St. Joseph County, Michigan Public Records

Investigations closed

54

Back wages agreed

$413,941

Workers due back wages

582

Civil money penalties

$36,323

Employers on the record

46

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 46 on the St. Joseph County record; 23 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 21 more with smaller records are on the Michigan wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

St. Joseph County record searches through the Centreville offices

Choose the division at the Historic Courthouse

St. Joseph County combines several responsibilities under its County Clerk and Register of Deeds, but the requested record still needs a division. The General Division maintains county and Board of Commissioners records and issues vital records. The Circuit Court Division maintains civil, criminal and family case records. The Register of Deeds preserves recorded property instruments. Start a request with the document type, followed by the names, date and any reference already known. A marriage certificate, divorce judgment and deed can concern the same people while requiring different searches. County Clerk divisions.

The Clerk's office-specific contact is the second floor of the Historic Courthouse, 125 W. Main Street, with mail to P.O. Box 189, Centreville, MI 49032, telephone 269-467-5626. The Register of Deeds lists its own telephone, 269-467-5552. Use those division contacts when arranging a copy request instead of substituting the general county number shown elsewhere on the website. Keep the exact service in the subject of an email or cover letter, and say whether the receiving organization needs certification. That gives the office a clear starting point without requiring staff to infer your purpose from a name alone. Register of Deeds contact.

Move from a tax-roll name to the recorded instrument

The Register's guidance begins a deed search with a grantor or grantee name and an approximate transaction year. Recent transactions may also be searched by tax identification number. When only a location is known, the office directs researchers to the Land Resource Centre or Treasurer for a tax-roll name, then back to the land records. Preserve both the name used in the index and the document reference. A modern street address may not appear in an older instrument in the same form, so a failed address search should not end the investigation. Local deed-search guidance.

Equalization provides parcel information and maps through its property-search route, together with equalization, millage and apportionment reports and a township and city assessor list. Use that material to identify the parcel and the local assessing jurisdiction. A parcel display can help locate a property record, but it does not reproduce every condition in a recorded deed or lien. For an ownership question, obtain the instrument rather than quoting the map's owner label as the complete answer. When comparing taxes or values, write down the assessment year so records from separate years are not silently combined. Equalization property tools and reports.

Separate document recording, copying and certification

The county recording schedule lists general recording at $30 per document and tax certification at $5 when required. Ordinary real-estate copies are $1 per page, while certification of those copies is $5 per instrument. These charges measure different things. For an existing deed, ask for the number of pages and whether certification is required before calculating the total. A certification charge alone is not the price of every certified document. For a new filing, distinguish the recording charge from transfer taxes or a required tax certification. Recording and copy fee schedule.

The office also publishes grantor/grantee and mortgagor/mortgagee search charges of 50 cents for each year searched under each name, subject to a $5 minimum. This is a staff search service, separate from simply supplying a known deed copy. Narrow the names and years when requesting that work and ask what index is appropriate for older material. The recorded document's legal description and prior references can guide additional searches. Keep a list of instruments obtained and instruments still missing, so an assignment, discharge or later conveyance is not overlooked merely because an earlier deed was found. Source: stjosephcountymi.gov.

Prepare a recording visit around the actual cutoff

The Register's own FAQ gives office hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It also says real and personal property documents presented after 4:00 p.m. may be recorded or filed on the following working day. That is a recording cutoff, not the closing time printed in a generic website footer. If timing matters, confirm the intended service with the Register before making a trip. The FAQ describes a SWIFT option for receiving an electronic copy after recording while the paper document is being returned; do not treat it as a guarantee of recording upon arrival. Source: stjosephcountymi.gov.

The published requirements call for a complete legal description, a return address and identifying information for the parties and document preparer. Court orders submitted for recording must be certified and sealed by the court clerk. Compare the completed instrument against the current requirements before sending it, and retain the version actually accepted. Recording staff record and index documents; the office does not draft a replacement deed to show a changed ownership situation. If the issue is what wording belongs in the instrument, separate that preparation question from a request to copy an instrument already on file. Source: stjosephcountymi.gov.

Order the local certificate rather than a state-priced product

The county birth-certificate service lists a $20 first copy and $10 additional copies. It requires identification and limits public access to recent birth records. Its online instructions say orders received by 2:00 p.m. are typically processed and mailed that day; that describes processing, not arrival in the mail. Select the county service deliberately instead of assuming a statewide vital-record price applies. Supply the name and event details requested by the county, and use its authorized ordering route so the order reaches the office that has the record. County birth-certificate instructions.

The death-certificate service likewise lists $20 for the first copy and $10 for additional copies. It describes death records as open and filed in the county where the death occurred. Its genealogy search provides a record number but does not display the full record online. The marriage-certificate service covers licenses issued in the county and lists the same copy charges. For either product, distinguish the record number found online from the certified copy needed by another organization. Personal checks are not accepted under the posted county payment instructions. Death-record search and ordering and marriage-certificate service.

Keep the court file apart from the Sheriff record

The Clerk's Circuit Court Division maintains the official court record for civil, criminal and family cases. Ask for the case number, particular filing and document date where available, and specify whether you need the entered order or another document from the file. A case index or docket entry can identify a filing but does not replace its text. If a divorce decree must be certified, direct that request to the court-record division rather than ordering a marriage certificate. Restricted material remains subject to the court's access rules even when other parts of the case can be located. Source: stjosephcountymi.gov.

The Sheriff's office lists 650 E. Main Street, with mail to P.O. Box 339, Centreville, MI 49032, telephone 269-467-9045. It operates the county jail and separate investigation, patrol and support divisions. A request for an incident report should identify the responding agency, event date and report number if known. A jail entry records custody; the court disposition addresses how a case ended. Keep those dates and records distinct when checking whether two entries concern the same person or event. The Sheriff's directory does not establish a public counter schedule for every type of record request. Sheriff responsibilities and office contact.

Ask for county decisions and election documents by title

St. Joseph County directs general Freedom of Information Act requests to its JustFOIA portal and supplies procedures, a cost-itemization form and a public summary. Describe a defined set of existing documents, such as a named contract, Board attachment or correspondence for a stated period. If a request is clarified, retain the original reference so the office can connect the messages. Specify whether inspection or electronic copies meet the need, and ask for an explanation of any quoted charge before ordering a broader set of copies. County FOIA request route.

The Elections Division publishes separate Election Commission and Board of Canvassers notices, agendas and minutes, candidate lists and a public campaign-finance filing route. Its contact is 269-467-5594 and elections@stjosephcountymi.gov. Identify the election, committee or meeting and distinguish an election result from a canvassing record or campaign filing. A current voter-information lookup answers a different question from an archived county election document. Retain the title and date of any downloaded filing so another researcher can find the same record after the current-election banner changes. Election records and division contact.