St. Clair County Marriage and Divorce Records

St. Clair County Marriage Licenses

The St. Clair County Clerk issues every marriage license in the county. Clerk Angie Waters and her staff run the office from the county building at 201 McMorran Boulevard, Room 1100, in Port Huron. Applicants can reach the counter by phone at (810) 985-2200. The same office later sells certified marriage records once the wedding is recorded. St. Clair County divorce files sit with a different division, but the Clerk handles the marriage license side from start to finish.

Where a couple applies depends on where they live. If either person is a Michigan resident, the couple applies with the clerk in the county where one of them holds legal residence, and the license then works anywhere in the state. If neither partner lives in Michigan, they apply in the county where the wedding will take place, and that license is good only in that county. A Michigan license never carries over to another state.

The Clerk lays out these rules on its marriage application information page, which lists eligibility, waiting periods, and validity dates.

Reading that page first helps couples gather the right documents and avoid a wasted trip to Room 1100.

The office keeps set counter hours. It opens Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Couples who apply online still finalize the license with the Clerk, so timing the visit around those hours matters. Walk-in applicants should allow enough time to complete the sworn form and pay before the counter closes.

How to Apply for a Marriage License

A little preparation makes the license process smooth. Both partners usually appear together, sign under oath, and show proof of age and identity. The steps below follow the order the St. Clair County Clerk uses for a marriage license application.

1. Confirm eligibility. Both partners must be unmarried, at least 18, and able to enter a legal contract.
2. Pick the right county. Michigan residents apply where either partner lives, while couples from out of state apply where the ceremony will occur.
3. Gather documents. Bring birth certificates for both partners and supply both Social Security numbers.
4. Apply online or in person. The Clerk offers an online application and an in-person counter in Room 1100.
5. Plan for the waiting period. A license is normally held three days from the application date, though the clerk may grant a waiver.
6. Use the license in time. The license stays valid for 33 days from the application date, including the waiting period.

Marriage License Application Fields

The marriage application doubles as a sworn affidavit, so every entry must be accurate. The table below lists the core details both partners provide, drawn from the Clerk's application and its stated requirements.

Marriage Eligibility in St. Clair County

Michigan sets firm rules on who may marry. A person must be single at the time of application. Anyone married before must be ready to show that the prior marriage ended by death, divorce, or annulment. Both partners must be 18 or older and able to enter a legal contract.

State law also blocks marriages between close relatives. Under MCL 551.3 and MCL 551.4, a person may not marry a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or first cousin, and the ban extends to several step and in-law relationships. The clerk cannot issue a license when a couple falls inside that list.

St. Clair County Marriage and Divorce Fees

Copy fees depend on the record type and how many copies you need. Marriage certificates come from the Clerk, while divorce judgments come from the circuit court file the Clerk keeps. The schedule below shows current charges.

Note: The $5 online processing fee is not refunded if the requested record is not held by the St. Clair County Clerk.

Look Up St. Clair County Marriage Records

Marriage records live with the County Clerk, and older ones sit in the genealogy collection. St. Clair County marriage records reach back to 1839, among the deepest ranges in the state. Death records begin in 1868, and birth records begin in 1867.

Not every index is open. The death and marriage indexes are public, but the birth index is closed to general searching because of state privacy updates. The genealogy room is open by appointment only, so call ahead before visiting.

The Clerk describes these holdings on its county genealogy records page, which sets out the date ranges and access rules.

Family historians use that index to confirm a marriage date before paying for a certified copy.

The index shows enough to place a record, such as names and a date. Full details come only with a purchased copy. Because state health-department rules limit what the office can post, the public index is a finding aid, not the record itself. Anyone tracing a St. Clair County marriage should note the names and year, then order the certified copy from the Clerk.

Find St. Clair County Divorce Records

Divorce is a Family Division matter, handled by the 31st Circuit Court. Because the St. Clair County Clerk keeps circuit court files, divorce records come straight from the Clerk's office. That court also handles paternity, child support, custody, and name changes.

To order a judgment, use the Clerk's online Divorce Judgment Request Form. Enter both party names, the year the case opened, and, if known, the case number and judge. The Clerk keeps only 31st Circuit Court records, not district or probate files. If the divorce was granted in another county, request the judgment from that county's clerk instead.

Requests start on the divorce judgment request form, which asks for party names and case details.

A complete request speeds delivery of the emailed judgment and any certified copy.

A divorce judgment is the final order that ends the marriage. It can set out property division, support terms, and custody arrangements. The Family Division that hears these cases works from Room 2800 in the county building. Older or sealed portions of a family file may not appear in the public record, so a certified judgment is the cleanest proof that a divorce was granted.

Getting Certified Copies

A certified copy carries an official seal and works for legal needs such as a name change, an immigration file, or a Social Security update. Both St. Clair County marriage records and divorce judgments can be ordered without a visit to the counter.

• For a marriage certificate, use the Clerk's online Marriage Certificate Request form.
• For a divorce judgment, use the online Divorce Judgment Request Form.
• Marriage copies are available only when the couple applied in St. Clair County.
• Certified copies arrive by standard mail; the divorce version also comes as an emailed PDF.

The marriage certificate request form lets applicants pick how many copies they need.

Adding extra copies at the time of the order costs less than returning for them later.

Each order runs through the same online system, and every online transaction adds the standard processing fee. The Clerk mails the certified marriage copy once payment clears. A divorce judgment reaches the requester as an emailed PDF, with the certified paper copy following by mail when that option is chosen.

St. Clair County Clerk Vital Records

For questions the online forms do not answer, the St. Clair County Clerk's office is the direct contact for marriage licenses, certified marriage records, and genealogy access. The office also files death and birth certificate requests and manages Register of Deeds functions. Staff can confirm whether a record is on file before an applicant pays a fee.