About the Leelanau County Clerk's Office
Michelle L. Crocker serves as the Leelanau County Clerk, an elected office that anchors county records and elections. The clerk works out of Suite 103 in the Government Center in Suttons Bay and keeps longer public hours than the courts upstairs. The office is the register of county vital statistics, which means it holds the county's birth, death, and marriage records and their indexes.
The clerk's reach runs wider than vital records alone. This office supervises elections as chief election officer, clerks the County Board of Commissioners, and files business names and notary commissions. It is also the front door for many people trying to find a court record, since the clerk can point them to the court that holds the file.
The county's clerk page lists the office's duties, contacts, and record functions. You can open the Leelanau County Clerk office page for the current contact block and service list.
That page is the official source for the clerk's role and stays current when hours or staff change. The contact card below pulls the core details together.
Leelanau County Clerk
Clerk: Michelle L. Crocker
8527 E. Government Center Dr., Suite 103
Suttons Bay, MI 49682
231-256-9824
Fax: 231-256-8295
clerk@leelanau.gov
Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except holidays
What the Leelanau County Clerk Handles
The clerk wears several hats, and each one produces a different record. Vital records and marriage licenses are the day-to-day work most residents notice. Elections, board minutes, and business filings fill out the rest. The list below covers the main duties the county documents for the office.
- Marriage licenses - accepts applications and issues licenses for qualifying couples.
- Vital records - reviews and records county birth and death certificates and issues certified copies.
- Elections - runs county elections as chief election officer and files petitions.
- Board records - clerks the County Board of Commissioners and prepares its minutes.
- Business names - files assumed-name and co-partnership certificates.
- Notary and passports - processes notary commissions and provides passport-photo service.
One record has a hard limit. Military discharge papers, the DD-214, are not public. The clerk releases them only to the veteran with ID, to a family member with a death certificate, or to a funeral home, and mailed requests need a notarized signature or a photocopy of a government ID.
Leelanau County Clerk Fees
Most clerk services carry a set fee, and vital records follow a simple first-copy plus additional-copy pattern. The schedule below reflects the amounts the county publishes on its clerk pages.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marriage license, Leelanau County resident | $20 per couple |
| Marriage license, out-of-state residents marrying here | $30 per couple |
| Certified marriage record | $10 first copy, $5 each additional |
| Certified birth record | $10 first copy, $5 each additional |
| Certified death record | $10 first copy, $5 each additional |
| Clerk-performed marriage ceremony | $25 |
| Assumed name or co-partnership filing | $10, includes two certified copies |
| Notary bond filing | $10 county fee |
| Passport photo | $10 |
Note: A resident age 65 or older ordering their own certified birth record pays $7 for the first copy, a small break the county lists for that group.
How to Request a Certified Copy in Leelanau County
A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and stands up where a plain printout will not. Banks, courts, and agencies often demand one. The steps below move a request from start to finish, whether you come in person or send it by mail.
- Identify the record you need, along with the person's full name and an approximate date of the event.
- Check eligibility, since birth records are confidential and go only to eligible requesters, while marriage and death records are more open.
- Choose a channel: come to the counter, call, email clerk@leelanau.gov, or send a mailed request.
- Pay the fee, which is $10 for the first copy and $5 for each additional; mailed requests need a check or money order, and phone requests can use a credit card.
- Collect the certified copy at the counter or wait for it to arrive by return mail.
The clerk's how-do-I page walks through marriage, birth, and death requests and the ID rules that go with them. You can review the Leelanau County Clerk how-do-I page before you send a request.
That page also covers the marriage-license application, which either applicant can start online through the county's linked Fidlar portal at mileelanau.fidlar.com. Pickup and ID are still handled at the counter.
Court-Record Request Form Fields
Court files are a step apart from vital records, and district-court files use their own request form. The 86th District Court, which serves Leelanau County, offers a file review and copy request form with a set list of fields. The table below shows what that form asks for and the limits attached.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Number | One identifier required | Up to five case files per day. |
| Party Names | One identifier required | Entered in a party vs. party line. |
| Date of Birth | Conditional | Goes on the protected form MC 97a, not the public form. |
| Review only | Optional | In-person review at the courthouse. |
| Copies requested | Optional | $2 per page. |
| Certified copies requested | Optional | $10 per case, $2 per additional page. |
| Requestor contact | Yes | Name, address, phone, and email. |
| Party status | Choose one | Party, non-party, written consent, or SCAO-authorized. |
| Signature and date | Yes | Acknowledges the protected-PII rules. |
Handling has a clock. Active files are pulled within 48 hours, while records in storage can take up to 10 business days. Protected personal identifying information stays out unless the requester is a party, has written consent from a party, or is SCAO-authorized.
Where Court Records Live in Leelanau County
No single office holds every court file, so the first task is matching the record to the right counter. The clerk can steer you, but knowing the split up front is faster. Four channels cover almost everything.
Circuit Court civil and family files, including divorce and paternity, route through the county clerk channel and the 13th Circuit civil records search for Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau Counties. District-level files, which cover traffic, misdemeanors, small claims, and landlord-tenant, live with the 86th District Court. Probate matters stay with the separate Probate Court in Suite 203. Land and property records belong to the Register of Deeds, a different county office covered further down.
The 86th District Court publishes calendars and case links for the district files it holds. You can reach the 86th District Court website for those tools, and the 13th Circuit civil records search for county civil and domestic cases. For a full walk through the search tools, the Leelanau County court records page lays out each portal.
Certified-Copy Request Channels
The clerk takes vital-record requests through more than one door, which helps when you live out of the area. Death-record requests can go by phone or email to clerk@leelanau.gov; include the full name and the approximate date of death.
Mailed requests go to Michelle L. Crocker, Leelanau County Clerk, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, Suite 103, Suttons Bay, Michigan 49682, with a check or money order. Phone requests at 231-256-9824 can use a credit card. Birth records add a step, since the requester must show eligibility and complete a birth-record request form, and the state vital-record office is a fallback when the Michigan place of birth is uncertain.
Register of Deeds and Leelanau County Land Records
Property records are not a clerk function. The Register of Deeds is a separate county office that records deeds, mortgages, liens, and other land instruments. It sits in Suite 105 of the same Government Center, with its own phone and email, and its records reach back to 1863. Anyone tracing a title, a lot line, or an old conveyance starts here rather than at the clerk's counter.
The office's main page describes its role and the deep date range of the county land index. You can open the Leelanau County Register of Deeds page for its contact block and record scope.
Keeping the two offices straight prevents a wasted trip, since a deed request sent to the clerk only gets redirected. The Register of Deeds handles the land side; the clerk handles vital records and the court-record channel.
Searching Leelanau County Property Records Online
The Register of Deeds runs an official self-service index online. The county uses a Tyler-hosted portal where the public can search the recorded land index from a browser. Automated or bulk pulls are prohibited, so the tool is meant for ordinary title and document lookups.
The portal opens with a disclaimer and a search entry for the county's recorded documents. You can reach the Register of Deeds self-service web portal to start a property search.
The online index tells you what has been recorded, but the certified paper copy still comes from the office. For that copy, the request methods below apply.
Requesting Copies From the Leelanau Register of Deeds
When you need an actual copy of a recorded document, the Register of Deeds spells out how to ask. The office's how-do-I page lists the copy-request methods and notes that it accepts passport applications as well.
You can review the Register of Deeds how-do-I page for the current request options and any fees.
Reading the request steps first keeps a land-record order moving. For marriage and divorce documents, which belong to the clerk and the Circuit Court rather than the Register of Deeds, the marriage and divorce records page covers the fees and forms.
FOIA Fallback for Leelanau County Records
Not every public record is a court file or a vital record. Sheriff, jail, prosecutor-administrative, and general county department records fall under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. When a record is not posted or handed over at a counter, a FOIA request is the fallback.
Leelanau County routes those requests through a coordinator. Katie Smielewski serves as the county FOIA coordinator, and requests go to FOIA@leelanau.gov for review and release under the applicable law. Court records themselves follow Michigan Court Rules rather than FOIA, so a case-file request still runs through the clerk or the court that holds it.
Note: Court records are governed by Michigan Court Rules, not FOIA, so send case-file requests to the clerk or the holding court rather than the FOIA coordinator.