Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Oakland County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Cemetery Records
- Oakland County files · RG 83-531957 to 1981
Court Records
- Civil dockets (Pontiac) · RG 55-51840 to 1911
- Criminal dockets (Pontiac) · RG 55-51883 to 1916
- Justice docket (Avon Township) · RG 69-52*1906 to 1911
- Lists of jurors (Troy Township) · RG 57-181863 to 1885
- Petitions for parole · RG 67-561950 to 1955
- Selected cases · RG 67-561943 to 1960
- Selected complaints · RG 67-56prosecuting attorney referred to circuit court, from 1940 to 1943
- Testimony and statements · RG 67-561943 to 1946
Land Records
- Chattel mortgages (Avon Township) · RG 69-521872 to 1895
- Chattel mortgages (Troy Township) · RG 57-181862 to 1868
- Land ownership maps (Avon Township) · RG 69-521958 to 1959
- Rural Property Inventory · RG 72-761936 to 1942
- School land sale journal · RG 57-161867 to 1872
Military Records
- Account book of Civil War bounty · RG 57-161863 to 1865
- Draft quota enlistments (Troy Township) · RG 57-181863 to 1885
- Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post records · RG 63-191876 to 1945
- Register of volunteers · RG 57-161862 to 1865
Naturalization Records
- Certificate stubs · RG 2004-141959 to 1984
- Court orders denied · RG 2004-141929 to 1986
- Court orders granted · RG 2004-141929 to 1987
- Declarations of Intention · RG 2004-141843 to 1978
- Final papers · RG 2004-141843 to 1906
- Petitions · RG 2004-141906 to 1984
- Repatriations · RG 2004-141940 to 1960
Poor Home / Relief Records
Political Records
- Salary of county officers · RG 57-16*1882 to 1919
Probate Records
- Case files · RG 2022-641820 to 1971
- Probate calendars · RG 2022-641822 to 1971
School Records
Tax Records
- Account book of county treasurer · RG 57-16*1838 to 1859
- Assessment rolls · RG 371868 to 1888
- Assessment rolls (Avon Township) · RG 69-52*1841 to 1847 and from 1879 to 1930
- Assessment rolls (Lyon Township) · RG 77-1071848 to 1879
- Assessment rolls (Orion Township) · RG 2021-841904 to 1998
- Assessment rolls (Southfield Township) · RG 69-741933
- Assessment rolls (West Bloomfield Township) · RG 71-1001858 to 1960
- Assessment rolls for liquor tax · RG 57-16*1875 to 1876
- Delinquent tax rolls · RG 371842 to 1870
- Inheritance tax record · RG 57-161900 to 1915
- Ledger of accounts with tax collector · RG 57-161827 to 1837
- Non-resident tax returns · RG 371836 to 1837
- Specific state tax record · RG 57-161839 to 1842
- Tax rolls · RG 371841 to 1867
Voter Records
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected holdings described by the Archives of Michigan. Preserve the record-group (RG) reference when requesting records. Some collections are held at partner repositories; consult the guide before traveling. Asterisks and other qualifiers refer to access or location notes in that guide. Some records have privacy restrictions or require proof of death. A date span may contain gaps and does not establish that images are online.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Oakland County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk, the register of deeds and the probate court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Births, deaths and marriages registered in the county, and court records.
- The register of deeds
Deeds, mortgages and other land records.
- The probate court
Wills, estates and guardianships.
- The Archives of Michigan
In Lansing: state and county records, and Michigan death certificates from 1897 to 1952 online at Michiganology.
- Archives of Michiganfree
The state archives in Lansing, with county and state records, military records and Michigan death records.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Michigan, Oakland" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Macomb County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Macomb County
Later formed partly from Oakland County: Lapeer County, Shiawassee County, Washtenaw County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1820, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Michigan began registering births and deaths in 1867, much earlier than most states, with county clerks keeping the registers and sending copies to the state. Ask the county clerk for the early registers.