Mason County Clerk of Court

About the Mason County Clerk's Office

The Mason County Clerk is an officer prescribed by state law and elected every four years on a partisan basis. Cheryl Kelly holds the office today. The role reaches well past record keeping. The Clerk serves as Clerk to the Mason County Board of Commissioners, Clerk to the Circuit Court, and a member of the Board of Canvassers, the County Election Commission, the County Plat Board, and the County Apportionment Board. The Clerk also handles Concealed Pistol License duties and, because Mason County has county zoning, coordinates filings for land seeking Farmland Preservation PA-116 enrollment.

Elections are a large part of the job. The Clerk is the county's chief election official and supervises national, state, local, and school elections, along with the Michigan Campaign Finance Reporting Act. On the records side, the office maintains birth and death records, marriage licenses, assumed business names and partnership certificates, concealed weapons permits, veterans discharge records, and voter registration. The county's own overview of the office sits on the Mason County Clerk page, which lists Clerk Cheryl Kelly along with the office hours and request links.

That page is the best starting point for hours, staff, and the vital-record and marriage-license links. It ties every clerk function together in one place, so a first-time visitor can confirm which counter handles a given task. The contact card below carries the same address, phone, and hours the county publishes.

What the Mason County Clerk Does

The office wears two hats at once. As a county officer, it manages elections, business filings, and vital records. As Clerk to the Circuit Court, it keeps the case files for the 51st Circuit Court and serves the public at the records counter. Both roles run out of the historical courthouse on East Ludington Avenue. The list below groups the duties residents use most.

• Maintains circuit-court case files and accepts new filings and pleadings.
• Performs record searches and issues certified copies of court documents.
• Keeps birth, death, and marriage records for the county.
• Files assumed business names, partnership certificates, and notary bonds.
• Registers voters and runs county, state, and school elections.

The office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Thursday opens an hour later than the rest of the week, at 9:00 a.m., so anyone planning a Thursday visit should build that into the trip. Staff can pull files and process copies, but they cannot tell a visitor what to file or how a case should proceed.

Mason County Circuit Court Records

The Clerk's Court Services function is the record center for the 51st Circuit Court, the general-jurisdiction trial court that serves Mason and Lake Counties. This is where the county keeps civil, criminal, domestic, custody and support, and personal protection order files for that court. The office accepts new case filings and later pleadings, performs record searches on request, and issues certified copies of documents on file. For a fuller picture of the trial court itself, the county's Mason County Circuit Court resources cover the judge, jurisdiction, and case types.

Scheduling a hearing is a separate step handled by the court, not the records counter. Court hearings are set through Circuit Court Administration, and the county directs anyone who needs to place a matter before the court to call 231-845-0516. The Circuit Court Records Office answers record questions at 231-845-1445. The county spells out the payment options and record duties on the Clerk's Court Services page, which is the authoritative source for circuit-court filings and copies.

Mason County Vital Records and Licenses

Beyond the courtroom, the Clerk is the county's keeper of vital records. Birth records on file begin in 1867, death records begin in 1875, and marriage records begin in 1867. Death and marriage records are open to the public when the event occurred in Mason County. Birth records are confidential and go only to the person named or a parent, with extra documentation required for heirs, legal guardians, or legal representatives. The county explains each rule on the Mason County birth, death, and marriage records page.

That page lists the certified-copy fees, the years each record type starts, and the details a mail request must carry. Marriage licenses are also issued here. Couples can start an application online, but both applicants must appear at the counter to finish and sign it. Fees, residency rules, and the correction process for a filed license live with the county's broader Mason County marriage and divorce records guidance, which covers the same office from the vital-records side.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the Clerk's seal and is the version a court, agency, or other state will accept as proof. An uncertified printout from an online search does not carry that weight. Whether the record is a court document or a vital record, the request follows the same basic path at the Clerk's Office. The steps below keep a request moving without a return trip.

1. Identify the record. For a court file, have the case or file number, the party names, and the document you need. For a vital record, gather the name, date, and details the office requires.
2. Choose a channel. Visit the counter at 304 E. Ludington Avenue, mail a written request, or start a vital-record order through the county's online portal.
3. Include payment. Add the correct fee by check or money order made payable to the Mason County Clerk, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a mailed request.
4. Submit and collect. Hand the packet to staff or send it in, then pick up the certified copy in person or wait for it to arrive by mail.

Certified vital records cost $15 for the first copy and $5 for each additional copy in the same order. Court-record copy fees are set by the 51st Circuit Court and paid through Court Services. A complete request with the right fee is the fastest way to get a sealed copy in hand.

Mason County Records Request Fields

A mailed vital-record request is not a form to guess at. The county lists exactly what each record type needs before the office can pull it and mail it back. Leaving out a signature, a payment, or a return envelope usually sends the request back unfilled. The table gathers the county's mail requirements for the three vital records residents request most.

A copy of identification matters most for the confidential birth record. Payment must be a check or money order, not cash sent through the mail. Matching the request to these fields is the single best way to avoid a delay.

Mason County Clerk Fees

The Clerk's Office publishes set amounts for each service, so a requester can budget before sending anything. Certified copies carry a first-copy price with a lower charge for extra copies in the same order. Card payments for circuit-court matters add a processing fee charged by the card vendor, not by the county. The schedule below lists the fees residents encounter most.

The correction fee is the highest of the group because it involves a court order, not a simple counter edit. Card fees for the 51st Circuit Court run 7% on bonds and 3% on service fees, fines, restitution, motions, and copy charges. Paying by check or money order avoids the card surcharge on court transactions.

Mail and Online Clerk Requests

Not every record needs a trip downtown. Court cases can be looked up through the state system, and vital records can be ordered online. Mason County links public case searching to MiCOURT Case Search, Michigan's statewide One Court of Justice tool, rather than a county-built database. The direct route for the trial court is the MiCOURT search for the 51st Circuit Court, where a party name or file number opens the register of actions for a case.

Vital records travel a different channel. The Clerk runs an online ordering portal for birth, death, marriage license, and Judgment of Divorce records through the county vital-record portal operated on the Fidlar and Apex platform. The same tool starts a marriage-license application, though the couple still finishes it in person. Many everyday answers about access and timing appear on the Mason County Clerk FAQ page, which covers who may request a record and what identification is required.

That FAQ answers common questions about who may access a record, what identification is needed, and how long a request takes. Reading it first often settles a question before a call. Mail requests should still carry a check or money order and a return envelope, since the office cannot mail a record without payment and an address.

FOIA and Administrative Records

Court case files and administrative records follow different paths. Case files are reached through the Clerk and the court under Michigan court rules, not an ordinary public-records letter. General county administrative records, the kind that are not case files, fall under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. Those requests go to County Administration rather than the Clerk's counter.

The county names its FOIA officer and forms on the Mason County FOIA page, which covers county offices with two exceptions. The Sheriff's Office and the Prosecuting Attorney each administer their own separate FOIA policies, so records held by those offices are requested directly from them. For court records, the fastest route stays the same: start with the office that holds the file, which for circuit cases is the Clerk's Court Services function.

What Clerk Staff Cannot Do

The Clerk's Office serves the public every business day, but its help has limits set by law. Staff can locate a file, explain a fee, and process a copy. They cannot cross the line into legal advice. Understanding that boundary keeps expectations realistic and points a visitor toward the right resource for the rest.

Genealogy research is one area with its own procedure. Rather than a walk-in search of old volumes, the county asks that genealogy work be arranged ahead of time. The Mason County Clerk genealogy page states that genealogy appointments should be scheduled by phone with the Clerk's Office.

Setting an appointment lets staff prepare the older records a researcher wants to see. For everything else, a few plain limits apply. Clerk staff cannot give legal advice or interpret a ruling. They cannot fill out forms or choose a filing for a customer. They cannot schedule a hearing, which runs through Circuit Court Administration at 231-845-0516. They also cannot release confidential birth records to anyone outside the people the law allows. Within those bounds, the office is the county's central point for court files, certified copies, and vital records.