Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Michigan County
Arenac County, Michigan
Saginaw Bay and AuGres River fishing heritage - from Arenac County's Saginaw Bay shoreline (the county's eastern edge along Saginaw Bay provides access to some of the Great Lakes' most productive walleye and perch fishing, and the bay's shallow, warm waters support significant commercial and sport fishing that has defined the county's eastern communities for generations) to the AuGres River and sugar beet farming (the AuGres River drains the county's interior providing trout fishing access, while the flat, heavy soils of the Saginaw Valley support sugar beet, corn, and bean farming that defines Arenac County's agricultural economy in the lower Michigan Thumb transition zone).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Arenac County Emergency Management – 120 North Grove Street, PO Box 747, Standish, MI 48658 | (989) 701-5126 | Fax: (989) 846-9197 | Email: [email protected].
Arenac County E-911 Central Dispatch – PO Box 747, Standish, MI 48658; live since May 19, 1993, current center active since March 2003.
Sheriff: Arenac County Sheriff’s Office – 126 Grove Street, Standish, MI 48658 | (989) 846-3002 | Fax: (989) 246-8146 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Jim Mosciski (with the department since 1974); jail rated capacity 46 beds, routinely receives 100% compliance ratings from the Michigan Department of Corrections; maintains a Dive Team and Marine Patrol for Saginaw Bay and inland waterways. The City of Standish disbanded its police department in 2017; the Sheriff’s Office now serves the city directly.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-23 serves Standish, the county seat, on Saginaw Bay.
Notes: Arenac County has a genuinely unusual founding history – first created by the Michigan Territory in 1831, it was legally eliminated in 1857 when Bay County’s creation absorbed its territory, then re-created in 1883 from Bay County’s northern townships with different boundaries. Roughly 15,000-15,070 residents across 363 square miles of land (681 total with water, nearly half of the county’s total area). Standish was originally platted as “Granton” in 1871 by John D. Standish, who ran the town’s first sawmill, before the name reverted to Standish.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Arenac County Courthouse – Standish, MI 48658.
Notes: The Rifle River, a 60-mile state-designated natural river, flows through Arenac County into Saginaw Bay; once a major logging river during Michigan’s turn-of-the-20th-century timber boom, it is now a popular, dam-free canoeing river known for one of the state’s best spring White Sucker fish runs. The Michigan Central Railroad Standish Depot is a notable local historic landmark.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Arenac County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via arenaccountymi.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Standish-area public library address/phone via arenaccountymi.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Rifle River (canoeing), Saginaw Bay shoreline, and the historic Standish Depot are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “eliminated then re-created” county history is a distinctive administrative fact covered here.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Arenac County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via arenaccountymi.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Arenac County Animal Control – 3750 Foco Road #1131, Standish, MI 48658 | (989) 846-4421 | Email: [email protected]; adoptions by appointment only with the Shelter Director/Animal Control Officer.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Arenac County – confirm current contact via arenaccountymi.gov.
NOTES: Arenac County is the sixth county in the first batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “eliminated then re-created” county history is a distinctive administrative fact covered here. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Arenac County
Arenac County is northeast Michigan’s Saginaw Bay fishing and sugar beet farming county – the bay’s productive walleye fishery and the county’s flat agricultural soils define a small community at the base of the Michigan Thumb whose economy blends Great Lakes fishing traditions with the intensive row crop agriculture of the Saginaw Valley.
Standish (the county seat, population ~1,400) is Arenac County’s governmental hub on Saginaw Bay, serving the county’s fishing and farming communities along US 23.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Arenac County Assessor at 120 N. Grove Street, Standish, MI 48658, phone 989-846-4626.
Courts & Legal
Arenac County Probate Court at 120 N. Grove Street, Standish, MI 48658, phone 989-846-9201, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
120 N. Grove St., Standish, MI 48658
(989) 846-4626
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Arenac County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Arenac County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Arenac County Probate Court Arenac County Courthouse, 120 N. Grove Street, Standish, MI 48658 (989) 846-6941 Arenac County is on Michigan’s Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula, seated in Standish.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $51,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
120 N. Grove St., Standish, MI 48658
(989) 846-9111
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
120 N. Grove St., Standish, MI 48658
(989) 846-4626
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Northeast Region
(989) 846-6241
MyMichigan Medical Center West Branch
mymichigan.org (West Branch, Ogemaw County — accessible)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Arenac County Health Department – confirm current phone via arenaccountymi.gov. Saginaw Bay Human Services – 3463 Deep River Rd, Standish | (989) 846-9631.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Standish
Population: 14,500
Area: 368 sq mi
Established: 1883
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Arenac County residents.
