Look Up Free Wayne County Records (Marital, Property, Criminal & More)

Free Wayne County Public Records Search
Access Wayne County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

Obtain free Wayne County public records to find information on yourself or others for any reason.

Public information is readily available and includes records about arrests (mugshots and police reports), criminal history (charges, probation and prison details, warrants and background check reports), court documents (civil, family, criminal and more), vital records (marriage, divorce, birth and death), and property records.

No matter what’s being searched for or the reason, this brief resource empowers citizens with everything necessary to quickly and conveniently find public records in Wayne County, Michigan.

Written or authored by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who possesses a Juris Doctorate in Law from Widener University School of Law and is a Licensed Attorney.

How To View Arrests & Inmates in Wayne County Michigan

If you want to find out if someone is in jail in Wayne County, you can perform an inmate search. However, before you perform your search of Wayne County bookings make sure you have gathered all available information that can assist with your search.

That means, make sure you have the correct spelling of the name for the person you are looking for and see if you can find any helpful additional information such as:

  • Date of Birth
  • Arresting Agency
  • Where the Crime Was Committed
  • Date of Incident

Typically, recent arrest reports and inmate information is maintained by the county sheriff’s office. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is a custodian of these records and provides a free Inmate Search Tool to find this information.1

A snapshot of the Wayne County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry page displays the available search options for inmates, which comprise the full name, global subject number, or booking number, and the searcher can include the booking number or input all fields for a specific search; search button located at the bottom of the page.
Source: Wayne County Sheriff Connect23

You can use this tool to search their public records repository by providing any of the following information:

  • Name
  • Global Subject Number
  • Booking Number
  • Booking Date Range
  • Whether or Not They’re Currently in Custody

After completing a search of their jail roster, you can get the following details:

  • Name
  • Subject Number
  • Date of Birth
  • Booking Number
  • Booking Date
  • Housing Facility
  • Total Bond Amount
  • Bond Number
  • Bond Type
Inmate details are shown on the Wayne County Sheriff's Inmate Inquiry screenshot, including the offender's demographic information, booking history, and offense information.
Source: Wayne County Sheriff Connect24

While it may not be as complete as a criminal record (more on criminal records later), you can also get the following specific information about the charges against the individual:

  • Charge Description
  • Offense Date
  • Docket Number
  • Sentence Date
  • Disposition
  • Sentence Length
  • Crime Class
  • Court Date
  • Arresting Agency

For additional information or specific questions, you can call the sheriff’s office at 313-833-0864 or by email at [email protected]. If you want to request information regarding an inmate search in person you can go to the below address.

Wayne County Sheriff’s Office
4747 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201

You can also contact the Wayne County jails directly for jail records and related information. Here is the contact information for the jails located in Wayne County:

Wayne County Jails Address Phone Number
Division 1 570 Clinton Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-0797
Division 2 525 Clinton Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-2247
Division 3 (William Dickerson Detention Facility) 3501 Hamtramck Drive
Hamtramck, Michigan 48211
313-875-7000

Check With Local Police Departments & City Jails Within Wayne County MI

Sometimes, to find Wayne County arrest records, you need to search with the jail or police department of a specific city within the county.

While these cities do not have an online directory or search tool, you can contact them to find out their process for requesting information on inmates and other related information available to the public.

Detroit, Michigan: The largest city in Wayne county is Detroit. The Detroit Police Department Records & Reports Division provides crime reports upon request.2 For police reports you can contact them at 313-596-1908 or in person at

Detroit Police Department
3rd Precinct
2875 West Grand Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan 48202

Their hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00AM – 3:00PM. To make a request for a crime report you must be a party to the report or have received written consent.

To make your request you must have either the report number or complaint number and a valid ID. The cost for a crime report is $10.00.

To see what other type of information you can get from the Detroit Police Department you may have to call them or visit them in person. Because Detroit is a large city, the police department is separated into several different precincts.

Below is the contact information if you want to contact a particular location for inmate or arrest information:

Location Address Phone Number
Downtown 20 Atwater Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-237-2850
2nd Precinct 13530 Lesure Street
Detroit, Michigan 48227
313-596-5200
3rd Precinct 2875 West Grand Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan 48202
313-596-1908
4th Precinct 4700 West Fort Street
Detroit, Michigan 48209
313-596-5400
5th Precinct 3500 Conner Street
Detroit, Michigan 48215
313-596-5500
6th Precinct 11450 Warwick Street
Detroit, Michigan 48228
313-596-5600
7th Precinct 3501 Chene Street
Detroit, Michigan 48207
313-596-5700
8th Precinct 21555 West McNichols Road
Detroit, Michigan 48219
313-596-5800
9th Precinct 11187 Gratiot Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48213
313-596-5900
10th Precinct 12000 Livernois
Detroit, Michigan 48206
313-596-1000
11th Precinct 5100 Nevada Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48234
313-596-1100
12th Precinct 1441 West 7 Mile Road
Detroit, Michigan 48203
313-596-1200

Here is the contact information for the police department in some of the other larger cities in Wayne County:

Police Department Address Phone Number
Dearborn Police Department 16099 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
313-943-2241
Livonia Police Department 15050 Farmington Road
Livonia, Michigan 48154
734-466-2470
Canton Police Department 1150 South Canton Center Road
Canton, Michigan 48188
734-394-5400
Westland Police Department 36701 Ford Road
Westland, Michigan 48185
734-722-9600
Taylor Police Department 23515 Goddard Road
Taylor, Michigan 48180
734-287-6611

If you want to search directly with any city or their police department that was not mentioned above, simply perform a google search with the city name and include either “arrest records” or “police department.”

Note: If you are performing your own search for a specific city make sure you include Michigan in your search as there may be cities of the same name in other states.

How To Acquire Wayne County Marital Records via the County Clerk

If you want to check if someone is married you will have to perform a Wayne County public records search of vital documents with the County Clerk’s Marriage Certification Department.3 The fees are listed in the table below:

Requested Item Fee
Certified Copy of Marriage License $24.00
Uncertified Copy $11.50
Additional Copies $7.00 per additional copy

You can make a request through the Wayne County Clerk Marriage Certification Department via the following ways.

By Mail: You can mail in a written request along with a Wayne County Marriage Certificate Search Form to the below address.4

Wayne County Clerk
Marriage Certification Department
201 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Detroit, Michigan 48226

In Person: You can schedule an appointment to get a marriage record in person by contacting them at 313-967-6938. The available hours for in person requests are Monday through Friday from 8:00AM – 4:30PM with extended hours until 7:00PM on Thursdays. You can schedule an appointment at the Wayne County Clerk’s Downtown Detroit Location at:

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue, Room 201
Detroit, Michigan 48226

VitalChek: VitalChek is a third party service that partners with the Wayne County Clerk to provide, among other things, marriage records.5 You can make a marriage records request online. The fee through VitalChek is $48.00 ($34.00 for the search and an additional $14.00 processing fee). You can also make a request to VitalChek for a marriage record on the phone at 866-443-9897.

A screenshot from the Office of the Wayne County Clerk shows part of the form for the "Marriage Certificate" request displaying the fields, which include the date, the spouse's full name before marriage, the date of marriage, and the corresponding amount for the type of copies.
Source: Wayne County Clerk’s Office4

If you want to find out if someone is married and you cannot find a particular record you can broaden your search of Wayne County marriage records through Michigan’s Health and Human Services’ Vital Records Department.6 Here you can access marriage records from 1867 to present.

There are several ways in which you can request a marriage record through the Vital Records Department and each is outlined below.

By Mail: To make a request by mail, you must complete the Application for a Certified Copy – Michigan Marriage Record.7 Along with the application you’ll also need to provide a photocopy of a valid government-issued ID and the $34.00 fee.

You can then mail all of this together to:

Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
Vital Records Department
P.O. Box 30721
Lansing, Michigan 48909

In Person: You can only request a marriage record in person with an appointment.8 You can only schedule an appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00AM – 2:00PM.

Drop Box: You can also submit your Application for a Certified Copy – Michigan Marriage Record along with a copy of your government-issued ID and fee to their drop box located in the main lobby at:

Michigan Dept. of Health & Human Services
DROPBOX
333 South Grand Avenue

Lansing, Michigan 48933

The hours open for drop off are Monday through Friday from 7:00AM – 5:30PM.

More details on this process can be found in the tutorial on searching marital records in Wayne County.

To obtain Wayne County divorce records from 1942 to present, you can perform an online search through Odyssey Public Access.9 After you go to their home page select the option for “Non-Criminal Case Records”.

A screenshot from the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan - Odyssey Web Access shows the "Non-Criminal Case Records" search display with the required fields (denoted by "*"), including the party information, case status, and an option to sort the result from the drop-down; search and clear form options are at the bottom.
Source: Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan – Odyssey Public Access (OPA)25

From there you can search by party name, case number, attorney, date filed, and case status. After you enter your search information and find the divorce record you are looking for you can view the below information:

  • Case Number
  • Plaintiff
  • Defendant
  • Attorneys
  • Date of Divorce Decree
  • Events & Orders of the Court
Case search results from the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan - Odyssey Web Access shows the list of "Non-Criminal Records," which displays the case number, style, filed/location/judicial officer, and type/status.
Source: Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan – Odyssey Public Access (OPA)25

The online search tool does not provide you a copy of the actual divorce certificate. To get a copy of the divorce record you have to make a request with the Wayne County Clerk’s Records Division. The fees for public divorce records are $2.00 per page and a $10.00 additional charge for a certified copy.

Here are your options for requesting a copy of divorce records.

In Person or By Mail: You can make a request for copies of a divorce record in person or by mail at

Wayne County Clerk Records Division
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Room LL-61
2 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226

By Email: You also have the option to make a request by email by sending your request to [email protected].

Online: You can also make a request online through VitalChek. Additional fees are applicable when using this third party service.

If you have specific questions, you can call the Wayne County Clerk Records Division at 313-224-5530.

Searchers who discover that a vital event they’d like record of took place in a different county can can consult a comprehensive resource on accessing free public records in Michigan. This resource provides guidance not only on researching marital events but also on locating court documents, probation details, arrest records, criminal histories, property records, and additional relevant information.

How To See if Someone Has a History of Crime or Prior Charges in Wayne County Michigan

You can conveniently verify if someone has a criminal record in Wayne County, either by locating this information online or through a direct request with the appropriate courthouse.

Criminal records go beyond just police records and basic inmate information. Unlike arrest records, public criminal records provide more permanent information regarding:

  • Final disposition of a Case
  • Sentence Length (for individuals found guilty of a crime)
  • Court Records
  • Probation Status
  • Attorney

Criminal cases in the county are under the jurisdiction of the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. You can find Wayne County criminal records through their Odyssey Public Access (OPA). This is your primary tool for performing a free criminal record check in Wayne County.

A screenshot from the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan - Odyssey Web Access shows the case information of an individual, "Johnny," which includes the party information, charge information, and events and orders of the court.
Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan – Odyssey Public Access (OPA)26

You can use this tool to search their public index of criminal cases using the case number, defendant’s, citation number, attorney of record and date file.

After selecting your search criteria you can narrow your results by the case status and the date filed. In addition, if you are searching by name you can perform a search using their “Soundex” option to search for a person’s name phonetically. Once you complete your search and select a particular criminal record you can view the below information:

  • Defendant
  • Plaintiff
  • Attorneys (including their phone number)
  • Charges (including particular statute violated)
  • Date of Charges
  • Plea (if applicable)
  • Disposition (e.g., guilty, not guilty)
  • Sentence (including probation information)
  • Warrant Information
  • Other Events & Orders of the Court

Use State Resources To Find Michigan Criminal Records

Whether you need additional information on criminal records or your search has extended beyond the county borders, you may find yourself needing to conduct a Michigan criminal record lookup.

A screenshot showing the list of sex offenders from the Michigan Sex Offender Registry search results with their mugshots, full name, age, and address.
Source: Michigan Sex Offender Registry27

Both state and federal agencies may have information that you were unable to find when performing a county search. Here are some valuable state resources for searching criminal records throughout the state of Michigan.

  • Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) – here you can search for any individual that is currently in prison or being supervised by the MDOC using their Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS).10 You can also use this tool if you want to find someone’s mugshot.
  • Michigan Sex Offender Registry – if you want to search for sex offenders throughout the entire state of Michigan you can use this search tool to search by name, MDOC number or address.11
  • Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – you can use the Federal Bureau of Prison’s search tool to find inmates located in federal prisons in Michigan and throughout the United States.12
  • United States National Sex Offender Registry – you can use the U.S. Sex Offender Registry to search for convicted sex offenders in the United States.13

How To Request & Complete a Background Check in Wayne County

The process for obtaining a background check in Wayne County varies depending on the specific type of information you require.

Gathering some types of information informally is considered a personal background check while certain specific reasons for needing government records may require a professional background check.

The table below highlights some examples for when you could conduct a personal background check and when you would need a professional background check:

When To Conduct a Personal Background Check When You Need a Professional Background Check
Searching a new neighbor’s criminal records Applying for a gun permit
Searching whether a person you are dating has been married or divorced Completing a rental application
Searching arrest reports for an incident in which your co-worker was involved Applying for a job with children or the elderly
Searching your own personal records Applying for a security clearance

Those are just a few examples of when you may need a professional background check as opposed to a more informal personal background check; which is essentially searching for Wayne County public records through the record custodians and agencies outlined in this resource.

A professional background check involves getting official records from a third party agency (e.g., Sheriff’s Office, State Police, etc.).

There are other differences between personal and professional background checks. Here are some additional ways the two types of background checks can be distinguished:

Personal Background Check Professional Background Check
Consent not required Consent always required pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.14
Informal search Formal search through local, state or federal agency
Can be used for any purpose not criminal in nature Regulated by various laws such as restrictions on using the information for discriminatory purposes as regulated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).15
Searches are based on level of interest and available information Various levels of searches from a name only search in a specific county (Level 1) to a search throughout the United States using one’s fingerprints (Level 2)
Person the background check is being performed on cannot challenge information found Individual can dispute certain elements of a professional background check

Wayne County and the major cities within it do not specifically offer background checks. However, you can access background check services through the Michigan State Police. The Michigan State Police provides the following types of Background Check Services.

Name-Based Background Check: You can use ICHAT for name-based Michigan criminal history background checks. To use this online search tool for requesting background checks you must first register for an account. From there you can make a request for a name-based check of an individual’s Michigan State Police criminal history file.

To request a background check you will need the individual’s name and date of birth.

If you need assistance with requesting your background check you can contact their support phone number at 517-241-0606. You can also review their FAQ page which answers a lot of questions about what information you can receive and how the search is conducted.

Fingerprint-Based Background Check: The Michigan State Police also provide a finger-print based background check. To request this type of background check you will need to:

Michigan State Police
CJIC
P.O. Box 30266
Lansing, Michigan 48909

How To Determine if Someone Has a Warrant Out for Their Arrest in Wayne County Michigan

Sometimes people need to search criminal records for a time-sensitive matter. This could be the case if they want to know whether they, or someone they are in contact with, has any active warrants out for their arrest.

If you are looking to perform a warrant search in Wayne County, you can do so through the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan’s Court Records Search Tool. Here you can search for criminal cases by:

  • Attorney
  • Citation
  • Defendant
  • Case

When you perform a search on someone you can get a lot of different information. As it pertains to finding out if someone has a warrant, you will want to search the section titled “Events & Orders of the Court.” Here you can find whether a warrant was requested, signed and other relevant information.

The date is also provided so you can determine how recently the warrant was issued.

If you need additional information about Wayne County warrants you can try contacting the local police department, sheriff’s office or court responsible for issuing the warrant. If you are not sure who to contact you can reach out to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Screening & District Courts Division Warrant Section.16 They are responsible for reviewing the majority of criminal cases in Wayne County.

You can contact them by reaching out to the Prosecutor’s Office at 313-224-5777. You can also visit them in person in one of their three offices listed below:

Location Address Phone Number
36th District Court 421 Madison Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-965-2200
Main Office 1441 Saint Antoine
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-5777
Juvenile Office 1025 East Forest, Room 234
Detroit, Michigan 48207
313-833-3300

Each office is open to serve the community Monday through Friday, with hours of operation extending from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

How To Acquire Probationer Information in Wayne County via the Sheriff’s Office & Department of Corrections

You can perform probation searches both at the county level (through the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office) and state level (through the DOC’s OTIS tool).

Now that you know how to perform an inmate search and look up someone’s criminal record, you may want to focus your search on more particular aspects such as whether or not someone is on probation. Probation is a form of court-ordered supervision in which an individual is not incarcerated but is still being monitored by the judicial system.

This could be important information for a variety of reasons as probation carries with it certain restrictions and obligations. For instance, people on probation typically have to keep records of where they live and work up to date. In addition, when someone is on probation they often have to regularly report in with a probation officer.

If you want to look up probation information in Wayne County you have a couple of options. At the county level, you can use the county sheriff’s office’s Online Search Tool to find probation information. This tool provides an individual’s:

  • Sentence Date
  • Sentence Length
  • Housing Facility
  • Crime Class

This information can assist in determining whether or not someone is likely to be on probation.

While it is for the whole state of Michigan, the most detailed tool for getting probation information is the State’s Department of Corrections’ Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). Here you can perform a search for any individual under their supervision.

They have a specific probation section that provides the following information on both active and inactive probation sentences:

  • Offense
  • MCL Number
  • Court File Number
  • County
  • Conviction Type
  • Minimum Sentence
  • Maximum Sentence
  • Date of Offense
  • Date of Sentence
  • Discharge Date
  • Discharge Reason

If you need additional probation information you can contact the Southwest District Probation Office at 313-388-3313. You can also visit them in person at

Southwest District Probation Office
1757 Southfield Road
Lincoln Park, Michigan 48146

How To Find Court Records in Wayne County via the Odyssey Portal or Local Courthouses

The primary way to perform a free public records search of court records in Wayne County is through the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. You can search Wayne County judicial records online through the Online Court Records Portal.

Here you can perform a Wayne County case search for numerous types of court records and cases, including but not limited to:

  • Criminal
  • Contracts
  • Family Law (e.g., divorce, custody etc.)
  • Personal Injury
  • Product Liability
  • Housing & Real Estate
  • General Civil Litigation

Note: For estate cases you have to perform a separate search using the Wayne County Probate Court’s eAccess tool.17

If you cannot find the Wayne County court records you are looking for online you can also call or visit a courthouse in person. Below is the contact information for courthouses located in Wayne County:

Courthouse Address Phone Number
3rd Circuit Court Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-5261
3rd Circuit Court Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
1441 St. Antoine Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-5261
3rd Circuit Lincoln Hall of Justice
1025 East Forest Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48207
313-833-5600
16th District Court 32765 Five Mile Road
Livonia, Michigan 48154
734-466-2500
17th District Court 15111 Beech-Daly Road
Redford, Michigan 48239
313-387-2790
18th District Court 36675 Ford Road
Westland, Michigan 48185
734-595-8720
19th District Court 16077 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
313-943-2060
20th District Court 25637 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48125
313-277-7480
21st District Court 6000 North Middlebelt Road
Garden City, Michigan 48135
734-793-1680
22nd District 26279 Michigan Avenue
Inkster, Michigan 48141
313-277-8200
23rd District Court 23365 Goddard Road
Taylor, Michigan 48180
734-374-1334
24th District Court 6515 Roosevelt Road
Allen Park, Michigan 48101
313-928-0535
25th District Court 1475 Cleophus Parkway
Lincoln Park, Michigan 48146
313-382-8603
27th District Court 2015 Biddle Avenue
Wyandotte, Michigan 48192
734-324-4475
28th District Court 14720 Reaume Parkway
Southgate, Michigan 48195
734-258-3068
29th District Court 34808 Sims Avenue
Wayne, Michigan 48184
734-722-5220
30th District Court 12050 Woodward Avenue
Highland Park, Michigan 48203
313-252-0300
31st District Court 3401 Evaline Avenue
Hamtramck, Michigan 48212
313-800-5248
32A District Court 19617 Harper Avenue
Harper Woods, Michigan 48225
313-343-2590
33rd District Court 19000 Van Horn Road
Woodhaven, Michigan 48183
734-671-0201
34th District Court 11129 Wayne Road
Romulus, Michigan 48174
734-941-4462
35th District Court 660 Plymouth Road
Plymouth, Michigan 48170
734-459-4740
36th District Court 421 Madison Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-965-2200
Grosse Pointe Municipal Court 17147 Maumee Avenue
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230
313-343-5262
Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Court 90 Kerby Road
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan 48236
313-885-2104
Grosse Pointe Park Municipal Court 15115 East Jefferson Avenue
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan 48230
313-822-3535
Grosse Pointe Woods Municipal Court 20025 Mack Plaza Drive
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan 48236
313-343-2455
Wayne County Probate Court 1307 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-224-5706

How To Search for Other Types of Vital Records in Wayne County (Find Certificates of Birth & Death)

All Wayne County birth and death records are maintained by the Birth & Death Records Division of the Wayne County Clerk’s Office.18

However, there are two exceptions to this; births to unmarried parents prior to 1978 and adoption birth records (except from 1960 to 1968) are maintained by Michigan Health & Human Services.

Birth records are not generally available to the public. To request a certificate of birth, you must be one of the following people:

  • Individual named on the record
  • Parent named on the birth record
  • Legal guardian or representative

For ordering certificates of birth and death, there are specific instructions and forms depending on how you are requesting the records and whether or not the record you are requesting originates within Detroit or another city in Wayne County. Here are the different types of birth certificate and death certificate applications you may need to complete.

  • Detroit-only Birth Certificate
  • Wayne County Birth Certificate
  • Detroit-only Death Certificate
  • Wayne County Death Certificate

Below are all of the ways you can order birth and death records in Wayne County.

By Mail: For birth and death record requests you must submit a copy of either your driver’s license or state I.D. along with the applicable fee ($24.00 plus $7.00 for each additional copy) and a completed application to the below address:

Detroit Only Outside Detroit
Wayne County Clerk’s Office
℅ City of Detroit Birth & Death
Records Division
400 Monroe Street, Suite 605
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Wayne County Clerk’s Office
℅ Birth and Records Division
400 Monroe Street, Suite 610
Detroit, Michigan 48226

In Person: For in person requests you must schedule an appointment.19 Complete the appropriate application and bring it along with your fee and ID to the below address.

Wayne County Clerk’s Office
400 Monroe Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226

The Wayne County website's screenshot shows the appointment tab for obtaining a birth certificate "in person" and the available time slots for scheduling an appointment.
Source: Wayne County Clerk’s Office19

For records within Detroit go to Suite 605. You can also contact them at 313-202-7190 if you have any questions. For records outside Detroit go to Suite 610. To contact them by phone you can call them at 313-967-6938. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 4:30PM.

Online: Your last option is to request a birth or death record online through Wayne County’s partnership with VitalChek. Through VitalCheck you can complete the entire process online. Just note that there are additional fees for using this online service.

How To Retrieve Local Property Records via the Wayne County Register of Deeds

If you want to check Wayne County public records for property information you can do so with the Wayne County Register of Deeds.20 Using their Free Index Search you can search using the following criteria:

  • Name
  • Recording Date
  • Document Type
A screenshot showing the Wayne County Register of Deeds' property search page showing the available options to search, either by "Grantor," "Grantee," or by "Both Names," with buttons to view recent searches, clear selections, or search at the bottom of the page.
Source: Wayne County Register of Deeds28

Document type allows you to search for a vast variety of property records such as:

  • Administrator Deed
  • Assessment Lien
  • Bill of Sale
  • Condemnation
  • Deed
  • Installment Contract
  • Judgment Lien

A search can be performed for any property records from 1960 to present. You can also make a search request in person or by mail at the following address:

Wayne County Register of Deeds
International Center Building
400 Monroe Street, Seventh Floor
Detroit, Michigan 48226

A screenshot shows the property details taken from the Wayne County Register of Deeds -Self Service feature shows the document type and general data; the logo is at the top left corner.
Source: Wayne County Register of Deeds28

If you would like to search for records in person it’s recommended that you first schedule an appointment.21 You can also call at 313-224-5860 to schedule an appointment. Appointments can be made Monday through Friday from 8:30AM – 4:00PM. While they also have a self-service kiosk, the kiosks are only available from 8:00AM – 12:00PM.

You can also search property tax information through the Wayne County Treasurer.22 Here you can search by property ID or parcel ID to find current tax information on properties located in Wayne County.

A Brief Overview of How To Track Down Wayne County Public Records

Through this guide, all types of public information can be found by following the link and processes for each Wayne County agency and Michigan state agency.

As discussed, different public records are held by different custodians but here is an overview of public record custodians in Wayne County.

Remember, if you are having trouble finding a particular record online you can always talk to the record custodian by phone or in person. But no matter what’s being searched for or he reason why, Wayne County public records are free and can be accessed once you know which agency to check with or the appropriate online search tool.


References

1Inmate Search | Sheriff Connect – Wayne County Michigan. (2023). Wayne County Sheriff Connect. Retrieved July 16, 2023, from <https://www.sheriffconnect.com/dashboard/inmate-search/>

2Detroit Police Department Records and Reports. (2023). City of Detroit. Retrieved July 16, 2023, from <https://detroitmi.gov/departments/police-department/detroit-police-department-records-and-reports>

3Marriage Licenses | Clerk. (2023). Wayne County. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/clerk/marriage-licenses.aspx>

4Wayne County Marriage Certificate Search. (2023). Office of the County Clerk. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from <https://www.waynecounty.com/documents/clerk/marriage_cert_order_form_2022_final.pdf>

5Home. (2023). VitalChek: Order Your Vital Records Online. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://www.vitalchek.com/v/vital-records/michigan/michigan-vital-records?click_id=574772336235446274&ppc=0>

6Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records. (2023). State of Michigan. Retrieved July 16, 2023, from <https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/doing-business/vitalrecords>

7Application For a Certified Copy — Michigan Marriage Record. (2023). State of Michigan. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from <https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder1/Folder3/marriapp.pdf?rev=45130463e69a4d059766432a43c1fd58>

8Schedule Appointment. (2023). State of Michigan. Retrieved July 19, 2023, from <https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/doing-business/vitalrecords/schedule-appointment>

9Odyssey Public Access (OPA). (2023). Third Circuit Court. Retrieved July 16, 2023, from <https://www.3rdcc.org/odyssey-public-access-(opa)>

10OTIS. (2023). Michigan Department of Corrections. Retrieved July 16, 2023, from <https://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2.html>

11Sex Offender Search. (2023). Michigan Sex Offender Registry: Home. Retrieved July 19, 2023, from <https://mspsor.com/>

12BOP: Federal Inmates By Name. (2023). Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved July 8, 2023, from <https://www.bop.gov/mobile/find_inmate/byname.jsp>

13Sex Offender Search. (2023). United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website. Retrieved July 8, 2023, from <https://www.nsopw.gov/>

14Fair Credit Reporting Act. (2023, May 4). Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved July 8, 2023, from <https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/fcra-may2023-508.pdf>

15Home. (2023). Home | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved July 8, 2023, from <https://www.eeoc.gov/>

16Warrants Section | Prosecutor. (2023). Wayne County. Retrieved July 19, 2023, from <https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/prosecutor/warrants-section.aspx>

17eAccess. (2023, June 22). Wayne County Probate Court. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://public.wcpc.us/eservices/search.page.3?x=h53yYp-tBJtZ*6UHEj4WDw>

18Birth Certificates | Clerk. (2023). Wayne County. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/clerk/birth-certificates.aspx>

19Schedule Appointment with Wayne County Clerk’s Office. (2023). Acuity Scheduling. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://waynecountyescheduler.as.me/schedule.php>

20Home. (2023). Wayne County – Disclaimer. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://www.waynecountylandrecords.com/recorder/web/>

21Schedule an Appointment. (2023, June 22). Wayne County Register of Deeds. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from <https://waynecountyregofdeedsappt.cxmflow.com/Appointment/Index/57844322-43f2-47cf-a105-9643a559b223>

22Pay Taxes Online | Treasurer. (2023). Wayne County Treasurer. Retrieved July 19, 2023, from <https://pta.waynecounty.com/>

23Wayne County Sheriff. (n.d.). Wayne County Sheriff Inmate Search. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <http://50.239.65.109/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/MI8218200>

24Wayne County Sheriff. (n.d.). Result. Wayne County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <http://50.239.65.109/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/MI8218200/Inmate/Detail/-1977448>

25Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. (n.d.). Odyssey Web Access. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <https://cmspublic.3rdcc.org/Search.aspx?ID=200&NodeID=100,101,102,103,104,105,200,300&NodeDesc=Non-Criminal%20Cases>

26Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan. (n.d.). Criminal Case Search. Odyssey Web Access. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <https://cmspublic.3rdcc.org/Search.aspx?ID=100&NodeID=100,101,102,103,104,105,200,300,400,401,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023,2024&NodeDesc=Third%20Judicial%20Circuit>

27Michigan Government. (n.d.). Results. Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <https://mspsor.com/Home/RegistrySearch?firstName=john&lastName=smith&registrationNumber=&Address=&City=&County=&Zip=>

28Wayne County Registry of Deeds. (n.d.). Property Search. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from <https://waynecountymi-web.tylerhost.net/web/search/DOCSEARCH582S1>