Access Gogebic County Clerk Records

About the Gogebic County Clerk and Register of Deeds

Gogebic County does not split its records work across several small offices. One elected official, Erin Bunt, holds three titles at once: county clerk, clerk of court, and register of deeds. That means the same office that logs circuit court filings also issues marriage licenses and records deeds. For most residents, this is a convenience. A single visit to the courthouse can cover a birth certificate, a business certificate, and a property lookup.

The clerk works with a small deputy staff who cover the counter and the recording desk. Donna Frello serves as chief deputy clerk, Julie Meinke as deputy clerk, and Jody Jurakovich as deputy register of deeds. The office sits inside the county courthouse and keeps standard weekday hours on Central time, which matters because Gogebic County is the only Michigan county on the Central time zone rather than Eastern.

The county publishes the office details and staff list on its clerk's office page, which is the quickest way to confirm a name or a phone extension before a visit. That page shows the office layout at 200 N. Moore St.

The screenshot above shows the county clerk and register of deeds landing page, where vital records, marriage rules, and the request email are all listed together.

What the Gogebic County Clerk Handles

The clerk of court side of the office is the filing hub for the 32nd Circuit Court. It accepts pleadings, keeps the case index, collects circuit court fines, and processes personal protection orders. The county clerk side handles elections, vital records, and public certificates. The register of deeds side records and preserves land documents. All three functions run out of the same room.

The services the county lists for this office are broad. A resident might come in for a court matter one day and a passport the next. The core menu covers these items:

• Birth and death certificates, plus military discharge records
• Marriage licenses and business (assumed name) certificates
• Circuit court and family court filings
• Concealed weapons permits and personal protection orders
• Voter registration, candidate filings, and election paperwork
• Notary applications and notary bonds
• Collection of circuit court fines and costs

Because the clerk manages elections, candidate filing deadlines and petition paperwork also route through this office rather than a separate elections department.

Vital Records and Marriage Licenses in Gogebic County

Birth, death, and marriage records are held by the county clerk, not the courts. A certified copy carries a raised seal and is the version accepted for legal purposes such as a passport, a name change, or an estate. A plain copy is fine for personal reference but will not stand in for the certified original.

Marriage licenses follow Michigan rules that the county spells out plainly. One or both applicants must apply in person. Residents apply in their county of residence, while nonresidents apply in the county where the ceremony will take place. A three-day waiting period applies, the license is issued on the fourth day, and it stays valid for 33 days. Applicants must be 18 or older, or have written parent or guardian consent if a minor. The fee is $20 for residents and $30 for nonresidents.

Divorce judgments are a court record, not a clerk vital record, so a finalized decree comes from the circuit court file. The clerk still records the underlying paperwork, and the county keeps divorce packets on its forms page. For the full path on obtaining a decree or a divorce certificate, the county's marriage and divorce records guidance breaks down each channel.

Important: Birth, death, and marriage requests, along with clerk motion filings, are accepted by email at efile@gogebic.gov, so a certified vital record can be started without a courthouse trip.

How to Request a Certified Copy or Vital Record

Requesting a certified copy is a short process once the record is identified. The clerk accepts requests two ways: in person at the counter, or by email for vital records and motion filings. Mailed returns need a postage-paid envelope.

1. Identify the record type and the person or case it belongs to, such as a birth, death, or marriage record, or a circuit court filing.
2. Gather the key details: full names, the event date or filing date, and a case number if the record is a court file.
3. Submit the request. Bring it to the office at 200 N. Moore St., or email birth, death, and marriage requests and motion filings to efile@gogebic.gov.
4. Pay the fee. A certified copy runs $5 and plain copies run $1 per page, with a minimum $5 search fee when staff must locate the record.
5. Pick up the certified copy in person, or wait for the mailed return and include a postage-paid envelope so the office can send it back.

Turnaround depends on how much searching the staff must do. A recent, clearly identified record moves faster than an older filing that needs a manual pull.

Gogebic County Records Request Form Fields

The county's Citizens Request Center form and the emailed request both ask for the same core information. Filling every applicable field the first time cuts down on follow-up calls and avoids a rejected request. The table below shows the typical fields and how they are used.

Note: Requests for certified vital records may require proof of relationship or eligibility, so the office can ask for identification before releasing a sealed record.

Gogebic County Clerk and Recording Fees

Fees split between the clerk side (copies, searches, marriage licenses) and the register of deeds side (recording, certified documents). Most are flat, which makes the total easy to estimate before a visit. Bring the exact amount when possible, since the office is not set up for large card transactions at every window.

The $30 recording fee already folds in the remonumentation and automation charges, so there is no separate line for those. A multi-instrument document adds $3 for each extra instrument beyond the first.

Register of Deeds Land Records Search

The register of deeds side records deeds, mortgages, liens, and other property documents, then indexes them for public search. Land recording in Michigan is governed by the state recording statute, and the county follows that framework for every document it accepts. A recorded document is what proves a chain of title on a parcel.

The county maintains an online land-records portal so the public can look up recorded documents without a counter visit. The Gogebic County land records search lets users browse the index by name or parcel, though certified copies still come from the office at the $5 rate.

The image above shows the online land-records system, which is the fastest way to confirm a recording date or document number before ordering a certified copy.

For a fuller picture of what the recording desk covers, including passport intake and fingerprinting, the county's register of deeds page lists the fee schedule and the postage-paid envelope requirement.

That page, pictured above, is where the recording fees and Livescan details are published for anyone preparing a document to record.

Livescan Fingerprinting and Passports

The register of deeds office offers two services that surprise some visitors: Livescan fingerprinting and passport intake. Livescan captures fingerprints electronically for background checks, licensing, and employment. The fee is $70, and it must be paid and receipted at the county Treasurer's Office before the prints are taken.

Livescan is by appointment. The office schedules prints through a dedicated line at (906) 667-0381, so walking in without a slot may mean a return trip. Passport applications are accepted at the same counter with the standard federal materials, photos, and supporting documents.

Because the payment and the printing happen at two different windows, plan the visit in order: pay the Treasurer first, keep the receipt, then go to the register of deeds for the appointment.

Clerk Records vs District Court Records in Gogebic County

A common mix-up is assuming the county clerk holds every court record. It does not. The clerk of court function serves the circuit court, which handles felonies, civil suits over $25,000, divorce, custody, and personal protection orders. Misdemeanors, traffic tickets, small claims, and civil matters under $25,000 belong to the 98th District Court, which keeps its own case files and clerk operation.

That split decides where a request goes. A felony circuit case, a marriage license, or a recorded deed is county clerk business. A speeding ticket, a landlord-tenant dispute, or a misdemeanor is district court business. Sending a district-court request to the county clerk usually means a referral and a delay.

The district court runs its own case search and payment tools, so traffic and misdemeanor lookups start there rather than at the clerk counter. The county's 98th District Court office is the right stop for those criminal, traffic, and lower-dollar civil records.

Public Request Channels for Gogebic County Records

When the record is not a court file, a deed, or a vital record, the county's Freedom of Information Act process takes over. Michigan's FOIA presumes county records are open unless a statute exempts them, and the county publishes a request form and policy for that purpose. Court records, by contrast, follow the Michigan court rules rather than FOIA.

The county's FOIA request page is the entry point for noncourt county records held by other departments. It carries the request form and the county's written FOIA policy, and the office that holds the record processes the response.

The FOIA page shown above is separate from the clerk's vital-record channel, which is why a birth certificate uses efile@gogebic.gov while a general county record uses the FOIA form.

To reach the right window on the first try, the county keeps a full contact list for every office and court. The county telephone directory lists the clerk, register of deeds, district court, and probate numbers in one place.

That directory, pictured above, saves a wrong-office call by putting the clerk, court, and recording desk numbers side by side for any Gogebic County records request.