Ottawa County Clerk of Court

Ottawa County Clerk and Register of Deeds

Ottawa County uses a combined Clerk and Register of Deeds structure. One elected official leads both roles. The current officeholder listed by the county is Justin F. Roebuck, County Clerk and Register of Deeds. The office describes its core job as creating and preserving records for current and future generations, and it runs several public counters across the county.

The reach of this office is wide. It handles Circuit Court records, vital records, register of deeds recording, and elections. It issues marriage licenses, concealed pistol licenses, and certified copies of birth, death, and marriage records. It also offers passports by appointment at the Fillmore location, business registrations, property fraud alerts, and an Honor Rewards program for veterans. The Ottawa County Clerk and Register of Deeds page groups all of these services in one place.

Circuit Court Records Division in Ottawa County

Court files are handled by the Circuit Court Records Division. This division sits inside the Clerk and Register office. It supports records for cases in the 20th Circuit Court, which covers felonies, high-value civil suits, divorce, custody, and support. When you need a case looked up or copied, this is the counter to reach.

Ottawa County points the public to the state MiCOURT Case Search for online case lookups. The search runs court by court, so choose the 20th Circuit Court when you look. Case history shows online, but document images do not. To get the actual pages, you contact the division. Questions and requests for further case detail go to the Circuit Court Records team by email at circuitcourtrecords@miottawa.org. The full 20th Circuit Court profile lives on the Ottawa County Circuit Court page.

Staff can pull records and certify copies. They cannot tell you what to file or how your case should go. Under Michigan law, clerks may not give legal advice or draft legal papers for the public.

Note: Under MCL 600.916(1), the Ottawa County Clerk of Court staff cannot give legal advice or prepare legal documents, so plan to use court forms or an attorney.

Ottawa County Clerk Locations and Hours

The same office runs different record counters in different cities. Vital records sit at one desk, and Circuit Court records sit at another, even inside the same building. Grand Haven and West Olive hold the two Circuit Court Records offices. Vital records counters also run in Holland and Hudsonville. Hours look normal at first glance, but several counters close for short, recurring windows, and those closures catch people off guard.

The recurring closures are the part worth noting. Both Circuit Court Records offices shut down every second Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Starting January 1, 2026, the West Olive Vital Records and Deeds Recording counter also closes on the third Monday of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Some vital records counters close over the lunch hour, and Hudsonville only opens on Tuesdays.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a court copy the clerk stamps as true and official. Banks, agencies, and other courts often demand one because a plain printout will not do. Judgments of divorce are a common example, since every copy of a divorce judgment must be certified. The steps below apply to Circuit Court records held by the Ottawa County Clerk of Court.

1. Find the case number first. Search MiCOURT Case Search by party name or case number, and note the court and case type shown.
2. Reach the correct counter. Circuit Court records are held at the Grand Haven and West Olive Circuit Court Records offices, both at (616) 846-8315.
3. Tell staff which document you need, the number of copies, and whether each must be certified.
4. Pay the fee. Certified copies run $10 plus $1 per page, and machine copies run $1 per page.
5. Pick up the copy at the counter or arrange to receive it, using an accepted payment method.

Note: The Circuit Court Records Division does not accept personal checks, so bring cash, a card, or a money order when you request certified copies.

Ottawa County Records Request Channels

There is no single form for every record. The channel depends on what you want and why. Public case history comes from a free state search. Copies of court documents come from the records division. Filings go through the state e-filing system. County records outside the court file follow a separate request path. The table sorts the main channels so you can pick the right one before you start.

E-Filing Through MiFILE

Ottawa County requires litigants to e-file for Circuit Court and District Court civil case types. Filing runs through MiFILE, the state's electronic filing portal. The process starts with the right court form and ends with a submitted, signed filing. An account is needed, and card processing fees apply to payments.

Ottawa County lays out the Circuit Court e-filing steps in plain order. Download the correct SCAO form, fill it in, and sign it by typing /S/ followed by your name. Re-save the document, sign in to MiFILE, and file it there. If you cannot download the form or scan your papers, you may submit form MC100 to request an exemption and mail your documents with payment. If a judge denies that exemption, the filing is rejected and you must e-file.

A look at the county's own Circuit Court e-filing page shows how the SCAO form, the typed signature, and the MiFILE portal fit together. The image below reflects that same workflow used across Ottawa County court filings.

The self-service kiosks at the county's Legal Self Help Center can help self-represented filers complete forms and reach MiFILE without their own scanner or printer.

Ottawa County Clerk Filing Fees

Circuit Court fees are set and posted, so you can plan ahead. Filing fees, motion fees, and copy fees each carry their own amount. The Circuit Court filing fee schedule lists the full set. The most common charges appear below.

Note that a new divorce or custody case carries the $230 charge plus the $25 e-filing fee where it applies. All copies of judgments of divorce must be certified.

Marriage and Vital Records in Ottawa County

The Vital Records Division of the Clerk and Register office handles marriage licenses and certified vital-record copies. These are not court case files. Michigan residents pay $20 for a marriage license, and out-of-state residents pay $30, due at pickup. A three-day waiting period applies after the application, and the marriage must take place within 33 days of applying.

Certified marriage copies cost $15 for the first copy and $6 for each additional copy of the same record on the same order. You can order at any Clerk location, online through the county portal, or by mail to the West Olive office. Divorce records work differently, since a divorce file lives with Circuit Court Records rather than the vital-records counter. The full walkthrough for both sits on the Ottawa County marriage and divorce records page.

Register of Deeds and Other Ottawa County Clerk Services

The register of deeds side of the office records and preserves land documents. Deed information can be searched online, and copies can be purchased through the county's deeds search. Beyond deeds, the office runs a handful of public services that reach well past the courtroom, and several help residents protect property and identity.

• Property Fraud Alerts that warn of possible fraudulent recordings tied to your name or property.
• Honor Rewards ID cards for veterans, good for discounts at participating local businesses.
• Passports by appointment only at the Fillmore location.
• Concealed pistol licenses, business registrations, and election services.
• Certified birth, death, and marriage records through the Vital Records counters.

Note: Passport service at the Fillmore location runs by appointment only, so call ahead rather than arriving at the counter without a scheduled time.

Records the Ottawa County Clerk Does Not Hold

Some records feel like court records but never touch the county office. Federal cases are the main example. Bankruptcy, federal crimes, and federal civil suits belong to the federal courts, not the Ottawa County Clerk of Court. Asking the county counter for a bankruptcy file will not work, because the file was never there.

Ottawa County bankruptcy matters are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. That court keeps its own docket and its own copies. The screen there is where a bankruptcy case is opened and tracked, entirely apart from county court records.

Ottawa County also falls inside a larger federal district, which decides where these cases are filed. The Western District county list places Ottawa County in the Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

That listing confirms which federal courthouse serves the county, so federal filings and copies route through the federal system rather than the county clerk.

FOIA and Ottawa County Court Records

Court records and county records follow two different rules. This trips up many requesters. Michigan court files are governed by court rules, chiefly MCR 8.119, not by ordinary FOIA. So a court case file is requested through MiCOURT and the Circuit Court Records office, not the FOIA process.

County executive records work the other way. Sheriff reports, crash reports, and similar county records go through the Ottawa County FOIA Center or a written request. Michigan's FOIA gives a public body five business days to respond, with a possible ten-business-day extension. Requests move faster when they name the record, the date range, the people involved, and any case or report number. Broad phrases like "any and all" tend to widen a search and raise the cost.

The short version is simple. For a court case, start with the court. For a county record outside the case file, start with FOIA. Sending a court-record request through the wrong door only slows the answer.