Michigan Clean Slate eligibility.

Wait periods by offense category

Years required between completion of all sentence requirements and the earliest date relief is available.

Wait periods are counted from the latest of: release from custody, end of probation/parole, or final restitution payment. Statute citation applies. Confirm with a licensed attorney before relying.

Compute your earliest eligible date

Enter your sentence-completion date and offense category to compute the earliest petition date.

Verify your record was actually sealed

1. Pull a personal copy of your state record from Michigan's criminal history repository. Most states charge $15–$30 for an individual review request.
2. Check that the records meeting eligibility are flagged sealed. Automatic sealing is processed in batches. If your record meets the criteria but isn't sealed yet, the most likely reason is that the next batch hasn't run.
3. Run a public background check on yourself. Free options exist (state portal); paid options match what most employers see.
4. If the seal didn't happen and you believe it should have, an expungement attorney can file a motion to correct the record. We can match you with a Michigan expungement attorney →

Recent amendments

Major statutory changes affecting record relief in Michigan.

• 2020

  Clean Slate Acts (PA 187-193 of 2020)

  Created automatic set-aside of certain misdemeanors after 7 years and felonies after 10 years; implementation began April 11, 2023.

  Primary source: michigan.gov ↗
• 2021

  PA 78 of 2021

  Made first-offense operating-while-intoxicated convictions eligible for petition-based set-aside (effective Feb 19, 2022).

  Primary source: michbar.org ↗

Michigan-specific carve-outs

Categories the law treats differently in this state.

• DUI excluded from automatic

  Operating-while-intoxicated convictions are NOT included in automatic set-aside; petitioner must file a court application.

  Source: michigan.gov ↗

• Other automatic exclusions

  Assaultive crimes, human trafficking, dishonesty offenses, and offenses punishable by 10+ years or causing serious injury/death are excluded from automatic set-aside.

  Source: michigan.gov ↗

Common mistakes to avoid

Reasons Michigan petitions get bounced or sealings fail to land.

• !Petitioners commonly forget that the petition must be served on the AG and prosecutor — failure to serve gets the petition denied.
• !First-offense DUI requires a separate petition track and is excluded from the Clean Slate automatic process.

Excluded categories

These categories are typically excluded from automatic sealing in Michigan based on our research. An attorney may still see options.

• Sex offenses

  Excluded from automatic and petition relief in nearly every state. A few narrow carve-outs exist for older non-registerable offenses.

  See state-by-state pages

• Violent felonies

  Generally excluded from automatic Clean Slate sealing; some states allow petition relief after long wait periods.

• DUI / DWI

  Treatment varies widely. Some states (e.g. Michigan, Virginia) carve out DUIs entirely; others treat them as standard misdemeanors.

• Pending cases or unpaid restitution

  Most states require all sentence requirements — including restitution to victims — to be fully discharged before the clock starts.

• Federal convictions

  Federal expungement is functionally non-existent. There is no statutory federal expungement remedy for most offenses.

Related reading

• When the eligibility clock starts

  What 'completion of sentence' really means and why batch sealing can lag the clock.

• What most states leave out

  Categories of offenses excluded from automatic sealing and petition relief.

• Unpaid restitution as a silent block

  How an open balance on the criminal docket blocks an otherwise eligible record.

• Sealing and professional licensing

  Why FBI-fingerprint background checks see records that consumer reports don't.