Getting Shiawassee County Court Records
Begin with MiCOURT Case Search to pull the court code and case number. The codes are simple. C35 is the 35th Judicial Circuit Court. D66 is the 66th District Court, and P78 is the Shiawassee County Probate Court. MiCOURT can give you a public case lead with status, events, and a summary. It is not the file itself. It does not replace the Register of Actions. That could be a certified copy, a transcript, audio or video, or any access decision by the court of record.
How you ask depends on which court it is. Circuit files can be viewed at the Circuit Court counter or discussed on the Circuit records line. District records go through the court's civil or criminal email route. Probate points to its P78 path. Its mail or in-person channel is listed, and the page lists no email filing there. Name the case and the exact record. Say whether you want a plain or certified copy.
- Find the court code, case number, and case type in the public case result or existing court paper.
- Decide whether the need is an ROA, complete file, named document, transcript, recording, plain copy, or certified copy.
- Send the request to the court-level custodian through its documented counter, phone, email, mail, or in-person path.
- State the party or case style, a callback or email contact, and any deadline without assuming a production date.
- Confirm the clerk’s copy, certification, restriction, payment, and delivery instructions before relying on the result.
The court where the file lives keeps the official copy. An online search may point you to the case, but that does not shift control of the record.
Shiawassee County Court Record Custody
Shiawassee County has no single desk for court records. Caroline Wilson, the elected County Clerk and Circuit Court Clerk, runs the County Clerk's Circuit Court Division. That office keeps C35 civil, criminal, domestic-relations, Family Division, and related legal files. The 66th District Court Clerk's Office holds District civil, criminal, traffic, civil-infraction, small-claims, landlord-tenant, and preliminary-examination records. Probate staff keep the P78 files. Friend of the Court material sits elsewhere. It is under a separate office with its own access rule.
| Court or office | Code or scope | Record route |
|---|---|---|
| 35th Circuit Court Division | C35 civil, criminal, Family Division, and related Circuit files | County Clerk’s Circuit Court counter and Circuit records line |
| 66th District Court Clerk’s Office | D66 civil, criminal, traffic, civil-infraction, small-claims, and related District files | Civil or criminal record-request email, based on record classification |
| Shiawassee County Probate Court | P78 estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and other Probate matters | MiCOURT P78 path, then local mail or in-person channel |
The Circuit Court County Clerk information identifies the Circuit records counter and clerk role.
Check the court code before you call a clerk. That one habit spares you sending a District or Probate request to the Circuit counter. Administrative Order 2014-20 spells out the county’s concurrent-jurisdiction plan for C35, D66, and Probate.
Even with the courts coordinating, the clerk who truly maintains the file is the one to ask.
Court Record Types
A docket summary is only an index. The full court file behind it can hold far more: pleadings, complaints, answers, petitions, motions, affidavits, responses, proofs of service, exhibits, orders, judgments, satisfaction documents, notices, transcripts, and appeals. So when you ask Shiawassee County for records, be exact. Say what you want. The complete file and one document are different asks, as are a transcript and a Register of Actions. A recording may carry its own rules, too, covering access, retention, redaction, and copy format. Michigan Court Rules Chapter 8 sets out the governing framework. It covers how trial courts handle and release these records.
Those rules explain a quirk of docket research: an entry can be public while the paper behind it follows a separate access or copying path. The docket entry and the filed document are two different things at the clerk's counter.
- Register of Actions, also called the ROA or chronological case history.
- Complete case file or a specified pleading, petition, complaint, answer, motion, or response.
- Order, judgment, satisfaction document, notice, or appeal record.
- Transcript, which is the record of a proceeding and is not a docket entry.
- Audio, video, exhibit, or other attachment that may have separate access and copy rules.
Shiawassee County Court Record Email Fields
The 66th District Court splits its record requests by case type. Civil requests go to D66civil@shiawassee.net. Criminal requests go to D66ct@shiawassee.net. Every email should carry your full name, phone, email, and mailing address. Add the case number and party name. State the item you want, whether that is the complete file, a specific document, a transcript, or a Register of Actions.
Those details do real work. They tell D66 which court docket to pull. The details also show what to copy and where to send the response. For a traffic-related ROA, pick the address that matches the record's classification and include the case or ticket number plus the party name. The official page lists no fee or turnaround time, so plan for neither until the clerk confirms.
District request check: Include both the case identifier and the exact requested item. “Court records” alone does not say whether the need is an ROA, document, transcript, or complete file.
Inside a Shiawassee County Court Record
What you can see depends on the court and the case type. Any restriction matters too. A public MiCOURT case summary shows the case's identity and status. It also shows public events and selected fields. The file at the clerk's office may hold the papers behind those events. In a civil matter, the papers vary. That could be a complaint or petition, a summons, an answer, a proof of service, a motion, an affidavit, an order, a judgment, a satisfaction, an appeal, a transcript, or a certified-copy request. One event can sit in the docket as a single line. Its underlying filing lives separately in the court record.
| Case identity | Court code, case year and number, type, category, subcategory, and case style or entitlement. |
|---|---|
| Status record | Filed date, case status, public status, disposition date, closed date, case age, and next hearing where available. |
| Case history | ROA entries with filing or event date, action description, and an indication of document availability where shown. |
| Orders and judgments | Signed rulings, judgments, satisfaction documents, and related notices that may require a clerk request. |
| Attachments | Exhibits, transcripts, audio or video, and other records that can have separate access, retention, or redaction rules. |
Copy the case number exactly as it appears. Resist the urge to guess at a court-specific type code. To verify a record detail, the official ROA or the filed document is the sound route, not the absence of an online field.
Shiawassee County Court Record Counter Paths
For C35 records, go to the Circuit Court counter. You can also call the records line at 989-743-2262, option 3. The courthouse sits at 208 North Shiawassee Street, second floor, Corunna, MI 48817. Weekday counter hours run 8:00 a.m. to noon. The afternoon window is 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., as published. Call ahead to ask about copy fees, certification, transcripts, accessibility, and current counter procedures. The local pages leave several of those details unstated.
County Clerk Circuit Court Division
208 North Shiawassee Street, second floor
Corunna, MI 48817
989-743-2262, option 3
Weekdays: 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Probate records follow a two-step path in Shiawassee County. Start with the P78 MiCOURT route to find a public case lead. Then use the Probate page's mail or in-person option to actually pull the file. Email filing is off the table there. The Probate page also warns that staff cannot give legal advice. Nor can they guarantee a filing gets finished while you wait. Keep expectations modest, too. A Probate case search will not surface every will, trust, guardianship report, or protected filing.
Circuit cases carry their own quirks. Shiawassee Circuit is not an e-filing county. Ordinary email filing there ended on July 1, 2025, so standard C35 filings go in person or by mail. The court does maintain a limited emergency address. It covers civil or domestic motions, PPO petitions, and show-cause motions. That emergency route does not open a general records-request email channel.
Fees and Certified Copies
Not every copy is the same. A plain copy, certified copy, transcript, recording, or restricted exhibit may each need different handling. The clerk's counter sets those rules. Certification is something the clerk does. It is not a label you can attach to your own printout. So name the record you want. Ask the clerk whether certification or a true copy is available for your purpose. Transcripts sit apart from the rest. A court reporter or an authorized transcription route often controls their availability and pricing.
| Requested item | Published Shiawassee fee or timing |
|---|---|
| District ordinary record copy | Fee not located in official sources; turnaround not located in official sources. |
| Circuit ordinary record copy | Fee not located in official sources; turnaround not located in official sources. |
| Certified copy or true copy | Ask the court custodian what certification is available and what charge applies. |
| Transcript | Fee not located in official sources; availability and pricing can follow a court-reporting route. |
| Audio, video, or exhibit | Ask the court of record about access, retention, redaction, format, and any applicable charge. |
When a deadline looms, say so and call the clerk directly. The clerk sets no posted turnaround for copies in Shiawassee County, so plan without a promised delivery date.
Shiawassee County Court Records and FOIA
Skip Michigan FOIA when you want a Shiawassee County court file. The act does not reach the judiciary. Under MCL 15.232, courts fall outside the public-body definition. That exclusion covers a County Clerk too. It also covers staff acting as clerk of the Circuit Court. So a C35, D66, or P78 case file goes to the court that holds it, under the court rules and local procedures, not through a FOIA request. A city clerk can still have FOIA duties for its own records. So can a county executive-branch office.
For the exact wording of that judicial boundary, the Michigan FOIA public-body definition spells out who counts as a public body. It also explains why the courts are left out.
Aim your request at the right custodian. That gives the clerk the case number, record type, and access question needed to process it under the applicable court rules.
Sealed Records and Public Access
MCR 8.119 opens trial-court case records to inspection and copying. Law, court rule, or court order can say otherwise. MiCOURT's public search still holds back sensitive case types. It does that on purpose. The excluded list covers adoption, juvenile and child-protective proceedings, juvenile guardianships, mental illness, name changes, PPO and PPO-violation matters, surrendered-newborn-child matters, treatment of infectious disease, extreme-risk protection orders, and wills. One caution matters here. A category left out of the search does not prove the case never existed.
Michigan Court Rules Chapter 3 holds the specialized Family Division and juvenile access provisions. Those provisions govern the restricted matters.
Calendars keep some secrets of their own. A public calendar may drop names for confidential matters yet still show the hearing type, room, and scheduled time.
Ask the clerk precisely: Ask whether an item is public, restricted, sealed, confidential, or contains protected personal information, and ask whether a redacted copy is permitted.
Shiawassee County Court Record Redactions
MCR 1.109(D)(9)-(10) shields personal identifying information in public filings. Five categories get that protection. They are date of birth, Social Security or national ID number, driver-license or state-ID number, passport number, and financial-account number. Filings use redaction and protected-PII procedures where the rule requires them. Don't ask a Shiawassee County clerk for an unredacted copy of those identifiers.
The statewide redaction framework comes from Michigan Court Rules Chapter 1. It lists what stays out of the public file.
When a redaction request fits the rules, the court can issue a restricted or redacted copy. It will not turn a protected field into public information.