Antrim County Booking Reports
Booking reports for Antrim County come from the sheriff's office in Bellaire, Michigan. This northern Lower Peninsula county processes jail intake through a single facility that serves the entire area. Every arrest in Antrim County produces a booking report that logs the charges, the person's details, and the date of intake. You have the legal right to access these records. Call the sheriff at 231-533-8623 for current inmate information, or submit a FOIA request for official copies. State search tools like OTIS and ICHAT can also pull up records linked to Antrim County cases. Use the search tool below to start looking for the booking reports you need.
Antrim County Quick Facts
Search Antrim County Booking Records
The Antrim County Sheriff's Office is where all booking reports originate for this county. When someone gets arrested by any law enforcement agency in Antrim County, they end up at the county jail in Bellaire for processing. The intake staff create a booking report that covers the person's name, date of birth, physical description, charges filed, arresting agency, and booking date. This is the official record of the arrest.
Antrim County does not maintain a public online jail roster. To check on a current inmate, call the sheriff's office at 231-533-8623. Give them a name and they can tell you if the person is in custody. They can also share basic booking information over the phone. For a written copy of a booking report, you need to go through the FOIA process. That is the formal way to get documents from any public agency in Michigan, and it works the same in Antrim County as it does everywhere else in the state.
Antrim County FOIA Process
Filing a FOIA request with the Antrim County Sheriff is straightforward. Michigan law at MCL 15.231 spells out the process. Write a request that says you want booking reports for a specific person. Include the name and any dates you have. Mail it, email it, or drop it off in person at the sheriff's office in Bellaire. The office has five business days to get back to you. They can charge reasonable fees for search and copy time. Low-income residents can get the first $20 waived.
You do not have to give a reason for your request. The law says anyone can ask. Businesses, lawyers, journalists, and regular people all use FOIA. The only restriction is that people currently in a state or county jail cannot use FOIA while in custody. Everyone else has full access rights. MCL 750.491 reinforces this by declaring all official records to be public property belonging to the people of Michigan. That is a strong legal foundation that applies to every booking report in Antrim County.
Note: If the Antrim County Sheriff needs more than five days to process your FOIA request, they must notify you in writing and explain the reason for the delay.
Arrest Records in Antrim County
Antrim County sees a range of arrest types. Drunk driving is common, especially during summer months when the area draws visitors to Torch Lake and other spots. Drug offenses, domestic cases, and warrant arrests round out the typical booking log. Each one creates a separate report in the sheriff's system.
Michigan treats these booking reports as public records. The Detroit Free Press v. Oakland County Sheriff case from 1987 made this clear. Booking photos and intake data cannot be withheld under privacy claims. MCL 750.492 goes further by requiring that records custodians provide at least four hours of daily access for public inspection. If an Antrim County office refuses to comply with a valid records request, they face civil fines between $2,500 and $7,500 under the FOIA enforcement provisions. These are not just guidelines. They are enforceable laws with real consequences for agencies that ignore them.
State Tools for Antrim County Records
OTIS covers the state corrections system. It is free. Search for prisoners, parolees, and people on probation by name or MDOC number. Records stay for three years after supervision ends. OTIS does not cover county jail inmates, so if someone is sitting in the Antrim County jail, you will not find them there. But if they went to state prison after an Antrim County arrest, OTIS will have them.
The ICHAT tool from the Michigan State Police costs $10 and pulls criminal conviction records statewide. It covers felonies and serious misdemeanors. No refund if nothing comes back. ICHAT will not show pending cases or arrests without convictions. For a full picture of someone's criminal record in Antrim County, you may need to combine ICHAT results with booking report data from the sheriff's office and court records from the 13th Circuit Court.
Michigan's Clean Slate program allows expungement of certain older convictions. When that happens, the booking report tied to the case may get sealed. Not all crimes qualify, but the program has expanded over time. If a search comes back empty for an Antrim County case, expungement could be one explanation.
Antrim County Court System
The 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Bellaire handles felony cases for Antrim County. The 86th District Court covers misdemeanors and preliminary examinations. Court records show the full arc of a case after the booking report gets filed. Arraignments, bond hearings, plea deals, trials, and sentencing all produce records that the public can access.
The Michigan Courts website has contact information for both courts. You can call the clerk's office to ask about a specific case. The MI-VINE system provides free custody alerts for Antrim County inmates. Sign up with a name or case number and get notifications by phone, text, or email when something changes. The sex offender registry covers Antrim County offenders under MCL 28.721.
Note: Court records and booking reports are kept by different offices in Antrim County, so you may need to contact both the sheriff and the court clerk to get the full case picture.
Nearby Counties
Antrim County sits in the northwest part of the Lower Peninsula. Neighboring counties handle their own booking reports through their respective sheriff offices. If you cannot find the record you need in Antrim County, try these nearby jurisdictions.