Rule 8.119 - Court Records and Reports; Duties of Clerks(A) Applicability. This rule applies to all records in every trial court. For purposes of this rule, records are as defined in MCR 1.109, MCR 3.218, MCR 3.903, and MCR 8.119(D)-(G).(B) Records Standards. Trial courts shall comply with the records standards in this rule, MCR 1.109, and as prescribed by the Michigan Supreme Court.(C) Filing of Documents and Other Materials. The clerk of the court shall process and maintain documents filed with the court as prescribed by Michigan Court Rules and the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards and all filed documents must be file stamped in accordance with these standards. The clerk of the court may only reject documents submitted for filing that do not comply with MCR 1.109(D)(1) and (2), are not signed in accordance with MCR 1.109(E), or are not accompanied by a required filing fee or a request for fee waiver under MCR 2.002(B), unless already waived or suspended by court order. Documents prepared or issued by the court for placement in the case file are not subject to rejection by the clerk of the court and shall not be stamped filed but shall be recorded in the case history as required in subrule (D)(1)(a) and placed in the case file.(D) Records Kept by the Clerk of the Court. The clerk of the court shall maintain the following case records in accordance with the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards. Documents and other materials made nonpublic or confidential by court rule, statute, or order of the court pursuant to subrule (I) must be designated accordingly and maintained to allow only authorized access. In the event of transfer or appeal of a case, every rule, statute, or order of the court under subrule (I) that makes a document or other materials in that case nonpublic or confidential applies uniformly to every court in Michigan, irrespective of the court in which the document or other materials were originally filed. (1) Case History and Case Files. The clerk shall maintain records of each case consisting of case history (known as a register of actions) and, except for civil infractions, a case file in such form and style as may be prescribed by the State Court Administrative Office. Each case shall be assigned a case number on receipt of a case initiating document. The case number shall comply with MCR 1.109(D)(1)(b)(iii). In addition to the case number, a separate petition number shall be assigned to each petition filed under the juvenile code, MCL 712A.1 et seq., as required under MCR 1.109(D)(1)(d). The case number (and petition number if applicable) shall be recorded in the court's automated case management system and on the case file. The records shall include the following characteristics: (a) Case History. The clerk shall create and maintain a case history of each case, known as a register of actions, in the court's automated case management system. The automated case management system shall be capable of chronologically displaying the case history for each case and shall also be capable of searching a case by number or party name (previously known as numerical and alphabetical indices) and displaying the case number, date of filing, names of parties, and names of any attorneys of record. The case history shall contain both pre- and postjudgment information and shall, at a minimum, consist of the data elements prescribed in the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards. Each entry shall be brief, but shall show the nature of each item filed, each item issued by the court, and the returns showing execution. The case history entry of each item filed shall be dated with the date of filing (if relevant) and the date and initials of the person recording the action, except where the entry is recorded by the electronic filing system. In that instance, the entry shall indicate that the electronic filing system recorded the action. The case history entry of each order, judgment, opinion, notice, or other item issued by the court shall be dated with the date of issuance and the initials of the person recording the action. Protected personal identifying information entered into the court's case management system as required by MCR 1.109(D)(9)(e) shall be maintained for the purposes for which it was collected and for which its use is authorized by federal or state law or court rule; however, it shall not be included or displayed as case history, including when transferred to the Archives of Michigan pursuant to law.(b) Case File. The clerk of the court shall maintain a file of each action, bearing the case number assigned to it, for all pleadings, process, written opinions and findings, orders, and judgments filed in the action, and any other materials prescribed by court rule, statute, or court order to be filed with the clerk of the court. If case file records are maintained separately from the case files, the clerk shall maintain them as prescribed by the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards.(2) Calendars. The clerk may maintain calendars of actions. A calendar is a schedule of cases ready for court action that identifies times and places of activity.(3) Abolished Records. (a) Journals. Except for recording marriages, journals shall not be maintained.(b) Dockets. Case history replaces a docket. Wherever these rules or applicable statutes require entries on a docket, those entries shall be entered in the court's automated case management system.(4) Official Court Record. There is only one official court record, regardless whether original or suitable-duplicate and regardless of the medium. Suitable-duplicate is defined in the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards. Documents electronically filed with the court or generated electronically by the court are original records and are the official court record. A paper printout of any electronically filed or generated document is a copy and is a nonrecord for purposes of records retention and disposal.(E) Other Case Records. The clerk or other persons designated by the chief judge of the court shall maintain in the manner prescribed by these rules, other materials filed with or handled by the court for purposes of case processing, including but not limited to wills filed for safekeeping, case evaluations, exhibit logs, presentence reports, probation files, problem-solving court treatment files, financial statements for collections, and friend of the court records.(F)Court Recordings, Log Notes, Jury Seating Charts, and Media. Court recordings, log notes, jury seating charts, and all other records such as tapes, backup tapes, discs, and any other medium used or created in the making of a record of proceedings and kept pursuant to MCR 8.108 are court records and are subject to access in accordance with subrule (H)(8)(b).(G)Other Court Records. All court records not included in subrules (D), (E), and (F) are considered administrative and fiscal records or nonrecord materials and are not subject to public access under subrule (H). These records are defined in the approved records retention and disposal schedule for trial courts.(H)Access to Records. Except as otherwise provided in subrule (F), only case records as defined in subrule (D) are public records, subject to access in accordance with these rules. (1) The clerk shall not permit any case record to be taken from the court without the order of the court.(2) A court may provide access to the public case history information through a publicly accessible website, and business court opinions may be made available as part of an indexed list as required under MCL 600.8039.(3) Public access to all electronic documents imported from an electronic document management system maintained by a court or its funding unit to the state-owned electronic document management system maintained by the State Court Administrative Office will be automatically restricted until protected personal identifying information is redacted from all documents with a filed date or issued date that precedes April 1, 2022.(4) If a request is made for a public record that is maintained electronically, the court is required to provide a means for access to that record. However, the records cannot be provided through a publicly accessible website if protected personal identifying information has not been redacted from those records.(5) If a public document prepared or issued by the court on or after April 1, 2022, or a Uniform Law Citation filed with the court on or after April 1, 2022, contains protected personal identifying information, the information must be redacted before it can be provided to the public, whether the document is provided upon request via a paper or electronic copy, or direct access via a publicly accessible computer at the courthouse. Upon receipt by the court on or after April 1, 2022, protected personal identifying information included in a proposed order shall be protected by the court as required under MCR 8.119(H) as if the document was prepared or issued by the court.(6) The court may provide access to any case record that is not available in paper or digital image, as defined by MCR 1.109(B), if it can reasonably accommodate the request. Any materials filed with the court pursuant to MCR 1.109(D), in a medium for which the court does not have the means to readily access and reproduce those materials, may be made available for public inspection using court equipment only. The court is not required to provide the means to access or reproduce the contents of those materials if the means is not already available.(7) Unless access to a case record or information contained in a record as defined in subrule (D) is restricted by statute, court rule, or an order entered pursuant to subrule (I), any person may inspect that record and may obtain copies as provided in subrule (J). In accordance with subrule (J), the court may collect a fee for the cost of providing copies.(8) Every court shall adopt an administrative order pursuant to MCR 8.112(B) to (a) make reasonable regulations necessary to protect its public records and prevent excessive and unreasonable interference with the discharge of its functions;(b) establish a policy for whether to provide access for records defined in subrule (F) and if access is to be provided, outline the procedure for accessing those records;(c) specify the reasonable cost of reproduction of records provided under subrule (J); and(d) specify the process for determining costs under subrule (J).(9) Set Aside Convictions. Access to information on set aside convictions is limited to a court of competent jurisdiction, an agency of the judicial branch of state government, the department of corrections, a law enforcement agency, a prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, and the governor upon request and only for the purposes identified in MCL 780.623. Access may also be provided to the individual whose conviction was set aside, that individual's attorney, and the victim(s) as defined in MCL 780.623. The court must redact all information related to the set aside conviction or convictions before making the case record or a court record available to the public in any format.(I) Sealed Records. (1) Except as otherwise provided by statute or court rule, a court may not enter an order that seals courts records, in whole or in part, in any action or proceeding, unless (a) a party has filed a written motion that identifies the specific interest to be protected,(b) the court has made a finding of good cause, in writing or on the record, which specifies the grounds for the order, and(c) there is no less restrictive means to adequately and effectively protect the specific interest asserted.(2) In determining whether good cause has been shown, the court must consider, (a) the interests of the parties, including, where there is an allegation of domestic violence, the safety of the alleged or potential victim of the domestic violence, and(b) the interest of the public.(3) The court must provide any interested person the opportunity to be heard concerning the sealing of the records.(4) Materials that are subject to a motion to seal a record in whole or in part must be made nonpublic temporarily pending the court's disposition of the motion.(5) For purposes of this rule, "court records" includes all documents and records of any nature that are filed with or maintained by the clerk in connection with the action.(6) A court may not seal a court order or opinion, including an order or opinion that disposes of a motion to seal the record.(7) Whenever the court grants a motion to seal a court record, in whole or in part, the court must forward a copy of the order to the Clerk of the Supreme Court and to the State Court Administrative Office.(8) Nothing in this rule is intended to limit the court's authority to issue protective orders pursuant to MCR 2.302(C) without a motion to seal or require that a protective order issued under MCR 2.302(C) be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and the State Court Administrative Office. A protective order issued under MCR 2.302(C) may authorize parties to file materials under seal in accordance with the provisions of the protective order without the necessity of filing a motion to seal under this rule.(9) Any person may file a motion to set aside an order that disposes of a motion to seal the record, to unseal a document filed under seal pursuant to MCR 2.302(C), or an objection to entry of a proposed order. MCR 2.119 governs the proceedings on such a motion or objection. If the court denies a motion to set aside the order or enters the order after objection is filed, the moving or objecting person may file an application for leave to appeal in the same manner as a party to the action. See MCR 8.116(D).(J) Access and Reproduction Fees. (1) A court may not charge a fee to access public case history information or to retrieve or inspect a case document irrespective of the medium in which the case record is retained, the manner in which access to the case record is provided (including whether a record is retained onsite or offsite), and the technology used to create, store, retrieve, reproduce, and maintain the case record.(2) A court may charge a reproduction fee for a document pursuant to MCL 600.1988, except when required by law or court rule to provide a copy without charge to a person or other entity.(3) The court may provide access to its public case records in any medium authorized by the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116; MCL 24.401 to 24.403.(4) Reproduction of a case document means the act of producing a copy of that document through any medium authorized by the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116; MCL 24.401 to 24.403. (a) A court may charge only for the actual cost of labor and supplies and the actual use of the system, including printing from a public terminal, to reproduce a case document and not the cost associated with the purchase and maintenance of any system or technology used to store, retrieve, and reproduce the document.(b) If a person wishes to obtain copies of documents in a file, the clerk shall provide copies upon receipt of the actual cost of reproduction.(c) Except as otherwise directed by statute or court rule, a standard fee may be established, pursuant to (H)(8), for providing copies of documents on file.(5) A court is not required to create a new record out of its existing records. A new record means the compilation of information into a format that does not currently exist or that cannot be generated electronically using predefined formats available through a court's case management system. Providing access to documents or furnishing copies of documents in an existing file does not constitute creation of a new record, even when the output appears in a format different than the format of the original record or document because the output is the result of predefined formats.(a) A court may create a new record or compilation of records pertaining to case files or case-related information on request, provided that the record created or compiled does not disclose information that would otherwise be confidential or restricted by statute, court rule, or an order entered pursuant to subrule (I).(b) A court may charge only for the actual cost of labor and supplies and the actual use of the system to develop, generate, and validate the accuracy of a new record and not the cost associated with the purchase and maintenance of any system or technology used to store, retrieve, and reproduce the information or documents for creating a new record.(c) If a court creates a new record, the clerk shall provide access to the new record upon receipt of the actual cost of creating the record.(K) Retention Periods and Disposal of Court Records. For purposes of retention, the records of the trial courts include:
(1) administrative and fiscal records, (2) case file and other case records, (3) court recordings, log notes, jury seating charts, and recording media, and (4) nonrecord material. The records of the trial courts shall be retained in the medium prescribed by MCR 1.109. The records of a trial court may not be disposed of except as authorized by the records retention and disposal schedule and upon order by the chief judge of that court. Before disposing of records subject to the order, the court shall first transfer to the Archives of Michigan any records specified as such in the Michigan trial courts approved records retention and disposal schedule. An order disposing of court records shall comply with the retention periods established by the State Court Administrative Office and approved by the state court administrator, Attorney General, State Administrative Board, Archives of Michigan, and Records Management Services of the Department of Management and Budget, in accordance with MCL 399.811.(L) Reporting Duties. (1) The clerk of every court shall submit reports and records as required by statute and court rule.(2) The clerk of every court shall submit reports or provide records as required by the State Court Administrative Office, without costs.Amended May 26, 2016, effective 1/1/2017; amended May 16, 2018, effective 9/1/2018; amended May 30, 2018, effective 9/1/2018; amended September 18, 2019, effective 1/1/2020; amended May 22, 2019, effective 1/1/2021; amended October 28, 2020, effective 1/1/2021; amended November 18, 2020, effective 7/1/2021; amended June 9, 2021, effective 7/1/2021; amended June 30, 2021, effective 1/1/2022; amended March 9, 2022, effective 4/1/2022; amended May 11, 2022, effective 5/11/2022; amended September 21, 2022, effective 1/1/2023; amended March 29, 2023, effective 4/11/2023; amended May 3, 2023, effective 5/3/2023; amended April 3, 2024, effective 4/3/2024.