The St. Joseph County Clerk and Register of Deeds
Gina Everson serves as the elected County Clerk and Register of Deeds. Michigan law makes the county clerk an officer of the county, elected by county voters on a partisan basis every four years. The role stretches well beyond filing paperwork. The clerk serves as Clerk to the Board of Commissioners, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Clerk of the Family Court.
Election work forms a second career inside the same office. The clerk is the county's chief election official, supervising national, state, and local elections, administering campaign finance reporting duties, and maintaining the Qualified Voter File. The office also staffs the Election Board of Canvassers, the County Election Commission, the County Plat Board, the Apportionment Board, and the Concealed Weapons Licensing Board.
The county's County Clerk page describes those duties and the divisions that carry them out.
Court records come from one specific division of that office, not from the clerk generally.
St. Joseph County Clerk's Office
Historic Courthouse - Second Floor
125 W. Main St., P.O. Box 189
Centreville, MI 49032
(269) 467-5626
Elections Division: (269) 467-5594
Divisions Inside the County Clerk's Office
Four distinct functions sit under one elected officer. Knowing which one to call saves a transfer. The General Division and the Circuit Court Division handle very different records despite sharing a main phone line.
- General Division: official county and Board of Commissioners records, plus birth, death, and marriage certificates.
- Circuit Court Division: the official court record for civil, criminal, and family cases in the 45th Circuit Court.
- Elections Division: voter file, canvassing, and campaign finance duties.
- Register of Deeds: deeds, mortgages, land contracts, and liens.
The General Division also issues business registrations, concealed pistol licenses, veteran discharges, notary commissions, and genealogy records. Deputy clerks answer directly: Rachael Morrison at (269) 467-5531, Rhonda Miller at (269) 467-5602, and Melissa Patch, the Circuit Court deputy clerk, at (269) 467-5621.
The 45th Circuit Court Division Record
The Clerk of the Court is the official record keeper for all lawsuits and legal actions filed in the 45th Circuit Court. That division manages court filings, maintains dockets, and provides public access as far as the law allows. Circuit Court files reach back to the 1830s, though the paper depth of the archive far exceeds anything published online.
The county's Circuit Court Division page states that record-keeping role and posts the county's criminal access notice.
That notice matters for older criminal files. Online criminal viewing reflects cases from 2017 to the present because of Michigan's Clean Slate legislation, effective April 11, 2023. Pre-2017 accuracy must be verified manually, and the public viewing terminal for criminal cases is currently unavailable.
Older criminal records: A pre-2017 criminal case in St. Joseph County cannot be confirmed from an online search alone and must be verified manually with the clerk.
Why County Court Records Are Not FOIA Records
Michigan's open-records act excludes the judiciary. That exclusion covers the county clerk when acting as clerk to the Circuit Court. A public-records request therefore cannot pry loose a case file, no matter how it is worded. Court-record access runs under the Michigan Court Rules and local court procedures instead.
The county still operates a public-records portal for everything outside the courts. The county public-records request portal takes requests for non-judicial county records.
Use that portal for sheriff administrative documents, county policies, and executive-branch materials. Use the court counter and its request forms for anything filed in a case. Michigan's court rules also stop courts from posting document images online, which is why copies still require a request. The wider set of search channels appears with the county court records.
St. Joseph County Court Copy Fees
The county's administrative order fixes what a copy costs and how fast it arrives. Short requests move quickly. Longer ones are filled in a reasonable time rather than on a promised clock.
| Item | Fee / Timing |
|---|---|
| 10 or fewer pages | $1.00 per page, generally within 1 hour |
| More than 10 pages | Provided in a reasonable time |
| Transcripts filed with the court | Not more than $0.30 per page |
| Court recordings on media | $20 per DVD |
| Log notes and jury seating charts, if paper only | $1.00 per page |
| State-approved forms | $1.00 per form, up to 5 copies per type |
Form fees are waived in several situations, including indigent requesters, court-appointed counsel, court-prepared documents, and pro se personal protection order filings. File retrieval times also vary. Five or fewer active case files are generally available within two hours, stored files within three business days, and larger requests in a reasonable time.
- Identify the court that holds the case, then confirm the complete case number.
- Complete the copy and file review request form, or supply party names if the number is unknown.
- Mark whether you want to review the file, obtain copies, or both.
- List the specific documents needed, or request the entire file.
- Pay the per-page fee once staff calculate the total.
- Ask for certification if the copy will be used in a legal proceeding.
The Copy and File Review Request Form
One paper form covers both viewing a court file and buying copies of it. The local order asks for a complete case number where possible, and for party names when the number is lost. Several fields are reserved for court staff, who calculate the cost after pulling the file.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of request | Date | Unspecified | The date the form is submitted. |
| Requested by | Text | Yes | Name of the requester. |
| Address | Text | Unspecified | Mailing or contact address. |
| Telephone, home and work | Text | Unspecified | Contact numbers. |
| Case number | Text | If known | The complete number is requested by local order. |
| Names of parties | Text | If no case number | Used when the case number is unavailable. |
| Nature of request | Checkbox | Yes | Review the file, obtain copies, or both. |
| Entire file or specific documents | Checkbox and lines | Conditional | Non-public documents are excluded by law. |
Remaining fields on the form, including the number of copies, cost per page, and total charged, are completed by court staff.
Requesting a St. Joseph County Record Check
A separate worksheet handles criminal and court record checks on a named person. It asks for identifying details and a search range, because an open-ended search across decades is not practical at the counter. Results are mailed unless the requester names a pickup date.
| Field Label | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Defendant | Yes | The name being searched. |
| Date of birth | Yes | Distinguishes people who share a name. |
| Years of search | Unspecified | The range the staff will cover. |
| Offense or conviction date | Optional | Narrows the search when known. |
| Specific offenses | Optional | An offense list, if any. |
| Requestor name and phone | Yes | Contact details for the result. |
| Pick-up date | Optional | If left blank, results are mailed. |
| Mailing address | If mailed | Required when results are posted. |
Note: The worksheet instructs requesters to allow 7 days for a record check, so employment or housing deadlines should account for that wait.
Vital Records and Other Clerk Services
The General Division issues certified birth, death, and marriage certificates. Marriage records here run from 1832 to the present, which makes the office a genealogy destination as much as a legal one. Certified marriage copies and license applications are handled with the county marriage and divorce records.
Land records sit on the Register of Deeds side. That office records, indexes, and preserves deeds, mortgages, land contracts, and liens. A title search therefore starts in the same building as a court file request, though at a different counter.
Genealogy work carries its own rules. Staff searches cost a fee, cover a minimum span of 13 years, and must be paid by money order. Court records are quoted by page count rather than a flat search rate.