The Emmet County Register of Deeds Office is the keeper of all records pertaining to the transfer or encumbrance of real estate in the county. The documents are recorded, time stamped, assigned liber and page numbers, and computer indexed.

Our records date back to 1853 when the State Legislature passed an act organizing Emmet County. Included in its boundary was the unorganized County of Charlevoix. In 1855 the legislature re-organized Emmet County and relocated our county seat to "Little Traverse" now known as the City of Harbor Springs. Harbor Springs remained our county seat until April, 1902, when a vote for removal to Petoskey passed. Not without some controversy however, as it seems a snow storm kept many people from the polls that day! Emmet County affairs have been conducted in the courthouse in Petoskey since that date.

We currently maintain our indexes through a computerized index system which was implemented in 1980 and in, 2000, we implemented a system of document imaging. Every record can be retrieved and copied within a matter of seconds.

The index data is now available online and the images are available from 1980. Select Records Search to access the information.

Unlimited access to view and print images is allowed on a contractual basis for $1000 per month. Please contact the Register of Deeds Office if you are interested.