St. Louis County Public Records

Thank you for visiting this page. We want to help you with your St. Louis County Public Records Search. This guide aims to give you the facts you need. We will point you to the right places for records in the county. We hope this makes your search task less hard.

If you want to begin a St. Louis County Public Records Search right now, you can visit: https://minnesotaofficialrecords.com/st-louis-county-public-records/. This resource may help you start your search quickly. It can guide you to different types of records available within St. Louis County. Check it out if you need fast access or want to see what search options are out there before diving into specific county department details. It can save you time finding links.

St. Louis County Court Records Search

Find­ing court records in St. Louis Coun­ty, Min­neso­ta is key for many. These files hold much data. They can in­clude civ­il suits. They can al­so show crim­i­nal case facts. Fam­i­ly court and pro­bate court files are here too. Each type tells a dif­fer­ent kind of sto­ry. This in­fo is oft­en open to the pub­lic. You just need to know how to ask for it. The law helps make sure you can see these files.

Accessing Court Records

You have a few ways to get St. Louis Coun­ty court files. The main way is on the web. You can al­so go to the court house.

Online Access: Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)

The Min­neso­ta Court Records On­line (MCRO) sys­tem is a great tool. You can use it from home. Find it at https://www.mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records/MCRO.aspx. MCRO lets you search in four ways. You can use the Case Search. This helps find a case by name, case num­ber, or even by the lawyer's name. It shows a list of ac­tions in the case. It al­so links to pub­lic pa­pers you can view on­line. There is al­so a Doc­u­ment Search. Use this if you know the case num­ber. It will help you find spe­cif­ic files that are on­line for that case. The Hear­ing Search is for find­ing dates and times of court dates. You can look by name, case num­ber, or judge. Last is the Judg­ment Search. This helps you find mon­ey judg­ments by the debt­or's name. It shows if the debt has been paid. Using MCRO is free for view­ing and down­load­ing files.

But MCRO has some lim­its. For ex­am­ple, you can't search for crim­i­nal cas­es that are still go­ing on just by the per­son's name. You need more info for that. You al­so can't get of­fi­cial stamped cop­ies from MCRO. For those, you need to talk to the court staff at the court house. You al­so can't pay fines or file new court pa­pers on MCRO. For things like back­ground checks, they say to use the Min­neso­ta Bu­reau of Crim­i­nal Ap­pre­hen­sion (BCA) site: https://chs.state.mn.us/.

In-Person: Courthouse Public Access Terminals

If you can't find what you need on MCRO, or if you like to look in per­son, you can go to any Min­neso­ta court house. They have com­put­ers there for the pub­lic to use. These are called pub­lic ac­cess ter­mi­nals. You can see more court files on these than on MCRO some­times. The staff at the court house can al­so help you find things. They can tell you how to ask for of­fi­cial cop­ies too. There is no cost to look at records on these com­put­ers.

St. Louis County Courthouse Locations and Contact Information

St. Louis Coun­ty is unique. It has court of­fices in three cit­ies. This means you can get help in more than one place.

Duluth Courthouse

• Ad­dress: 100 North 5th Av­enue West, Duluth, MN 55802-1285

• Phone: (218) 221-7560

• Hours: Mon­day - Fri­day, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

• The Du­luth Court­house of­fers full ser­vices. A pub­lic ac­cess com­put­er is there. Self-help ser­vices can be reached by phone too.

Hibbing Courthouse

• Ad­dress: 1810 12th Av­enue East, Hib­bing, MN 55746

• Phone: (218) 262-0100 (Court Ad­min­is­tra­tion)

• Hours: Mon­day - Fri­day, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM (Gen­er­al hours, call to check for spe­cif­ic of­fice)

• This lo­ca­tion al­so has full court ser­vices.

Virginia Courthouse

• Ad­dress: 300 South 5th Av­enue, Vir­ginia, MN 55792

• Phone: (218) 471-7115 (Court Ad­min­is­tra­tion)

• Hours: Mon­day - Fri­day, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM (Gen­er­al hours, call to check for spe­cif­ic of­fice)

• Vir­ginia of­fers full court ser­vices as well.

Requesting Certified Copies

To get an of­fi­cial, stamped copy of a court record, you must ask the court ad­min­is­tra­tion of­fice. This means you need to reach out to the court house where the case was. You can't get these from MCRO. There is often a fee for these stamped cop­ies. The fee can change based on the type of file and how many pages it has. It is best to call the court of­fice first. Ask them about the cost and how to pay. This makes sure your re­quest goes smooth.

St. Louis County Property Records Search

When you need to find out about land or homes in St. Louis Coun­ty, prop­er­ty records are what you seek. These records can tell you who owns a place. They show deeds from sales. They list any debts or liens on the land. They al­so map out the land bound­aries (plats). The two main of­fices for this are the Re­corder's Of­fice and the As­ses­sor's Of­fice. These files are pub­lic. You have the right to see them. Know­ing this can help you learn a lot about a piece of land.

St. Louis County Recorder/Registrar of Titles Office

The Re­corder's Of­fice is key for prop­er­ty records. They keep the of­fi­cial track of land own­er­ship. They file deeds when land is sold. They al­so file mort­gages when loans are made for land. Liens, which show a debt owed that is tied to the land, are filed here too. If you are do­ing a St. Louis Coun­ty Pub­lic Rec­ords Search for land his­to­ry, this of­fice is where you will spend time. They work to make sure all land deals are clear and known.

Services Offered and Online Access

The Re­corder's Of­fice helps in many ways. You can search for deeds go­ing back to 1974 on their web­site. The main on­line search tool for record­ed doc­u­ments is here: https://apps.stlouiscountymn.gov/webrecorder/. This lets you look up records from your own com­put­er. It's a good first step for your search. They also have a Prop­er­ty De­tails Search at https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/assessor/property-information/property-details-search. This site pulls data that is up­dat­ed each day. You can search by par­cel ID, ad­dress, or plat name. If you choose to go in per­son to search, they ask that you make a time to vis­it their of­fices. The main site for the Re­corder's Of­fice and its ser­vices is https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/public-records/recording.

Office Locations, Hours, and Contact

The main of­fice for record­ing real es­tate doc­u­ments is in Du­luth.

• St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder/Reg­is­trar of Ti­tles - Du­luth Of­fice

  • Ad­dress: 100 N. 5th Ave. W., #101, Du­luth, MN 55802

  • Mail­ing Ad­dress: PO Box 157, Du­luth, MN 55801-0157

  • Real Es­tate Phone: (218) 726-2677

  • Hours: Mon­day - Fri­day: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

• While Du­luth is the main hub for record­ing, oth­er St. Louis Coun­ty ser­vice cen­ters in Hib­bing, Vir­ginia, Ely, and Cook can ac­cept doc­u­ments for record­ing. These will then be sent to Du­luth. Call these lo­ca­tions for their spe­cif­ic hours and ser­vices.

  • Hib­bing Court­house: 1810 12th Ave. E. # 100, Hib­bing, MN 55746

  • Vir­ginia Gov­ern­ment Ser­vice Cen­ter: 201 South Third Ave. W., Vir­ginia, MN 55792

  • Ely SLC Ser­vice Cen­ter: 320 Min­ers Dri­ve E., Ely, MN 55731

  • Cook SLC Ser­vice Cen­ter: 9558 Ashawa Road, Cook, MN 55723

eRecording Information

St. Louis Coun­ty wants peo­ple to use eRe­cord­ing when they can. This means you can send in your real es­tate doc­u­ments on­line. This is fast and cuts down on pa­per. More in­fo on how to eRe­cord can be found on the coun­ty's web­site: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/public-records/recording/real-estate-recording#2926113-electronic-recording. This i 1 s a good choice for those who file lots of doc­u­ments.  

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minnesota.propertychecker.com

St. Louis County Assessor's Office

The As­ses­sor's Of­fice has a dif­fer­ent job but still deals with prop­er­ty. Their main task is to set the val­ue of all prop­er­ty in the coun­ty. This val­ue is used to fig­ure out prop­er­ty tax­es. They al­so keep track of how prop­er­ty is used, like if it's a home, farm, or busi­ness. This data is pub­lic. It can be use­ful if you want to know a prop­er­ty's tax val­ue or its use type.

Accessing Assessor Data

You can find As­ses­sor data on­line through the coun­ty's Prop­er­ty De­tails Search: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/assessor/property-information/property-details-search. This search can give you info on par­cel ID, own­er name, ad­dress, tax­able val­ue, and sale his­to­ry. The As­ses­sor's main page with more links and con­tact in­fo is here: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/assessor.

Office Locations and Contact (Assessor)

The As­ses­sor has sev­er­al of­fices:

• Du­luth Of­fice: (Gen­er­al Coun­ty Line) (218) 726-2000 (Ask for As­ses­sor's Of­fice)

  • Ad­dress for main gov­ern­ment build­ing: 100 N 5th Ave W, Du­luth, MN 55802

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• Ely Of­fice: (218) 365-8236

• Hib­bing Of­fice: (218) 312-8389

• Vir­ginia Of­fice: (218) 471-7147

• Hours: Gen­er­al hours are Mon­day - Fri­day, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, but it's wise to call a spe­cif­ic of­fice to check.

St. Louis County Vital Records Search (Birth, Death, Marriage)

Vi­tal records mark key life events. These are birth dates, death dates, and mar­riages. In St. Louis Coun­ty, the Re­corder's Of­fice man­ages these records. Not all vi­tal records are open to just any one. Min­neso­ta law has rules on who can get them. This is to keep per­son­al data safe. Your St. Louis Coun­ty Pub­lic Rec­ords Search for these items needs care.

Understanding Vital Records Access

To get a cer­ti­fied copy of a birth or death record, you must show you have a "tan­gi­ble in­ter­est." This means you are the per­son on the record, a close fam­i­ly mem­ber, a le­gal guard­ian, or someone with a court or­der. For birth records, some are marked "con­fi­den­tial." These have even more rules on who can see them. Pub­lic birth records can be seen by any­one as a non-cer­ti­fied copy (for info on­ly). All death records in Min­neso­ta are pub­lic for non-cer­ti­fied cop­ies. Mar­riage records are gen­er­al­ly pub­lic.

St. Louis County Recorder's Office - Vital Records Division

The Vi­tal Rec­ords Di­vi­sion in the St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder's Of­fice is your main stop for these doc­u­ments at the coun­ty lev­el. They of­fer:

• Birth Cer­tifi­cates

• Death Cer­tifi­cates

• Mar­riage Li­cens­es (is­sued be­fore the mar­riage)

• Mar­riage Records (af­ter the mar­riage is of­fi­cial)

How to Request Vital Records

You can ask for vi­tal records in a few ways from St. Louis Coun­ty:

• In-Per­son: You can go to one of sev­er­al of­fice lo­ca­tions. Bring a filled-out ap­pli­ca­tion form. You will need your val­id pic­ture ID. You might need more proof of your tan­gi­ble in­ter­est.

  • Lo­ca­tions:

    • Du­luth Court­house: 100 N. 5th Ave. W., #101, Du­luth, MN 55802

    • Vir­ginia Gov­ern­ment Ser­vice Cen­ter: 201 South Third Ave. W., Vir­ginia, MN 55792

    • Hib­bing Court­house: 1810 12th Ave. E. # 100, Hib­bing, MN 55746

    • Ely Gov­ern­ment Ser­vice Cen­ter: 320 Min­ers Dri­ve E., Ely, MN 55731

    • Cook Gov­ern­ment Ser­vice Cen­ter: 9558 Ashawa Road, Cook, MN 55723

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  • Birth Cer­tifi­cate Ap­pli­ca­tion can be found on the St. Louis Coun­ty web­site. For ex­am­ple, see the Birth Cer­tifi­cate page: https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/public-records/records/birth-certificate

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• By Mail: Print and fill out the right ap­pli­ca­tion form. If you want a "cer­ti­fied" copy, your sig­na­ture must be signed with a no­ta­ry pub­lic. Mail the form with your pay­ment.

  • Mail­ing Ad­dress: St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder's Of­fice, At­ten­tion: Vi­tal Rec­ords Di­vi­sion, P.O. Box 157, Du­luth, MN 55801-0157.

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• By Email (with on­line pay­ment): You can fill out the form, have it no­ta­rized (if need­ed), and then pay on­line through a ser­vice like ACI Pay­ments. Then you e-mail the form and proof of pay­ment to the Re­corder's Of­fice. The St. Louis Coun­ty web­site has de­tails on this.

Contact Information for Vital Records (St. Louis County)

• Phone (Du­luth Of­fice): (218) 726-2559

• Email: birthdeathmarriage@stlouiscountymn.gov

• Hours: Mon­day - Fri­day, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM (Du­luth). Oth­er lo­ca­tions may have dif­fer­ent hours, some with lunch clo­sures. Al­ways call ahead for small­er of­fices. For Cook, they ask you call (218) 471-7705 first to make sure staff is there.

Fees for Vital Records (St. Louis County - subject to change)

• Birth Cer­tifi­cate (Cer­ti­fied): $26.00 for the first copy.

• Birth Cer­tifi­cate (Non-Cer­ti­fied): $13.00 for the first copy.

• Ad­di­tion­al cop­ies of the same record bought at the same time cost less. For ex­am­ple, an ex­tra cer­ti­fied birth copy is $19.00.

• Fees for death and mar­riage records are sim­i­lar. Check the coun­ty web­site or call for the most up-to-date fees. Make checks or mon­ey or­ders out to "St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder."

Minnesota Department of Health - Vital Records

If a birth or death did not take place in St. Louis Coun­ty, or if you pre­fer to go through the state, you can con­tact the Min­neso­ta De­part­ment of Health (MDH).

• Web­site: https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/vitalrecords/index.html

• MDH has records for: Births since 1900 and deaths since 1908 in Min­neso­ta.

• You can or­der by mail or fax from MDH. They do not of­fer in-per­son ser­vice. Go­ing to a coun­ty of­fice is oft­en fast­er for most re­quests. The MDH site lists their cur­rent turn­around times.

Other St. Louis County Public Records

Be­yond court, prop­er­ty, and vi­tal records, there are oth­er types of pub­lic data you might seek in St. Louis Coun­ty. This could be part of a broad St. Louis Coun­ty Pub­lic Rec­ords Search. The Re­corder's Of­fice in Du­luth handles some of these.

Military Discharge Papers (DD-214)

Vet­er­ans can file their mil­i­tary dis­charge pa­pers (of­ten Form DD-214) with the Coun­ty Re­corder. This makes it eas­i­er to get cer­ti­fied cop­ies if the orig­i­nal is lost. This is a free ser­vice.

• How to File/Re­quest: Con­tact the St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder's Of­fice in Du­luth at (218) 726-2677 for real es­tate and gen­er­al record­ing, or (218) 726-2559 for the vi­tal records line which also handles these. They are lo­cat­ed at 100 N. 5th Ave. W., #101, Du­luth, MN 55802.

• These records are not pub­lic to just any­one due to pri­va­cy. The vet­er­an or those with le­gal right can get them.

Notary Commission Filings

If you be­come a no­ta­ry pub­lic in Min­neso­ta, you must reg­is­ter your com­mis­sion with your coun­ty of res­i­dence.

• How to File: Af­ter get­ting your com­mis­sion from the MN Sec­re­tary of State, you file it with the St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder's Of­fice. There is a fee for this fil­ing.

• Search­ing: In­for­ma­tion about who is a no­ta­ry and when their term ends is pub­lic.

• Con­tact: St. Louis Coun­ty Re­corder's Of­fice (Du­luth): (218) 726-2677.

Business Filings

Most busi­ness fil­ings in Min­neso­ta (like form­ing a cor­po­ra­tion or LLC) are done through the Min­neso­ta Sec­re­tary of State's Of­fice (https://www.sos.state.mn.us/business-liens/). How­ev­er, some coun­ty-lev­el li­cens­es or per­mits might be need­ed. For these, you would check with the spe­cif­ic St. Louis Coun­ty de­part­ment that deals with that type of busi­ness or ac­tiv­i­ty. The Coun­ty Audi­tor's of­fice of­ten handles some busi­ness li­cens­es.

Understanding the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA)

The Min­neso­ta Gov­ern­ment Da­ta Prac­tices Act (MGDPA) is a very im­por­tant law. It is found in Min­neso­ta Statutes, Chap­ter 13. You can read the full law here: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13. This law says how all gov­ern­ment groups in Min­neso­ta must deal with "gov­ern­ment da­ta." This means any in­fo they col­lect, cre­ate, or keep, no mat­ter its form (pa­per, e-mail, pho­tos, etc.).

The MGDPA starts with the idea that all gov­ern­ment da­ta are pub­lic. This means any­one can see it. How­ev­er, the law al­so names some da­ta as "pri­vate," "con­fi­den­tial," or "non­pub­lic." On­ly cer­tain peo­ple can see these types of da­ta. For da­ta to be not pub­lic, a state or fed­er­al law must say so.

You have the right to look at (in­spect) pub­lic da­ta for free. You al­so have the right to get cop­ies. The gov­ern­ment can charge for the cost of mak­ing cop­ies. Some­times, if it takes a lot of time to find and gath­er the da­ta, they can charge for that staff time too. If you ask for da­ta about your­self (as a "da­ta sub­ject"), the rules for fees are a bit dif­fer­ent, usu­al­ly just the cost of cop­ies.

To ask for da­ta, you should make a writ­ten re­quest to the "Re­spon­si­ble Author­i­ty" at the gov­ern­ment of­fice that has the da­ta. Your re­quest should be clear about what you want. The gov­ern­ment must re­spond in a fair amount of time. If they turn down your re­quest for some da­ta, they must tell you the law that lets them do so. This Act helps make sure our gov­ern­ment is open and that our pri­vate info is safe.