Michigan Clean Slate Law

The Michigan Clean Slate Law is a piece of legislation signed into law in October 2020. The law provides for the automatic expungement of certain criminal records for individuals who meet certain criteria.

Under the law, individuals with certain non-violent criminal convictions can have their records automatically expunged after a certain period of time has passed, provided they have not been convicted of any other crimes in that time period. The waiting period for expungement varies depending on the severity of the offense, ranging from three to seven years.

The law also allows for the expungement of certain marijuana-related offenses that are no longer considered crimes under Michigan law.

The goal of the Michigan Clean Slate Law is to help individuals with criminal records overcome the barriers that come with having a criminal record, such as difficulty finding housing and employment, and to give them a fresh start.

How will The Michigan Clean Slate Law affect criminal searches moving forward?

Please be aware that this procedural change may affect criminal public records searches throughout the state of Michigan. Presently, this being worked on with SCAO Admin and the courts.

Before the 11th of April, courts are working quickly to remove cases that qualify for the “Automatic expungement.” We may see changes in how records are obtained, costs, and time for the process. We will continue to provide the cases that are public and within the scope of our investigation after April 11. We have discussed the new Clean Slate Law changes with SCAO and individual courts to determine how they will affect criminal searches. Since many Michigan courts will be in a bit of chaos until all the cases that qualify for automatic expungement are removed, this will have to be done by hand and will take a while. There may be delays, so please be patient.

It will change our search criteria substantially, and it is possible that searches that were available before 4/11/23 will not appear after 4/11/23. Some courts are temporarily stopping searches or will only provide 7 years max until they update their systems (this applies to circuit and district courts). Courts require this in order to prevent all automatically expunged cases from appearing on public records or clerks’ computers. The majority of court clerks have already indicated that if they are able to perform searches, the process will be very slow while they compare results with the list of automatically expunged cases. We will do what we can to ensure we provide the best search possible under the current circumstances despite the new process and scope change.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in regard to these new changes to the Michigan courts search feature. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

What criminal offenses qualify for automatic expungement?

An automated system for expunging convictions without the necessity of filing an application will be established.

Up to 2 felony convictions will automatically be expunged the later of 10 years after sentencing or the person’s release from custody.
Up to 4 misdemeanors will automatically be expunged 7 years after sentencing.