Contact the Charlevoix County Clerk

About the Charlevoix County Clerk's Office

Julia A. Drost serves as the Charlevoix County Clerk. She leads the office that acts as the county's official record keeper. The clerk is an elected county officer under Michigan law. The office sits in downtown Charlevoix, the county seat. Staff there field a wide mix of daily requests from the public, and many people arrive without knowing which record they truly need.

The clerk oversees several record systems at once. Those include circuit court files, births, marriages, and deaths, plus military discharges and concealed pistol permits. The office also runs county elections and keeps the board of commissioners agendas and minutes. Payroll and employee benefits fall under the same roof. A team of deputy clerks splits the workload by subject area, so requests move to the right desk quickly.

Both the clerk office at 203 Antrim and the courthouse at 301 State St. share one practical quirk. Visitors enter from the parking lot at the back of the building, not the street side.

What the Charlevoix County Clerk Handles

The Charlevoix County Clerk wears more hats than most people expect. The office is the county's central record hub, not just a court counter. It keeps circuit court case files, issues marriage licenses, and records vital events. It also administers elections and manages the board's meeting records. Deputy clerks cover the main service areas, which keeps busy days moving.

• Keep circuit court civil and criminal case records
• Issue marriage licenses and certified marriage copies
• Record births and deaths and sell certified copies
• File business assumed names and dissolutions
• Provide concealed pistol permit information
• Administer county elections and voter records
• Maintain board of commissioners agendas and minutes

The deputy roster splits these jobs by name. Kim Garver serves as Chief Deputy Clerk, and Shelly Johnstone works alongside her. Lisa Kuebler covers civil court, Mary Kay McPherson handles criminal court, and Laura St. Pierre manages vital records. That structure means a marriage question and a court-file question rarely land on the same person.

Some records people expect at the clerk actually live elsewhere. Land deeds, mortgages, and property liens sit with a different county office. Deeds and property records are searchable through the Charlevoix County Register of Deeds, which is separate from the clerk.

Keeping those two offices straight saves a wasted trip when you need a property record instead of a court or vital record.

How to Request a Certified Copy

Certified copies carry the clerk's seal and signature. Courts, agencies, and other states accept them as proof of a birth, death, marriage, or court action. Plain printouts do not carry the same legal weight, so a certified copy is what most official uses require.

1. Identify the exact record you need, such as a birth, death, or marriage certificate, or a circuit court case number.
2. Pick up the matching application at the clerk's office, or download it from the county document center.
3. Complete the form with full names, dates, and your relationship to the record where the form asks for it.
4. Submit the request in person or by mail with the correct fee and a copy of your photo ID.
5. Collect the certified copy at the counter, or wait for it to arrive by return mail.

Mail requests take longer than counter visits. Build in time for delivery both ways when a deadline is near.

Charlevoix County Records Request Form

A clean request form speeds up any certified-copy order. The clerk needs enough detail to find the right file and confirm you may receive it. The table below shows the common fields an applicant fills in for a vital or court record request.

Missing details slow the search. When a name or date is uncertain, calling the office first can save a rejected form.

Charlevoix County Clerk Fee Schedule

Clerk fees are set and predictable, which helps people budget a visit. Vital records carry a flat certified-copy price, with a lower senior rate on some items. Marriage licenses and business filings each carry their own charge. The table lists the core clerk fees residents ask about most.

Seniors qualify for the reduced birth and death copy rate. Fees can change, so confirm the current amount before mailing a check.

Note: Out-of-state marriage licenses carry an added charge and a three-day wait, which the office can waive for good cause for a separate fee.

Charlevoix County Marriage and Vital Records

Marriage licenses are one of the clerk's busiest services. A couple applies in the county where one of them lives, and the license then works anywhere in Michigan. Both parties do not need to appear at the same time, but no outside party may apply for someone else. The license is ready three days after application and stays valid for thirty days.

Each applicant supplies a set of personal details. That list includes full name, date of birth, current address, Social Security number, number of prior marriages, city and state of birth, and each parent's name and state of birth. Only the two people being married may pick up the finished license. Divorce judgments are court records rather than clerk vital records, and those live with the Charlevoix County marriage and divorce records maintained by the circuit court.

Certified birth, death, and marriage copies come from the vital records desk. Laura St. Pierre serves as the vital records deputy clerk, and senior applicants pay a reduced rate on birth and death copies. Applicants who cannot visit can use the county document center forms and mail their request in.

Charlevoix County FOIA and Records

Public records requests in Michigan run under the Freedom of Information Act. The law treats open access to government records as the default position. Charlevoix County uses two FOIA coordinators, split by the kind of record. Law-enforcement requests go to Kirk Raymond at 1000 Grant St., while all other requests go to Julia Drost at 203 Antrim St.

The state's open-records policy sits in MCL 15.231, which frames public access as a core right.

That default is broad, but it is not unlimited, and certain files stay closed by statute.

The exemptions live in a separate section of the law. Records that fall outside public view are listed in MCL 15.243, which sets out what an agency may withhold.

Court records follow their own rules rather than the ordinary FOIA path, so a case file request may route to the court instead of the clerk.

The clerk page links to the county FOIA policy, a policy summary, a cost itemization, and the request form. Starting there keeps a request in the right lane from the first step.

Business Names and Pistol Permits

The clerk also files business assumed names, known as a DBA. Registration or dissolution costs ten dollars. New business owners should check a proposed name by phone before filing, since a name already in use will not clear.

Concealed pistol permit questions run through the same office. The clerk provides CPL information and points applicants to the right forms and steps. The office also handles juror questionnaire information for residents called to serve.

Note: Business owners should confirm a name is free by phone first, because a rejected filing still costs time even when the fee is small.

Circuit Court Records and the Portal

Circuit court records are part of the clerk's responsibility. The office keeps civil and criminal case files for the trial court of general jurisdiction. People who want case details can start with the clerk or with the Charlevoix County Circuit Court directly, depending on whether they need a certified document or just case status.

For files that are digitized, the county runs an online document portal as a searchable fallback. The county online services page links to that portal along with parcel and mapping lookups.

That hub is a useful jumping-off point when you are not sure which county tool holds the record you want.

Older or non-digitized files may not appear online at all. For those, a call or a visit to the clerk remains the surest path to the paper record.