About the Tuscola County Clerk's Office
The Tuscola County Clerk is an elected office, and the current clerk is Jodi Fetting. Cindy McKinney-Volz serves as Chief Deputy Clerk. The office sits inside the Tuscola County Courthouse in Caro, the county seat. It is the public counter for vital records and for records tied to the 54th Circuit Court and the family division.
The Clerk does far more than sell birth certificates. The office records elections and voter data, files legal name changes, processes adoption-order copy petitions, and runs genealogy searches. It also keeps the certified case files that residents need for legal, family, and personal matters. Because Michigan splits court records among several courts, the Clerk points people to the correct office when a record is held elsewhere.
The counter is open Monday through Friday and closes over the noon hour, so plan visits around that break. The office is closed on county holidays. Calling ahead is smart when a record is old or when the request has special ID rules.
Tuscola County Clerk
Clerk: Jodi Fetting
440 N State St
Caro, MI 48723
989-672-3780
Fax: 989-672-4266
clerk@tuscolacounty.org
Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. to noon, 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
What the Tuscola County Clerk Handles
The office is the front door for two big groups of records. The first is vital records, meaning birth, death, and marriage certificates for events recorded in the county. The second is circuit and family court files, which include divorce, custody, and other domestic relations cases. The Circuit Court Records Clerk and the Family Court Records Clerk share the line 989-672-3775.
Beyond copies, the office manages elections and voter registration information for the county. Genealogy searches of birth, death, marriage, and military documents run $5 per name. Name changes and adoption-order copy petitions are also processed here.
- Certified birth, death, and marriage certificates for county events
- Circuit and family court case records, including divorce files
- Genealogy searches of birth, death, marriage, and military records
- Legal name change filings and adoption-order copy petitions
- Elections, voter registration data, and related public filings
Note: Filings cannot be sent by fax, since the directory states faxed pleadings or supplemental case filings will not be accepted.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified copy carries a raised seal and is the version courts, schools, and agencies accept as proof. Uncertified printouts usually will not work for legal purposes. Who may buy a copy depends on the record. Marriage records are public, so anyone may purchase a marriage license copy. Death records are available for anyone who died in the county. Birth records less than 100 years old are restricted to the mother, father, legal guardian, or the person named on the certificate.
- Confirm the record type and check eligibility. Legal guardians must show guardianship papers, and an heir of a deceased person on a recent birth record needs proof such as a death certificate.
- Complete the correct form. Use the vital-record request form for birth, death, or marriage copies, or the marriage certificate search request for mailed marriage lookups.
- Add payment and, for birth requests by mail, a copy of a photo ID, a notarized signature, and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
- Submit in person at the Clerk's counter or by mail to the Tuscola County Clerk in Caro.
- Pick up the certified copy at the counter, or wait for it to arrive in the return envelope you provided.
By mail, payment must be a check or money order payable to Tuscola County Clerk. In person, the office also takes cash, personal checks, and debit or credit cards. If you are unsure a birth record exists, the Clerk asks for two payments, one for $5 and one for $10, and processes only the $5 search fee when no record is found.
Birth records more than 100 years old are open to anyone. Birth indexes themselves are not public, so staff run the search for you rather than letting the public browse. Older records may take longer to locate than recent ones, so leave extra time when a deadline is close.
Tuscola County FOIA Request Form
Court files follow court rules, but many other county records fall under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. Sheriff reports, jail records, and administrative county records are the common examples. For those, use the county FOIA request form, which routes to the Controller's Office at 125 W Lincoln St, Suite 500, Caro, MI 48723. The form may be dropped off, mailed, or faxed to 989-672-4011, and it cites the Michigan FOIA, Public Act 442 of 1976. The fields below show what the county asks for.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery Method | Yes | Will pick up, mail to address below, or email to address below. |
| Describe the Public Record(s) | Yes | Include date, time, location, file numbers, and names; extra sheets allowed. |
| Requestor's Signature and Date | Yes | Signature paired with the request date. |
| Name | Yes | Requester's full name. |
| Phone / Fax | No | Optional contact numbers. |
| Firm / Organization | No | Organization name, if any. |
| Street, City, State, Zip | Conditional | Required when mail delivery is requested. |
| Conditional | Required when email delivery is requested. |
Tuscola County Clerk Record Fees
Vital-record fees are set for each certified copy, with a lower price for extra copies of the same record bought at the same time. Seniors requesting their own birth record pay a slightly reduced first-copy rate. Genealogy searches and adoption petitions carry their own charges. The table lists the fees the Clerk publishes.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified birth, death, or marriage copy (first) | $15 |
| Each additional copy of the same record | $5 |
| Senior citizen own birth record (first copy) | $14 |
| Genealogy search | $5 per name |
| Marriage certificate search fee (if unsure) | $5 |
| Adoption order petition (SCAO PCA 327) | $20 plus $10 per certified copy |
The genealogy search only tells you whether the office holds a document. A certified copy is a separate purchase. Divorce and other family case files are court records, so copies of those come from the circuit and family records clerk rather than the vital-records counter. The judgment itself can be certified through the Clerk, while a state-level certified divorce record comes from Michigan vital records.
Tuscola County Marriage and Genealogy Records
Marriage records are among the most requested items at the counter. Because they are public, any person may order a copy of a marriage license. A mailed marriage search is possible when you do not know whether the office holds the record. The search request form asks for a short set of details that help staff locate the right certificate.
The county publishes its request forms and application links on its online forms page, which is the quickest way to print the right document before a visit or a mailing. Applicants who want to apply for a new marriage license can also start online through the county license portal.
The county's online forms page lists the marriage certificate search, the marriage license application, voter forms, and the FOIA form in one place.
Downloading the correct form first avoids a rejected request and a second trip. The marriage search form fields below show exactly what staff need to find a record.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name of Groom | Yes | First, middle, and last name. |
| Name of Bride | Yes | First, middle, and maiden last name. |
| Bride's last name at marriage | No | Only if different from the maiden name. |
| Date of Marriage | If known | Helps narrow the search. |
| Place of Marriage | If known | City or location. |
| Number of Copies | Yes | Certified copies requested. |
Adult adoptees and adoptive parents can petition for a certified copy of an Order of Adoption using SCAO form PCA 327. That request needs a photo ID, a notarized signature, payment, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Legal name change filings and voter registration questions are also handled at this office.
Where Tuscola County Records Are Split
Not every court record lives with the County Clerk. Michigan divides trial-court files by court, so the first step is matching the record to its court. The Clerk handles circuit and family files. District matters and probate matters are held elsewhere in the same courthouse.
Records for misdemeanors, traffic tickets, civil infractions, landlord-tenant cases, small claims, and civil cases up to $25,000 belong to the 71B District Court. Estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental-health proceedings, and will safekeeping run through the Probate Court and its register. Felony criminal cases, civil actions over $25,000, and family cases move through the 54th Circuit Court, where records are pulled by the Clerk.
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act sets the policy that residents may inspect records of public bodies. County FOIA requests go to the Controller's Office, while court files follow court rules rather than a FOIA form.
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act spells out how public bodies respond to requests, charge fees, and apply exemptions.
Reading the act helps requesters set fair expectations for response times and copy costs. For a broader look at how to pull case files across all three courts, the Tuscola County court records overview lays out each search path.