Find Arrest Records in Ingham County
Ingham County is home to Michigan's state capital, Lansing, and its arrest records are maintained by several agencies including the Ingham County Sheriff's Office in Mason, the Lansing Police Department, and the 30th Judicial Circuit Court. Records from all three sources feed into the public record system, and most can be accessed online or by request. This page walks through how to find current inmates, search court cases, request official documents, and use Michigan's statewide criminal record tools for Ingham County searches.
Ingham County Overview
Searching Ingham County Arrest Records
Ingham County arrest records come from multiple law enforcement agencies. The Sheriff's Office in Mason is the primary county-level agency. The Lansing Police Department handles arrests within city limits, and East Lansing has its own police department as well. All of these agencies fall under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231, which gives you the right to request most arrest-related documents.
For a quick check on open court cases, the Michigan courts statewide search at courts.michigan.gov/case-search covers Ingham County cases going back several years. You can search by name or case number. Results show case type, charges, status, and court dates. It's free and doesn't require an account.
For a formal criminal history report, ICHAT is the right tool. For a current inmate lookup at the county jail, contact the Sheriff's Office directly. Each tool covers a different slice of the records landscape.
Ingham County Sheriff's Office
The Ingham County Sheriff's Office is located at 630 N. Cedar St., Mason, MI 48854. The main phone number is 517-676-2431. The Sheriff's Office manages the Ingham County Jail, also in Mason, and handles law enforcement in the parts of the county outside city and township police jurisdictions.
For inmate information, contact the Sheriff's Office directly at 517-676-2431. Staff can confirm whether someone is currently in custody at the county jail, provide booking dates, and give basic charge information for current detainees. More detailed records, including arrest reports and booking logs, require a formal FOIA request submitted to the Sheriff's Office.
The county's general public records information is accessible through the Ingham County website at ingham.org. That site covers the Sheriff's Office, courts, and county departments. From there you can find links to the jail, FOIA request procedures, and the Sheriff's Office contact page.
The screenshot below shows the Ingham County website, which is the central point for county services including the Sheriff's Office and public records requests.
The Ingham County website connects to the Sheriff's Office, county courts, and the FOIA request process for arrest and booking records.
| Agency | Ingham County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 630 N. Cedar St., Mason, MI 48854 |
| Phone | 517-676-2431 |
| County Website | ingham.org |
| Jail Location | Mason, MI (managed by Sheriff's Office) |
Arrest records and incident reports from the Sheriff's Office are public under MCL 15.231. Requests for these records go to the Sheriff's Office at the Cedar Street address. Include the name of the person, date of the incident, and report number if you have it. The agency has five business days to respond, with an optional ten-day extension for complex or high-volume requests.
Lansing Police Department Records
The Lansing Police Department handles arrests within the city of Lansing, which is by far the largest city in Ingham County. LPD is located at 120 W. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI. The main phone is 517-483-4600. The department's website is at lansingmi.gov/police.
To get a copy of a police report or arrest record from LPD, you file a FOIA request with the department's records unit. You can do this in person, by mail, or through the city's online portal. Include a description of the incident, the date and location, and the name of the person involved. A report number helps speed up the process if you have one.
LPD maintains its own booking records for city arrests. If someone was arrested by Lansing city police, their initial booking records are with LPD. If the arrest led to county-level charges, the case then moves to the 30th Circuit Court or one of the district courts. Both sets of records exist and can be requested separately.
East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, has its own police department operating within East Lansing city limits. For arrests in East Lansing, contact the East Lansing Police Department or request records through the city of East Lansing. Cases from East Lansing that go to court are handled by the 54B District Court.
Ingham County Courts
Ingham County has several courts covering different case types and geographic areas.
The 30th Circuit Court at 313 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48933 handles felony criminal cases, major civil matters, and family law cases. This is where serious criminal charges from across Ingham County are heard. The clerk's office there maintains felony case records going back many years.
District courts handle misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and preliminary hearings for felony cases. The 54A District Court serves the city of Lansing. The 54B District Court serves East Lansing. The 55th District Court in Mason covers the rest of the county. Each district court has its own clerk's office and records.
Court case records are searchable through the Michigan courts statewide system at courts.michigan.gov/case-search. That tool covers all three district courts and the 30th Circuit. You can search by name or case number. The results are free to view, though copies of actual court documents require a request to the clerk.
Because Ingham County is the state capital, federal courts in Lansing also handle cases with a federal criminal component. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan has a Lansing division at 315 W. Allegan Street. Federal cases are separate from the county system and require a PACER search at pacer.gov for detailed records.
Michigan Courts Case Search and ICHAT
Two statewide tools are useful for Ingham County searches. The Michigan courts case search at courts.michigan.gov/case-search covers cases from the 30th Circuit and all district courts in Ingham County. It's free, requires no login, and lets you search by name or case number. Results include case type, parties, charges, and hearing dates.
The screenshot below shows the Michigan courts case search portal, which is the statewide tool for looking up criminal and civil case records across all 83 counties.
The statewide case search is the fastest free way to check whether someone has a court case in Ingham County or anywhere else in Michigan.
ICHAT, the Internet Criminal History Access Tool, is run by Michigan State Police under MCL 28.241. It covers all 83 counties and costs $10 per search. You need a name and date of birth. An ICHAT report shows felony convictions and misdemeanor convictions over 92 days. Arrests that didn't lead to conviction don't appear. Run it at apps.michigan.gov.
ICHAT is useful when you need an official conviction report rather than a quick case status check. For employers or legal purposes, ICHAT is the standard tool. For checking open cases or dismissed charges, the court portal gives more complete information.
OTIS, Sex Offender Registry, and MSP Records
The Michigan Department of Corrections' OTIS system at mdocweb.state.mi.us covers people serving time in Michigan state prisons or on parole. If someone from an Ingham County case received a state prison sentence, OTIS will show their current status. The search is free. It does not cover the county jail population.
The screenshot below shows the Michigan OTIS offender search portal, which tracks people in state prison or on parole throughout Michigan.
OTIS is the right tool when you need to know whether someone convicted of a felony in Ingham County is currently incarcerated in a state facility.
Michigan's Sex Offender Registry is at mspsor.com under MCL 28.721. You can search by name, address, or county. Registrants from Ingham County will show current address, offense, and registration tier. The registry is free and public.
The Michigan State Police handles FOIA requests for state-level records at michigan.gov/msp/services/foia. If your request involves MSP records rather than county agency files, submit it there. Response times follow the same five-business-day standard under MCL 15.231.
Michigan FOIA Law and Clean Slate Expungement
Michigan's FOIA statute, MCL 15.231, governs public access to arrest records across the state, including Ingham County. Under that law, arrest logs, booking records, and most incident reports are public. Agencies can withhold information if disclosure would harm an active investigation or reveal protected personal data. The basic facts of an arrest are generally available to anyone who asks.
Michigan's Clean Slate law (MCL 780.621g) brought automatic expungement to Michigan starting in 2023. Many lower-level convictions are set aside automatically after seven to ten years, with no petition required from the person. Once a conviction is set aside, it doesn't appear in most public searches. Law enforcement retains access, but the general public does not. Ingham County courts apply the same rules as every other Michigan county on this.
An important distinction: an arrest record and a criminal history are not the same document. An arrest means someone was taken into custody. A criminal history shows what happened after that. Charges get dropped. People get acquitted. Those outcomes leave an arrest record with no conviction attached. Both types of records are handled differently under Michigan law.
Full statute text, including MCL 15.231, MCL 28.241, and MCL 780.621g, is available through the Michigan Legislature at legislature.mi.gov. That site is the official source for all Michigan statutes.
Cities in Ingham County
Lansing is the largest city in Ingham County and the state capital. It has its own records page with details on Lansing Police Department arrest records and local court access.
East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, is also in Ingham County but falls below the qualifying population threshold for a separate page. East Lansing cases are handled by the 54B District Court.
Nearby Counties
Ingham County is in the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Several surrounding counties have their own records systems and courts.