Kent County Clerk
300 Monroe N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Phone: 616-632-7640
Fax: 616-336-2885
Web: accessKent.com

Genealogy Research Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Identification Requirements: Drivers License

Certified Copy/Additional Copy: $10.00/$3.00

Senior Citizens (65 & over): $7.00/$3.00

Comments: Space allows for only two genealogists at one time. There is a two-hour time limit if several genealogists are waiting to research records. No children are allowed. Please call in advance to confirm hours and other specifics. The Local History Room at the Grand Rapids Public Library and the LDS (Latter Day Saints) Family History Library have copies of our marriage and death indexes on microfilm.

Births: 1867 to present. Anyone may obtain a birth record more than 110 years old. If the desired record is less than 110 years old, a death certificate must be provided along with proof of relationship to the deceased. Birth indexes are not open to the public. Staff will assist in birth record searches as time permits.

Deaths: 1867 to present. Statewide death records 1867-1882 - link to GENDIS (Genealogical Death Indexing System).

Marriages: 1845 to present

Divorces: Call or contact the Kent County Circuit Court Clerk's office for information: 180 Ottawa Ave., NW, Ste. 2400, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-632-5480.

Adoptions: Adopted persons searching for their original birth record should contact the Adoption Central Registry, P.O. Box 30037, Lansing, MI 48909.

Naturalization/Citizenship Records: The Archives of Michigan has the naturalization/citizenship records for Kent County for 1860-1929.

Other: Submitting written requests - Please include the party(ies) name(s) and supply the date of the event. If the date is unknown, please supply an approximate date. We will search a window of about 5 years.

Other: For additional local and state government records with potential genealogical value, see the Archival Circulars for records maintained at the Archives of Michigan.

NOTE: Please call before visiting or mailing fees to confirm hours and other specifics. This information is current to July 2002. If you find differences between the information here and the practices or holdings of the County Clerk's office, please ask the Clerk to inform the Archives of Michigan about needed revisions.

Anne Norlander, Calhoun County Clerk-Register, and Toni Fritz, the Clerk-Register's Administrative Assistant, conducted a survey of offices in 1993 in order to make this information available to the public. Calhoun County printed the 1994 Michigan County Clerks Genealogy Directory, prepared as a product of this inventory. The Archives of Michigan revised this on-line edition of the directory in 2001.

Click Archives of Michigan to visit the Archives of Michigan home page.

Click Michigan County Clerks for other entries in the Michigan County Clerks Directory.

Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: archives@michigan.gov