County Clerk
The Kent County Clerk's Office has three major functions: to manage County elections; to manage vital County records; and to process and maintain all Circuit Court files. In Kent County, the Clerk is also the Register of Deeds. The Clerk is also the Clerk of the Board of Commissioners, and statutorily serves on numerous County boards and commissions.
The Michigan State Police is planning an outage of the CPL System on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, between 5:00 am and 12:00 pm. During this time, the CPL system will be temporarily out of service and we will be unable to process any applications.
Vital Records
The Clerk files, stores, and retains original vital records (i.e., birth, death, and marriage records), and makes certified copies of said records available to the public. The Clerk also processes applications for concealed weapons licenses, notary publics, business registrations and records military discharges. Since 2005, the division moved to an imaged system converting old microfilm documents to digital images to better serve the public.
View Vital RecordsElections
The County Clerk's Elections Division oversees all elections conducted in Kent County including all school elections and monitors campaign finance law.
View ElectionsClerk of the Circuit Court
As Clerk of the Circuit Court, she keeps the Circuit Court's records. The Clerk opens, maintains, tracks, and stores the records for all cases filed in the Circuit Court including all juvenile court cases. Court files are public records, and may be inspected at the Clerk's Courthouse Office. Litigants file at the Clerk of the Court's office for divorce, other family matters (e.g., paternity, custody, and juvenile support), civil actions for which the amount of damages exceeds $25,000, and other civil matters over which the Circuit Court has jurisdiction. All felony criminal cases are filed with the Clerk. The Clerk of the Court's financial division processes payments for court-ordered fines, costs, restitution, forensic fees, and other assessments.
View Clerk of the Circuit CourtMission Statement
Maintain public records for the citizens of Kent County. Disseminate information requested in a proficient, timely manner.