Michigan Background Check Laws for Employers
Michigan gives employers wide latitude on criminal history. Still, several state statutes limit what you may ask, keep and act on. This guide from BCS Background Screening LLC names each rule and the agency behind it. It also shows what each rule means for your hiring file.
Michigan screening statutes at a glance
Michigan spreads its screening rules across civil rights, criminal procedure, labor and licensing law. No single chapter holds them. The table below names each one, sums it up, and identifies the agency that administers it.
| Statute or directive | What it does | Administered by |
|---|---|---|
| MCL 37.2205a (Elliott-Larsen) | Bars employers from requesting or keeping records of misdemeanor arrests that produced no conviction | Michigan Department of Civil Rights |
| MCL 37.2202 (Elliott-Larsen) | Prohibits discrimination in hiring on protected characteristics, at one employee or more | Michigan Department of Civil Rights |
| MCL 780.621 to 780.624 (Clean Slate) | Sets aside qualifying convictions on application, and automatically since April 11, 2023 | Michigan State Police and the trial courts |
| MCL 28.214 | Governs release of state criminal history record information through ICHAT | MSP Criminal Justice Information Center |
| MCL 123.1384 (2018 PA 84) | Bars local governments from regulating what private employers ask on applications or in interviews | State preemption; enforced through the courts |
| Executive Directive 2018-4 | Removes the conviction checkbox from state agency applications | Michigan Civil Service Commission and state departments |
| MCL 37.271 to 37.278 | Bars employers from demanding access to personal internet and social media accounts | Enforced by criminal penalty and private civil action |
| MCL 423.501 to 423.512 (Bullard-Plawecki) | Gives employees access to their personnel file and limits off-duty recordkeeping | Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity |
| MCL 338.42 (1974 PA 381) | Limits how licensing boards use convictions to judge good moral character | Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, plus each board |
| MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a | Requires fingerprint criminal history checks for school employees and contractors | Michigan Department of Education with MSP |
| MCL 333.20173a and MCL 330.1134a | Sets disqualifying convictions for health facilities and long-term care staff | Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems |
| MCL 257.208c | Controls release of Michigan driving records, alongside the federal DPPA | Michigan Department of State |
The federal floor: FCRA duties in every Michigan hire
Michigan adds no mini-FCRA of its own. Therefore the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the procedure whenever you use a screening company. Four steps carry nearly every compliance claim, so build them into your workflow.
1. Stand-alone disclosure
Give a clear written notice that says a consumer report may be obtained. Keep it on its own page, with no waiver or extra text.
2. Written authorization
Collect the applicant’s signature before you order. Electronic signatures work, provided the applicant can read the disclosure first.
3. Pre-adverse action
Before you decide, send a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights. Then give the applicant real time to respond.
4. Adverse action notice
Name the screening company, and state that it did not make the decision. Add the dispute rights, since that omission drives most lawsuits.
Title VII sits on top of those steps. The EEOC guidance on arrest and conviction records asks you to weigh three things. Consider the offense, the time passed, and the job itself. Consequently, blanket exclusions invite scrutiny in Michigan just as they do anywhere.
Michigan has no state equivalent of the FCRA
Several guides name the Michigan Identity Theft Protection Act as the state’s FCRA counterpart. That reading misses the mark. The Identity Theft Protection Act, 2004 PA 452, covers data breach notice and identity theft, not consumer reports.
Michigan does regulate a few adjacent areas. The Social Security Number Privacy Act, MCL 445.81 to 445.87, limits how you display and store Social Security numbers. Separately, state law lets consumers freeze their credit files. Neither statute governs an employment screening report.
What this means in practice. Federal law controls your report content, your notices and your lookback limits. Michigan law controls what you may ask about, what you may keep, and how you may use the answer.
Lookback limits: how far back a Michigan report may go
Michigan sets no state cap on reporting criminal convictions. As a result, the federal rule in 15 U.S.C. 1681c does the work. Read the four tiers below before you set a policy.
Three practical limits nobody prints on a chart
First, the state repository itself only holds felonies and misdemeanors punishable by more than 93 days. Second, Michigan courts seal juvenile and set-aside files, so no vendor may lawfully sell them. Third, Title VII discourages acting on very old convictions even when the FCRA permits reporting them.
Our Michigan real-time statewide criminal search follows those limits automatically. Every returned record also gets researcher review before it reaches your file.
Misdemeanor arrests: the rule most Michigan employers break
Michigan’s sharpest screening rule sits inside the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. MCL 37.2205a states the ban directly. An employer shall not “request, make, or maintain a record of information regarding a misdemeanor arrest, detention, or disposition where a conviction did not result.”
Read that sentence carefully, because it reaches three separate acts. You may not ask. You may not create the record. Also, you may not keep a record that arrives on its own.
The statute goes further still. An applicant who omits such an arrest commits no perjury and no false statement. So a “failure to disclose” termination built on a dismissed misdemeanor exposes you twice over.
Two carve-outs exist. Law enforcement agencies, including the Michigan Department of Corrections, fall outside the ban. Felony charges before conviction or dismissal also sit outside it. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces the act, and a private lawsuit remains available too.
Compliance note
Screen your application form, your interview script and your applicant tracking system. Any field that asks “have you ever been arrested” violates this rule as written.
Ask about convictions instead, and add “that have not been set aside” to the question.
Clean Slate: set-aside convictions disappear from your report
Michigan’s Clean Slate package rewrote MCL 780.621 through 780.624. Applications for set-aside expanded in April 2021. Then, on April 11, 2023, automatic set-asides began under MCL 780.621g.
How the automatic process works
The Michigan State Police run the eligibility check, and the courts enter the orders. No petition and no lawyer are required. Records then become nonpublic, which removes them from ICHAT and from any compliant background report.
Felonies
Up to two per lifetime. Ten years must pass from sentencing or from release, whichever falls later.
Misdemeanors of 93 days or more
Up to four per lifetime. Seven years must pass from the date the sentence was imposed.
Misdemeanors under 93 days
No numerical cap applies. The same seven-year wait still runs from sentencing.
What never qualifies
Assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors and crimes of dishonesty stay on the record. Offenses punishable by ten years or more also stay, as do most operating-while-intoxicated convictions. The State Court Administrative Office guidance lists the exclusions in full.
Employer takeaway. Never ask about, consider, or store a set-aside conviction. If an applicant volunteers one, document that you disregarded it. In addition, applicants may deny a set-aside conviction.
Ban the box in Michigan: what actually binds a private employer
Michigan has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. Public hiring works differently. Executive Directive 2018-4, signed by Governor Snyder and effective October 1, 2018, pulled the felony checkbox from state agency applications.
The 2018 preemption law changes the local picture
Many Michigan guides list nine local ban-the-box jurisdictions for private employers. Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing and Grand Rapids usually appear. So do Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti, Genesee County, Oakland County and Muskegon County. That framing is out of date.
In 2018, Public Act 84 amended MCL 123.1384. Local governments may no longer adopt or enforce such an ordinance. The ban covers what an employer must request, require or exclude on an application. It reaches the interview process too. The amendment took effect on June 24, 2018, and it covers salary-history questions on the same terms.
What a Michigan city may still do
- Set hiring rules for its own workforce
- Write screening terms into a contract an employer voluntarily signs
- Require a criminal check tied to a license or permit it issues
What a Michigan city may not do
- Order private employers to drop the conviction question
- Dictate when in the process you may ask
- Ban salary-history questions by ordinance
Check your contracts before you relax anything. Detroit and several counties still attach screening terms to municipal contracts. Those terms bind you, because you agreed to them.
Employment credit reports: permitted, with conditions
Michigan places no restriction on employment credit checks. Unlike California or Illinois, the state names no job categories and sets no threshold. Federal rules therefore control the whole process.
Three conditions still apply
You need a permissible purpose under the FCRA, plus the same disclosure and authorization you use for criminal searches. Adverse action notices apply equally. Moreover, the seven-year rule limits reporting of most negative credit items below the $75,000 salary line.
Bankruptcies follow a separate clock at ten years. Paid tax liens and civil judgments rarely appear at all. The national bureaus dropped most of them in 2017 and 2018.
Use credit only where money duties justify it. A cashier, a controller and a fleet buyer present different risks, so document why the check fits the role.
Drug testing and marijuana in Michigan hiring
Michigan regulates private-sector drug testing very lightly. No statute requires a testing policy, and none forbids one. Public employers and safety-sensitive federal roles follow their own rules.
Recreational and medical marijuana give employees no job protection
Voters legalized adult recreational use in 2018. Even so, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act does not require any employer to accommodate use. You may still test, and you may still discipline.
The medical statute reads the same way in practice. In Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 695 F.3d 428 (6th Cir. 2012), the Sixth Circuit held that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act creates no cause of action against a private employer. That holding still stands.
Write the policy down anyway. Tell applicants what you test for and when, because a written policy defeats most later disputes.
Personnel records: the Bullard-Plawecki obligations
The Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act, MCL 423.501 to 423.512, governs your file once the applicant becomes an employee. Employees may review the personnel record twice a year, and they may add a written rebuttal to anything disputed.
Two provisions that touch screening directly
MCL 423.508 bars you from gathering or keeping records of an employee’s associations, political activities, publications and non-employment communications. Written employee consent is the only route around it.
MCL 423.507 requires written notice before you divulge a disciplinary report or a formal grievance to a third party. Background screening vendors and reference callers both count, so build the notice into your process.
Keep your screening file separate from the general personnel file. That separation makes a records request far easier to answer cleanly.
Occupational licensing: convictions get a narrow test
Michigan protects licensed workers through 1974 PA 381, at MCL 338.41 to 338.47. A board may not treat a conviction, by itself, as conclusive proof of poor moral character. MCL 338.42 then limits when a felony counts at all.
The four statutory conditions
A board may weigh a felony only where the offense bears a direct and specific relationship to the licensed activity. Alternatively, it may weigh a demonstrable public safety risk. A higher reoffending risk with the license counts too. So does greater harm if reoffending occurs.
Boards must also consider a certificate of employability and evidence of rehabilitation. Applicants may rebut an adverse finding directly. Child care, nursing homes, law enforcement and bar admission each carry their own tighter rules.
Hiring into a licensed role does not import these limits into your own decision. Still, they signal how Michigan expects convictions to be weighed, and that framing helps in an EEOC file.
Industry rules that override the general Michigan position
Some Michigan sectors carry mandatory checks and fixed disqualifiers. Where a sector statute applies, it beats your internal policy. Check the list below before you write a job-specific standard.
Schools and contractors
MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a require a fingerprint criminal history check through the Michigan State Police and the FBI. Districts must run it before employment begins, and unfit-conduct reporting duties follow under MCL 380.1230d.
Health facilities and long-term care
MCL 333.20173a, MCL 330.1134a and MCL 400.734b drive the Michigan Workforce Background Check Program. Licensing and Regulatory Affairs runs it for anyone with regular direct access to patients or residents.
The disqualification tiers
Bars run permanently for offenses listed at 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7. Fifteen years applies to violent or abuse-related felonies, and ten years to other felonies. Five years covers theft-type offenses. Three years covers simple assault or possession.
Child care and foster care
Licensed child care and adult foster care providers run fingerprint checks and central registry clearances. Michigan pairs criminal history with abuse and neglect registry results for these roles.
Drivers and commercial fleets
MCL 257.208c and the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act control access to Michigan driving records. The Michigan Department of State releases them for permissible purposes, and employers normally rely on written applicant consent.
Financial and fiduciary roles
No Michigan statute limits credit checks here. Federal rules still apply. Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act bars certain dishonesty convictions from insured institutions, absent prior consent.
Michigan searches BCS Background Screening LLC runs for employers
Each search below maps to a rule discussed on this page. Order them alone or bundle them into one package.
Michigan statewide criminal search
A real-time name search of the Michigan State Police repository across all 83 counties. See the Michigan real-time statewide search for pricing and a sample report.
County criminal court search
Direct court research where the applicant lived or worked. This search catches 92-day misdemeanors and ordinance cases the state file never receives.
Motor vehicle records
Driving histories for delivery, trucking, sales, and CDL positions. Order a Michigan motor vehicle record with the applicant’s written consent.
Federal criminal search
Federal district court cases never reach the Michigan state file. Add this federal criminal search for finance, healthcare and interstate roles.
SSN trace and address history
Reported names, aliases and addresses over ten years. Run it first, because it tells you which Michigan counties to search.
Employment and education verification
Confirm titles, dates and credentials directly with the source. Verifications carry no Michigan-specific restriction.
Michigan employer compliance checklist
Work through these ten items once, then review them each year. Most Michigan claims trace back to one of them.
- Remove every arrest question from applications and interview scripts
- Ask about convictions “that have not been set aside”
- Use a stand-alone FCRA disclosure with no waiver language
- Capture a signed authorization before each order
- Send pre-adverse action with the report and the Summary of Rights
- Allow a real response window before you finalize a decision
- Issue an adverse action notice naming the screening company
- Document an individualized assessment for any conviction-based rejection
- Keep screening files separate from personnel files
- Re-check sector rules for schools, health care, child care and drivers
Michigan background check law FAQs for employers
Does Michigan have its own version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
No. Michigan enacted no mini-FCRA, so the federal statute at 15 U.S.C. 1681 controls your reports and notices. The Identity Theft Protection Act, 2004 PA 452, is often miscited as the state equivalent. In fact, it covers data breach notice and identity theft, and the Michigan Attorney General enforces it.
Can a Michigan employer ask about arrests?
Not for misdemeanors that produced no conviction. MCL 37.2205a, part of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, bars you from requesting, making or maintaining such a record. Applicants may lawfully stay silent about them. Law enforcement agencies are exempt, and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces the rule.
How far back can a Michigan criminal background check go?
Michigan sets no state lookback cap on convictions, so they may be reported indefinitely. The FCRA blocks arrests and other non-convictions after seven years, and that block lifts at a $75,000 salary. Convictions set aside under MCL 780.621 to 780.624 may never be reported at any salary.
Does Michigan have a ban-the-box law for private employers?
No. Executive Directive 2018-4 removed the conviction checkbox from state agency applications only, effective October 1, 2018. Michigan then went further in the other direction. Public Act 84 of 2018 then amended MCL 123.1384. Local governments may no longer tell private employers what to ask.
Do Detroit, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo ban-the-box ordinances apply to my company?
Generally no, and many guides get this wrong. Since June 24, 2018, MCL 123.1384 preempts local regulation of private employer hiring inquiries. Those ordinances still govern municipal hiring. They can also bind you through a contract you sign with the city or county. Read your municipal contracts before assuming either way.
What does Michigan’s Clean Slate law mean for employers?
Automatic set-asides began on April 11, 2023 under MCL 780.621g. Up to two felonies and four misdemeanors may clear per lifetime, after ten years and seven years respectively. Set-aside convictions become nonpublic, leave ICHAT, and may not be considered. Assaultive crimes, crimes of dishonesty and most drunk-driving convictions never qualify.
Can a Michigan employer run credit checks or drug tests?
Yes to both. Michigan restricts neither for private employers. Credit reports still need FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse action notices. Marijuana gives employees no workplace protection either, since the Sixth Circuit held in Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores that the medical statute creates no claim against a private employer.
How do Michigan employers obtain driving records?
Through the Michigan Department of State, under MCL 257.208c and the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act. You need a permissible purpose, and employers normally rely on the applicant’s signed consent. BCS Background Screening LLC pulls Michigan motor vehicle records as part of a screening package for driving roles.
Screen Michigan applicants with confidence
BCS Background Screening LLC builds Michigan packages around the rules on this page. Open an account today, and order your first search in minutes.
Every account includes optional Multiple Authentication Factor (MAF) sign-in, which adds a second identity check for your users.
(800) 661-0278 • support@usabackground.com • Our quality review team works 24/7/365
Disclaimer. This page explains Michigan employment screening rules in general terms. It is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes change, and local contract terms vary. Ask qualified employment counsel before you adopt or revise a screening policy. Revised October 2026.
Social media: Michigan bans password demands
The Internet Privacy Protection Act, 2012 PA 478, sits at MCL 37.271 to 37.278. It bars an employer from requesting access to a personal internet account. Passwords, log-in details and “shoulder surfing” all fall inside the ban.
Prohibited
Still allowed
A violation is a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $1,000. In addition, the applicant may sue for $1,000 in damages plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. Keep social media out of your screening workflow, since Title VII risk compounds the statutory risk.