How to Transfer | Transfer Forms | Boxes | Transferring
The office of County Clerk oversees a wide variety of functions across the county. As the registrar for county vital statistics, and chief election official for the county the role also manages a diverse series of records, that may be covered by GS6 County Clerks and GS23 Election Records.
The Archives recommends that any clerks interested in transferring or inquiring about transfers of records reach out to the Government Records division of the archives at govarchives@michigan.gov. While there are always nuances to the retention schedules, the Archives is generally interested in the following:
Due to the variety of records held by County Clerks, a site visit may be required to evaluate the records of the clerk. Filing out a transfer form, which you can find here, can help Archives staff prepare records pick ups and site visits. Record the types of records, the name of volumes, as read on the spine, and the appropriate retention schedule number. Contact the Government Records Unit at govarchives@michigan.gov for assistance with your records.
Filling out a transfer form is the first step in any transfer process. This form provides an inventory of all materials that your agency wishes to transfer, dates of the records in that file or box and the retention schedule number associated with those records. Fill out each line for each container you are transferring.
To view a sample of a transfer form and how they are filled out, please see this form.
The Archives of Michigan uses a standard records center box for storing our records. If you need additional records center boxes, the Archives will work with local government to ship the required number of boxes to you.
It is important to not over pack boxes with records as this can damage both the container and documents inside. Keep the original order of your filing system, unless otherwise directed by an archivist. the standard sized records center box is designed to fit both Letter and Legal sized documents, letter along the length and legal across the width of the box.
Our staff will provide hybrid labels with record group information filled out by the Archives, and space for you to write the box number and record range. Please use a permanent marker to write this information as it is easier to read than pen or pencil.
Ledgers, Libers or Volumes should not be packed in boxes. due to their size, in large numbers these ledgers can often be damaged by and destroy the boxes that they are transported in. Work with one of our archivists to co-ordinate a pickup for these ledgers.
After all boxes have been packed, one of our staff will work with you to arrange for the records to be picked up. This can be done through DTMB freight services, or by a staff visit.
After we have received the records and completed the process of accessioning, our archivists will send back a completed list of all items transferred for you to keep for your records. For any questions about the transfer process, reach out to our govarchives@michigan.gov email and we will be happy to assist you in the transfer process.
