clerk's Dual Role
The Ingham County Clerk is one elected official with two jobs. On the court side, the Clerk signs in as Clerk of the Circuit Court for the 30th Judicial Circuit Court, dockets pleadings, and holds the official case file. That work is covered on the Clerk of the Circuit Court page. On the civil side, the same office runs vital records, business filings, elections, notary, concealed pistol licenses, public notices, board minutes, genealogy, and military discharge filings. This page covers the civil side.
The split matters for the public. A certified divorce judgment from a court file goes through the Clerk of the Circuit Court. A certified marriage license, birth certificate, or death certificate goes through the County Clerk's vital records desk. Both desks are staffed by the same elected office, but the workflows, fees, and forms are not the same. Sending a request to the wrong desk slows the job by days.
Ingham County Clerk's Office
Mason office: Veterans Memorial Courthouse area
Mason, MI
Lansing office: Downtown court complex
313 W Kalamazoo St, Lansing, MI 48933
Two office locations serve walk-in customers.
See current addresses, phones, hours, and email on the official Ingham County Clerk page.
Source: Ingham County Clerk official page.
The map marks the downtown Lansing block where the County Clerk's Lansing office sits. The Mason office is the second walk-in counter for vital records, marriage licenses, and business filings.
Vital Records Through the Ingham County Clerk
The County Clerk holds vital records for events that took place in Ingham County, including birth and death certificates for births and deaths that happened in the county. Michigan also holds a copy of every vital record through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. For local pickup on Ingham County events, the County Clerk is the closest counter.
Birth certificates are not fully public records in Michigan. Access is set by state law. Eligible requesters include the person on the record, a parent or legal guardian, a legal representative, a court-ordered party, and certain family members. A photo ID is required. Death certificates have a wider access window. Most adult family members can request a death certificate with a photo ID and the proper fee.
The County Clerk hub at docs.ingham.org/departments_and_officials/county_clerk/ lists the current vital records pages. If a direct birth or death certificate link is down, use the hub page and click into vital records from the live menu. Certified vital records carry the seal. Plain copies are not accepted for passport applications, Social Security work, or estate claims.
Marriage License Services
Marriage licenses are issued through the Ingham County Clerk's vital records desk. The license fee is $20 for Ingham County residents. The county marriage page sets a three-day waiting period. The day the online application is submitted counts as the first day. After the waiting period, applicants pick the license up at either of the two County Clerk office locations. The license is valid anywhere in Michigan and expires 33 days from the submit date, so couples should not apply too far ahead of the ceremony.
Only one party needs to be an Ingham County resident. Both parties do not have to be present to apply, but if only one shows up, that person must be the Ingham County resident. Applicants must bring government-issued ID with the correct Ingham County address and the Social Security numbers of both parties. The county worksheet asks for birth dates, birth places by city and state, current addresses, each party's parents' full names including maiden names, and the state where each parent was born.
The full marriage workflow, fee notes, certified marriage copy details, and ceremony rules are covered on the marriage and divorce records page. Divorce records do not come from the County Clerk's vital records desk. Divorce files are Circuit Court family records and run through the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Source: Ingham County marriage license page.
Business Filings and DBA Names
The County Clerk takes in Certificates of Assumed Name, sometimes called DBA filings, for sole proprietors and co-partnerships doing business under a name other than the owner's legal name. The filing puts the public on notice. Corporations and limited liability companies file at the state with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, not the County Clerk.
The County Clerk navigation links to a weekly business filings report and a business filings search. Lenders, vendors, and the public use those tools to confirm a name is registered. A DBA is not a license to do business and not a tax registration. It is a public-notice filing. Fees are listed on the official Clerk fee page.
Concealed Pistol License (CPL) Processing
The County Clerk handles CPL applications, renewals, address changes, and replacement card requests for Ingham County residents. Michigan CPL law sets the rules: training requirements, age floor, disqualifying offense list, and the application window. The Clerk's office is the local intake point. Michigan State Police runs the statewide check. The local sheriff handles the fingerprint side.
Applicants bring a completed CPL application, proof of training from a state-approved class, a valid Michigan ID, and the fee. After background checks clear, the Clerk issues the license or sends the disqualification notice. CPL records are not public. State law limits who can see a CPL record, and the Clerk does not release CPL data to general requesters.
Elections and Campaign Finance Records
The County Clerk is the county's chief election official. The office runs federal, state, county, and many local elections, certifies results for the Board of Canvassers, and posts campaign finance reports for county-level candidates and committees. School board, library, and some local races also fall under the Clerk's elections work.
Campaign finance records are public. Reports list contributors, amounts, expenses, in-kind support, and dates. The Michigan Department of State posts state-level filings; the County Clerk handles the county-level set. A request for a state senate race goes to the state. A request for a county commissioner race goes to the County Clerk. Most personal voter actions, like registration, are handled by the local city or township clerk.
Notary Public Services
Michigan notaries are commissioned by the Secretary of State, but the County Clerk plays a role at the start. Applicants file a notary bond and an oath of office with the Clerk before mailing the notary application to the state. The Clerk records the bond, charges a recording fee, and gives the applicant a stamped copy to send with the state application.
The County Clerk also keeps a public record of bonded notaries who filed in Ingham County. Banks, lenders, and title agents sometimes ask for a certified notary record to confirm a signature was taken by a properly bonded notary. Those certifications come from the Clerk's notary desk. Fees are listed on the official Clerk fee page.
Genealogy Research
Family historians use the County Clerk's genealogy desk to look up older births, deaths, marriages, and naturalization papers tied to the county. The Clerk's genealogy page lists the records the office holds, the years covered, and the request workflow. Researchers who know a name, year, and event type can mail or walk in a request. Older court records, including naturalization records, name changes, and adoption records under older statutes, sit in court files held by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The genealogy page points researchers to the right desk for each record type. Source: Ingham County genealogy research page.
The genealogy page lists the search workflow, the years covered, and the staff contact a researcher uses to scope a request before paying any fees.
Military Discharge Records (DD-214 Filing)
Veterans can file a copy of a DD-214 with the County Clerk. The filing keeps a local certified copy on hand for VA claims, home loan paperwork, burial planning, and benefit applications. Filing is free for the veteran. The Clerk seals the record under state rule, so it is not open to the general public. Only the veteran, a spouse, a parent, a child, or a court-ordered party can pull a certified copy after the file is recorded. Later certified copies for VA work or burial use go through the same desk.
Public Notices and Board Minutes
The County Clerk is the official keeper of the Board of Commissioners minute book. Every meeting, every vote, every resolution lands in that record. The Clerk publishes board notices, posts agenda packets, and signs off on the recorded action. Members of the public who want to see what the board did at a meeting use the Clerk's records to read the official minutes.
A FOIA request for county records that sit outside court files and outside the Clerk's holdings goes through the county's administrative side. See the Ingham County public records page for the FOIA workflow.
Requesting Certified Records
A certified record from the County Clerk carries the office seal and the Clerk's signature. Plain photocopies do not. For passport applications, Social Security work, estate filings, and benefit claims, the certified version is the one outside agencies accept. The step-by-step below fits the most common vital record and business filing requests.
- Identify the record type. Birth, death, marriage, DBA filing, notary, military discharge, board minute, campaign finance report, or genealogy lookup. The desk and the form change by record type.
- Confirm eligibility. Birth and military discharge records have a closed list of eligible requesters under state rule. Death, marriage, DBA, notary, election filings, and minutes have wider access.
- Gather the search facts. Full name, date of event, event location, parent names for births, spouse name for marriages. The closer the match, the faster the search.
- Pick up or download the request form from the County Clerk hub at docs.ingham.org/departments_and_officials/county_clerk/. Each record type has its own form.
- Bring or send a photo ID. State law requires ID for vital records pulls. A clear photocopy of a driver license or state ID is the most common form.
- Submit the request and the fee. Walk in to the Mason office or the Lansing office for fastest service. Mail requests are sent back to the return address on the form.
- Wait for the certified copy. Walk-in requests are often filled while the requester waits, when staff time allows. Mail requests are returned by U.S. mail after processing.
The records-request form-field inventory below lists the data fields most County Clerk request forms ask for. The exact labels vary by record type, but the core list is stable across vital records, business filings, and certified copies.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Record type | Birth, death, marriage, DBA, notary bond, military discharge, board minute, campaign finance. |
| Subject name | Full legal name of the person or business on the record. Include maiden name for births and marriages. |
| Event date | Birth, death, marriage, or filing date. A year alone is enough to start a search when the exact date is unknown. |
| Event location | City and county where the event took place. Ingham County events stay with the County Clerk. |
| Parent or spouse name | For births, the parent names. For marriages, both party names. For deaths, the spouse name if any. |
| Number of copies | Each certified copy is priced per the Clerk's fee page. Order the count needed up front to avoid a second visit. |
| Certified or plain | Certified copies carry the seal. Plain copies do not. Most outside agencies require certified. |
| Requester name and relationship | State law limits birth and military discharge access to eligible requesters. The form asks the requester to declare the relationship. |
| Photo ID | Driver license, state ID, passport, or other government-issued ID. Required for vital records. |
| Return method | Walk-in pickup, U.S. mail, or other return method the Clerk allows. Mail requests include a self-addressed envelope. |
| Fee payment | Cash, check, or card per posted Clerk rules. Mail requests use check or money order. |
| Contact phone or email | Used to flag missing fees, unclear fields, or eligibility questions. |
Sealed records, juvenile case files, adoption records, and CPL data have tighter access rules. A request that asks for sealed material will be denied unless the requester has a court order or qualifies under the matching statute.
Fees
The County Clerk fee page is the source of truth for current dollar amounts on the civil side. The marriage license fee is the only vital records amount published in plain text on the source pages reviewed for this build. Other fees change with state budget cycles. Check the current Clerk fee page before sending payment.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marriage license (Ingham County resident) | $20 |
| Certified birth certificate | See official Clerk fee page |
| Certified death certificate | See official Clerk fee page |
| Certified marriage record copy | See official Clerk fee page |
| Assumed name (DBA) filing | See official Clerk fee page |
| Notary bond filing | See official Clerk fee page |
| Certified copy of board minute | See official Clerk fee page |
| Campaign finance report copy | See official Clerk fee page |
| Military discharge filing | Free for veterans; later certified copies see Clerk fee page |
| CPL application and renewal | Set by Michigan CPL law; see Clerk CPL page |
Court-side fees, copy fees, and filing fees for the 30th Judicial Circuit are not part of this list. Those run through the Clerk of the Circuit Court page. The two fee schedules look similar at a glance but cover different work.