Find Arrest Records in Branch County
Branch County arrest records are maintained by the Sheriff's Office in Coldwater and by state agencies including Michigan State Police. This guide walks through every official source for searching arrest histories, criminal backgrounds, and court case data in this south-central Michigan county that borders both Indiana and Ohio.
Branch County Overview
How to Search Branch County Arrest Records
Branch County is a rural county in the southern tier of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Coldwater is the county seat and the largest community. The county borders Indiana to the south and Ohio to the southeast, which means law enforcement here sometimes works across state lines on cases. Most arrest records are held either locally by the Branch County Sheriff's Office or at the state level through Michigan State Police systems.
There are two main paths. If you want a statewide criminal history check, start with ICHAT at apps.michigan.gov. That search costs $10 and pulls records from all 83 Michigan counties under the authority of MCL 28.241. It's fast and covers a wide net. If you only need Branch County-specific records, or you want arrest reports and not just conviction data, the Sheriff's Office and the county court clerk are better resources.
Branch County does not have a large metro area, so many records that might be handled at a city level elsewhere fall under county jurisdiction here. The Sheriff's Office patrols much of the county and maintains the primary jail.
Branch County Sheriff's Office
The Branch County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement and records agency for the county. They handle arrests, run the county jail in Coldwater, and maintain records that are subject to public access under Michigan law. The office can be reached at 517-279-6555.
| Office | Branch County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 14 West Chicago St., Coldwater, MI 49036 |
| Phone | 517-279-6555 |
| Website | countyofbranch.com |
To get arrest reports or incident records from the Sheriff's Office, you submit a FOIA request. Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231, requires public agencies to respond within five business days. The agency can charge for copying and reasonable staff time. You can request records in writing by mail, in person, or sometimes by email, depending on how the agency handles FOIA submissions. The county website at countyofbranch.com has more detail on how to submit requests to different county offices.
Not everything is public. Records tied to open investigations, juvenile matters, and certain protected categories are exempt. But most arrest reports and booking records that do not fall into those categories should be accessible.
Branch County Jail and Inmate Lookup
The Branch County Jail is located in Coldwater and is operated by the Sheriff's Office. It holds people who have been arrested locally and are awaiting court dates or serving sentences of less than a year. To find out if someone is currently held there, call the Sheriff's Office at 517-279-6555.
For people who have been convicted and sent to a Michigan state prison or who are on parole or probation under MDOC supervision, use the OTIS system. OTIS, the Offender Tracking Information System, is a free public database run by the Michigan Department of Corrections. You can search by name at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2/otis2.html. Results include sentence details, expected release dates, current location, and parole information. County jail inmates are not in OTIS. Only people in MDOC custody appear there.
Michigan Court Case Search for Branch County
Court records for Branch County are accessible through the statewide Michigan Courts case search tool at courts.michigan.gov/case-search. This tool is maintained by the State Court Administrative Office and covers district and circuit courts across Michigan.
The court case search interface gives you a direct look at how Michigan's court records are organized statewide. The screenshot below shows the public-facing search form that covers Branch County and all other Michigan jurisdictions.
Branch County's trial courts include the 15th Circuit Court and several district courts. Searches by name or case number return case status, charge information, hearing dates, and dispositions. If you need actual court documents, you'll need to contact the Branch County Circuit Court Clerk in Coldwater. The online system gives an overview but does not always include full case files.
Criminal cases in Branch County go through the circuit court for felonies and district court for misdemeanors and traffic offenses. Knowing which court level handled a case helps you know which clerk's office to contact for more detail.
ICHAT Statewide Background Search
ICHAT is Michigan's online criminal history search. It's the fastest way to get a broad picture of someone's record across the entire state. The tool is run by Michigan State Police and is authorized by MCL 28.241. Each search costs $10, paid by credit card.
ICHAT returns felony and misdemeanor conviction records. It covers all 83 counties, so you don't need to know where a person lived when they were charged. Results come back quickly. The system shows conviction records, but not necessarily arrests that did not lead to a conviction. If a case was dismissed or a person was found not guilty, that outcome may or may not appear.
Access the system at apps.michigan.gov. ICHAT is a good first step for Branch County searches because the county is small and records may span nearby counties in Indiana as well, though ICHAT only covers Michigan. For a complete picture, you may need to check Indiana records separately.
Michigan FOIA for Branch County Records
MCL 15.231 gives you the right to request public records from any government body in Branch County. This includes the Sheriff's Office, Coldwater Police Department, county clerk, and other local agencies. Each agency handles FOIA independently. You submit your request in writing to the specific agency that holds the records you want.
The five-day response window starts when the agency receives your written request. They can charge fees for staff time and copying, but those fees must be reasonable and itemized. If a request would cost more than $50, the agency must give you a written estimate first. You can appeal a denial through the circuit court if you believe records were wrongfully withheld.
For records held by Michigan State Police, such as reports from troopers who patrol Branch County, use the MSP FOIA portal at michigan.gov/msp/services/foia. That portal is separate from local agency requests and uses its own process.
Sex Offender Registry in Branch County
Michigan maintains a public Sex Offender Registry under MCL 28.721. Anyone convicted of a qualifying offense and required to register appears in this system. You can search by name or by location, including Branch County addresses and zip codes.
The registry is at mspsor.com. The advanced search form at mspsor.com/Home/Search lets you narrow results by area. Profiles include photos, current address, offense history, and tier level. The system is maintained by Michigan State Police and updated as registrants report changes. Failure to register is a felony in Michigan.
Clean Slate and Expungement in Michigan
Michigan's Clean Slate law, MCL 780.621g, created a system of automatic expungement for certain convictions. Most misdemeanors are eligible after seven years with no new offenses. Some felonies qualify after ten years. When a conviction is set aside, it may no longer appear in ICHAT or other public searches.
The law is automatic, which means eligible records are cleared without the person filing anything. Not all convictions qualify. Traffic offenses with major consequences, crimes involving minors, and serious violent felonies are generally excluded. People can also file a manual petition for expungement if they don't want to wait for the automatic process, or if they have a conviction type that may not qualify automatically.
If a Branch County conviction doesn't appear in ICHAT, it may have been set aside under Clean Slate. Keep that in mind when reviewing search results. An absence of records is not always the same as a clean record.
Additional Online Research Tools
Besides official state tools, some third-party sites aggregate public record data from Michigan counties. michigan.staterecords.org compiles publicly available information and can serve as a research starting point. These sites are not official and may lag behind real-time updates, so treat results as leads to verify rather than final answers.
For official, legally reliable data, ICHAT, OTIS, and the Michigan Courts case search are the tools to use. Local agencies are the final word on records they hold.
Nearby Counties
Branch County is surrounded by several Michigan counties, each with its own Sheriff's Office and court system.