Access Mason County Arrest Records
Mason County arrest records are held by the Mason County Sheriff's Office, the Ludington Police Department, and the county's circuit and district courts. Whether you need to look up a past arrest or check someone's criminal history, this page walks you through the tools and processes that apply specifically to Mason County, located on Lake Michigan in western Michigan.
Mason County Overview
How to Search Mason County Arrest Records
The best free tool is the Michigan Court Case Search. Go to courts.michigan.gov/case-search, enter a name, and filter by Mason County. You will get case records from the 51st Circuit Court and the 79th District Court. This covers felony and misdemeanor cases filed in Mason County courts.
ICHAT at apps.michigan.gov is $10 and pulls full Michigan criminal history from State Police fingerprint records. It is more complete than a court name search alone and covers cases from any county in Michigan where the person has been convicted.
To check someone's status if they are currently in state prison, use the free OTIS tool at mdocweb.state.mi.us. For local jail status, call the sheriff's office directly.
Third-party sites like michigan.staterecords.org aggregate public records data. These are not official sources but can help you get oriented before using official tools.
Mason County Sheriff's Office
The Mason County Sheriff's Office is the lead law enforcement agency for the county. Deputies patrol rural areas, respond to calls, make arrests, and run the county jail. The office also maintains records for arrests made by county deputies.
| Agency | Mason County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 304 E. Ludington Ave., Ludington, MI 49431 |
| Phone | 231-845-3425 |
| Website | masoncounty.net |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM |
To request arrest records, submit a written FOIA request to the sheriff's office. Be specific about the name, date, and type of record. The office must respond within five business days. Fees apply for copying. Some records may be withheld if tied to active investigations.
The Ludington Police Department handles arrests within Ludington city limits. Their records are separate from the sheriff's. Contact the city police directly for records from city arrests.
Inmate and Jail Information for Mason County
People arrested in Mason County go to the Mason County Jail in Ludington for pre-trial detention or short sentences. Those sentenced to state prison are transferred to MDOC facilities and tracked in OTIS.
The OTIS inmate search tool from the Michigan Department of Corrections is free and lets you search by name or MDOC number to locate state prisoners, including those who were arrested in Mason County.
OTIS shows current facility, sentence length, and projected release date. It does not show local jail detainees. For local status, call 231-845-3425.
Mason County sits along US-10 and M-31. The Ludington ferry port brings additional traffic from Wisconsin. Mason County law enforcement handles both local residents and transient populations connected to the ferry and lakeshore area.
Michigan Court Case Search for Mason County
The Michigan Court Case Search is a free, official tool that covers all courts in Mason County. Access it at courts.michigan.gov/case-search.
Enter a full name and select Mason County. The system returns case records from the 51st Circuit Court for felonies and the 79th District Court for misdemeanors and civil infractions. You will see case numbers, charges, filing dates, and case status.
No login is needed. Results are available at any time. Older cases that predate the online system may not appear. For those, contact the Mason County Clerk for archived records.
This tool shows all criminal filings, including cases that were dismissed or acquitted. That is important to know. A case appearing in the search does not mean the person was convicted. Look at the outcome field to see how each case was resolved.
The Michigan Court Case Search lets you pull Mason County criminal records by name. It is free, public, and updated from court filing systems across all 83 counties.
ICHAT Criminal History for Mason County
ICHAT is the Internet Criminal History Access Tool operated by Michigan State Police. The statutory authority is MCL 28.241. The fee is $10 per search.
Go to apps.michigan.gov, select ICHAT, and enter the person's full name and date of birth. The report covers all Michigan felony and misdemeanor convictions based on fingerprint-confirmed records. Results include conviction date, charge, and county of conviction.
ICHAT is based on fingerprint records, which makes it more reliable than name-only searches. A name search might return multiple people with the same name. ICHAT links records to a specific individual via fingerprints.
Arrests that did not result in conviction do not appear in ICHAT public results. If you need to know about dismissed cases, use the Michigan Court Case Search instead.
FOIA Requests in Mason County
MCL 15.231 is Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. It gives anyone the right to request public records from government agencies. In Mason County, this covers the sheriff's office, the clerk, local police, and other county agencies.
Submit your request in writing. Specify the name, date range, and the type of record you are looking for. Mail or bring it to the right office. The agency has five business days to respond. They can grant access, deny it with a reason, or extend the timeline for complex requests.
Fees can be charged for copying and staff time. Ask for a fee estimate before the agency processes your request if cost is a concern. You can dispute fees that seem excessive under FOIA rules.
For MSP records from the post that serves Mason County, use the MSP FOIA portal at michigan.gov/msp/services/foia. That is separate from the county sheriff's records system.
Clean Slate and Sex Offender Registry in Mason County
Michigan's Clean Slate law at MCL 780.621g allows some people to apply for expungement of past convictions. An expunged conviction is removed from public view in ICHAT. Law enforcement retains access. Not all crimes qualify, so check your eligibility carefully or consult an attorney.
The Michigan Sex Offender Registry at mspsor.com is public and free. It covers all registered offenders in Michigan under MCL 28.721. You can search by name, county, or zip code. The registry includes current address, photo, and offense type.
Use the PSOR search form to filter registered sex offenders by Mason County or a specific zip code in the Ludington area. Results include current address and offense information.
If a person has been expunged under Clean Slate, they will not appear in public ICHAT results. But they may still be on the sex offender registry if the underlying offense was sexual in nature, since those records are maintained separately and are rarely subject to removal.
Additional Resources for Mason County Records
The Mason County Clerk is at the courthouse in Ludington. The clerk handles court records, official documents, and certified copy requests. Office hours are typically Monday through Friday during regular business hours.
The Michigan Legislature website at legislature.mi.gov is the official source for all Michigan statutes. You can look up FOIA, ICHAT, the sex offender registry law, and Clean Slate in full text.
For legal help in Mason County, Michigan Legal Help has free online resources. The State Bar of Michigan's referral service can connect you with a licensed attorney who handles criminal record matters in the western Michigan area.
Mason County borders Manistee County to the north, Lake and Newaygo counties to the east, and Oceana County to the south. State tools like ICHAT and the court case search cover records from all of those counties as well, which is helpful if you think someone has a history in multiple western Michigan counties.