Public acts, executive orders, administrative rules, certain oaths of office and municipal filings are all maintained in this office. The retention periods on these documents range from one year to twenty years. In all cases, documents that are active and in use ("live") are retained here for the life of the file. This means that deeds to state-owned lands, county records, easements, etc., are all filed here on a permanent basis. After leaving this office, either by expiration of the retention dates or by the discontinuance of the file, they are forwarded to the State Archives, having previously been determined to be of historical significance.
Certified copies are provided upon request for any records that are on file with this office. The charge is $1.00 per certification, plus copying fees of $.10 per page. Many of these are provided for legal purposes, to private citizens and government agencies, as well as law firms.
To submit a request for records, please review the FOIA Request website for more information.
Municipal corporations are created by a specific public act. To locate or verify a specific municipal corporation, the following information is required: the public act number, the year of the act, and the corporation name. However, please be advised that municipal corporations do not file resident agent names or annual reports. Therefore, that type of information is not available from this office.
School district records are filed with the Department of Education. You may contact the General Information office at 517-373-3324.
County Clerk and Court Official's oaths are filed with the respective county. These include Probate Court officials, County Clerks, Sheriffs and Prosecutors.
Attorney oaths are filed with the Michigan State Bar. For more information please visit their website or contact their office at 517-346-6300.
Profit and not-for-profit corporations are registered with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) - Corporations Division. Their number is 517-241-6470.
