Search Sanilac County Arrest Records
Sanilac County arrest records are maintained by the sheriff's office in Sandusky and through state databases anyone can access at no cost or low cost online. The county sits in Michigan's Thumb area along the Lake Huron shoreline, with Sandusky as the county seat. Arrests here are processed through the county jail, and records then flow through state court and criminal history systems. This page covers the tools and steps for finding what you need.
Sanilac County Overview
Sanilac County Sheriff's Office and Jail
The Sanilac County Sheriff's Office in Sandusky is the primary law enforcement agency for the county. You can reach them at 810-648-2000. The sheriff runs the county jail, where people arrested in Sanilac County are taken for booking. The county website at sanilaccounty.net provides contact information and may link to any available online inmate tools.
Booking records from the Sanilac County Jail are public under Michigan law. They include the person's name, date of birth, arrest date, and the charges listed at the time of booking. Those charges may not be the final charges. A prosecutor reviews the case after booking and may add, drop, or change what was initially filed. Still, booking data gives you a fast look at a recent arrest before the case has moved very far.
To check on a specific person currently in the jail, the most direct step is to call the sheriff's office. If you want written records, you can submit a FOIA request as described later on this page. The sheriff's office must respond to FOIA requests within five business days under MCL 15.231 et seq.
ICHAT: Statewide Criminal History Search
ICHAT, the Internet Criminal History Access Tool, is run by the Michigan State Police under MCL 28.241. It is available at apps.michigan.gov for $10 per search. You enter a name and date of birth, pay by credit card, and receive a PDF result immediately. The system covers felony and misdemeanor convictions from all 83 Michigan counties, including Sanilac.
For Sanilac County specifically, ICHAT pulls from the 24th Circuit Court and the local district court records that have been reported to the state. Because the Thumb area includes people who move between counties for work or family, ICHAT is often more complete than searching a single county. One search gives you the person's full in-state conviction history regardless of which county handled each case.
ICHAT does not include arrests that did not lead to charges, cases that were dismissed early, or records expunged under Michigan's Clean Slate law. For those, the Michigan court case search is the better tool. Both together give the most complete picture available online.
The Michigan court search portal at courts.michigan.gov/case-search is free and shows case records across the state. The screenshot below shows what the search interface looks like.
Court records from the 24th Circuit Court in Sandusky and the Sanilac County District Court both appear in this statewide tool. You can search by name and filter by court or county.
OTIS: Michigan Department of Corrections Records
OTIS stands for Offender Tracking Information System. It is run by the Michigan Department of Corrections and is free to use at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2. The system tracks people who are serving or have served state prison sentences, or who are on parole or probation under MDOC supervision. If someone from Sanilac County received a state prison sentence after a felony conviction, you can find their record here.
Search by name or MDOC number. Results show the person's photo, offenses, current status, facility or supervision address, and earliest release date if applicable. OTIS does not cover people who only served time in the county jail or who were convicted of misdemeanors. Those cases stay at the local level. OTIS is specifically for people who entered the state corrections pipeline after a felony conviction.
The database is maintained by MDOC and updated as offenders move through the system. It is official state data, not a third-party aggregation.
24th Circuit Court and District Court Records
Sanilac County felony cases are handled by the 24th Circuit Court in Sandusky. Misdemeanor and civil infraction cases go through the Sanilac County District Court. Both courts maintain records of all proceedings from arraignment through final disposition. Court records are more detailed than booking records because they follow a case through the entire process.
You can search both courts at no cost using the Michigan One Court of Justice case search at courts.michigan.gov/case-search. Look up a name to find associated cases. Results include charge descriptions, hearing dates, bond information, and final outcomes like conviction, dismissal, or acquittal. Knowing the final outcome is often why people search court records rather than just jail booking data.
For certified copies of Sanilac County court documents, you need to contact the circuit or district court clerk directly. Certified copies are stamped with a court seal and are needed for legal filings, government applications, or other official purposes. The clerk can tell you the current copy fees and how long it takes to process a request. Walk-in requests and mail-in requests are both typically accepted.
Michigan Sex Offender Registry and Sanilac County
The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry is searchable at mspsor.com under MCL 28.721. It is free to use and covers all 83 Michigan counties. You can search by name, zip code, city, or county. Results for Sanilac County registrants show their address, photo, and the offense that requires them to be on the list.
Registration in Michigan is required for people convicted of certain sex crimes. Depending on the offense level, the registration period is either 15 years or lifetime. The Sanilac County Sheriff's Office works with the Michigan State Police to keep local registry information current. Registrants are required to report any changes to their address, school enrollment, or employment. The registry is updated when those changes come in.
FOIA Requests for Sanilac County Records
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231 et seq., gives the public the right to request records from government agencies. For Sanilac County, that means you can request arrest reports, incident logs, and booking records from the sheriff's office. Requests must be in writing. Describe what you are looking for clearly, including the person's name, the approximate date, and the type of document you want.
The agency has five business days to respond. They can approve your request and begin pulling records, deny it with an explanation, or ask for more time on a complex request. If fees apply, they must estimate the cost before doing any work. You can limit the scope of your request if the estimated fee is more than you want to pay. Denials can be appealed to the agency head in writing.
Court records from the 24th Circuit Court or Sanilac County District Court are not covered by FOIA. They are accessed through the court clerk under the Michigan Court Rules. The rules still allow public access in most cases. Contact the court clerk in Sandusky to request case files or transcripts and ask about the current fee schedule.
The Michigan State Police also handles FOIA requests for records they hold. If a case involved MSP investigation or the state crime lab, you can submit a request through michigan.gov/msp/services/foia. The MSP portal walks you through the submission process online.
Michigan Clean Slate Law and Expungement
Michigan's Clean Slate law under MCL 780.621g allows people to get certain arrests and convictions expunged from their record. Expunged records are removed from public databases like ICHAT. Some convictions qualified for automatic expungement in 2023 without any filing required. Others need a formal petition and a court hearing before a judge will grant the order.
Whether a Sanilac County case qualifies depends on the offense and how much time has passed. Serious violent crimes, major traffic offenses, and most sex crimes are not eligible. Arrests that did not lead to conviction are a separate issue. They may still show in some databases even though the person was not convicted. Anyone trying to address a record from a Sanilac County case should consult a Michigan attorney. Legal aid offices that serve the Thumb area can help people who qualify based on income.
Nearby Counties
Sanilac County borders several other counties in the Thumb and eastern Lower Peninsula area of Michigan.