Deputies of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office maintain order and security in the courtrooms of the Third Judicial Circuit and Wayne County Probate Courts for the protection of the Judges, Litigants, and the general public. Deputies also transport prisoners between the various court buildings and the three jails. The Sheriff provides these services to four locations: Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Lincoln Hall of Justice, and the Friend of the Court (Penobscot Building). At the FMHJ, Sheriff’s deputies perform additional Lobby Security duties by screening all persons entering the building for contraband.
Civil Process Division
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A CIVIL PROCESS PAYMENT
Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies provide Civil Process Services in which they will serve respondents or plaintiffs in a legal matter with court or other documents that require legal Proof of Service (or Non-Service). You are not required to use Wayne County Deputies to serve your documents; they are among several legal options for service of Process. A few examples of the many documents we serve (for a fee) are:
- Divorce
- Friend of the Court or Custody
- Non-Domestic Personal Orders of Protection
- Notices of Hearing
- Landlord/Tenant Matters (papers served only; WCSO does not conduct evictions)
- Probate Court Paperwork
- Summons and Complaint
Fees are calculated by administrative cost and mileage costs to specific zip codes. In some instances an additional fee may be required such as a fee to notarize certain documents or a fee to pay additional labor costs.
Please fill out the Civil Process Information Sheet and submit with your documents.
Court Services is located in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Room 1711. You must contact the office at 313-224-2260 to receive the correct fee amount that must accompany your paperwork and for information on where to mail or drop off documents for service.
Deputies perform service of process duties during normal court hours (they do not serve documents during evening or on weekends). Deputies do make several attempts to reach the individual at the Wayne County location provided, however, making contact with the respondent is not guaranteed.
Mortgage Foreclosure Auctions
The Sheriff is mandated by Michigan statute to conduct weekly Mortgage and Judicial Foreclosure auctions requested by various entities, lien holders and property owners. These sales are legally required to be held at Circuit Court, which in Wayne County is Third Judicial Circuit located in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. They are held at 11 a.m. weekly in the Erma Henderson Auditorium on the 13th floor (near city offices on the Randolph side of the building). You must be present at the start of the auction to be fully informed of the process and to be notified of the payment process.
The auctioneer accepts cashier’s checks in exact amounts indicated or cash. No other payment is allowed, no change is provided and the funds must be presented during the bidding portion of the auction. Attendees are encouraged to bring cashier’s checks and also some cash to meet the exact amount required. Unfortunately no one is allowed to leave to make a bank run once the winning bid has been announced! Deputies are also present to provide security during the sale.
The sales are posted weekly on the public display board on the ground floor of the CAYMC and also published weekly in the Detroit Legal News (sold in downtown Detroit retail locations and also on the 13th floor of the CAYMC near Probate Court on the Woodward side of the building). You can also access the foreclosure information in the Detroit Legal News by logging on to www.legalnews.com
The Sheriff’s only function is to conduct the live auction at 11 a.m.—the WCSO has no information on any property for sale prior to the sale and cannot assist any homeowner who may be in financial arrears prior to sale.
Following the sale, the Civil Process staff will update paperwork on the property sales and provide the new owners with a new deed and sales documents to be submitted to the Register of Deeds Office.
Once a sale has been completed the homeowner may contact Court Services at 313-224-2260 to determine if a surplus amount is available to the foreclosed homeowner and how to go about applying for the amount. Homeowners whose homes have sold at auction or have reverted back to the lender at auction are urged to begin the process immediately in the event surplus funds are needed to regain ownership during the legal redemption period.
All foreclosed property redemption activities are handled by the Wayne County Register of Deeds office located at 400 Monroe Street, Detroit, MI. Call 313-224-5862.
Finally, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office does not handle Tax Foreclosures. Please contact the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office to discuss Tax Foreclosure matters and auctions.
Bidding Rules
Click on the sale type to download
Mortgage sale by advertisement
Judicial Sales
HUD Federal foreclosure
