Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 551.18 (2026)

Certificates and records of marriage as evidence.

✓ current as of July 2026

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Revised Statutes of 1846

R.S. of 1846

551.18 Certificates and records of marriage as evidence.

Sec. 18.

The original certificates and records of marriage made by the person solemnizing the marriage as prescribed in this chapter, and the record thereof made by the county clerk, or a copy of such record duly certified by such clerk, shall be received in all courts and places, as presumptive evidence of the fact of the marriage.

History: R.S. 1846, Ch. 83 ;-- CL 1857, 3221 ;-- CL 1871, 4732 ;-- How. 6222 ;-- CL 1897, 8601 ;-- CL 1915, 11375 ;-- CL 1929, 12703 ;-- CL 1948, 551.18 ;-- Am. 1972, Act 211, Eff. July 1, 1972

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2019–2023 · leading case: In Re Murray Est. (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

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In Re Murray Est. (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “” MCL 551.18 (emphasis added). In Michigan, there is also “a strong presumption regarding the validity of a ceremonial marriage,” one which can “only be overcome with clear and positive proof that the marriage was not valid.”

Karen Sue Lueck v. James Frederick Lueck (Mich. Ct. App. 2019). “7 to MCL 551.18, plaintiff’s conduct did not constitute a marriage that triggered the spousal support termination provision of the parties’ consent judgment of divorce.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.