Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Michigan

A person with up to 3 felony convictions (and any number of misdemeanors) may apply to set aside all Michigan convictions. The wait is 5 years for 1 felony and 7 years for more than 1 felony, counted from the sentence, probation, parole or prison term, whichever ends last. Limits: no more than 2 assaultive-crime convictions in a lifetime, and no more than 1 felony for the same offense if it is punishable by more than 10 years. Not eligible: felonies punishable by life imprisonment, certain child abuse, child sexually abusive material and criminal sexual conduct offenses, human trafficking and terrorism offenses, and felony domestic violence when the person has a prior domestic violence misdemeanor.

File an application to set aside the conviction, signed under oath, in the court where the conviction happened; use a separate application for each court. Include a certified record of each conviction and the required statements. Send a copy of the application, one set of fingerprints, a certified copy of the judgment or register of actions, and the $50 fee to the Michigan State Police, which checks state and FBI records and reports to the court (allow about 8 weeks). Serve the application on the Attorney General and the prosecuting attorney, who may contest it. Victims of assaultive crimes and serious misdemeanors are notified and may speak. The court may hold a hearing and require affidavits.

Once a conviction is set aside, the person is considered not to have been previously convicted for most legal purposes. The state police keep a nonpublic record that is available only to courts, judicial agencies, corrections, law enforcement, prosecutors, the Attorney General and the Governor, for limited purposes such as sentencing for a later felony, charging and plea decisions, law-enforcement or corrections hiring, judicial-branch licensing and pardon review. A set-aside conviction can still count as a prior offense for repeat-offender charges. It does not end sex offender registration for listed offenses, refund fines, or cancel restitution. It cannot be used as evidence in a negligent hiring claim. Others who share information about a set-aside conviction may be guilty of a misdemeanor.