Michigan Expungement in 2026: Who Qualifies Now Under Clean Slate

Somewhere in Michigan today, a person will fill out a rental application, pause at the conviction question, and answer for something that happened fifteen years ago, without knowing the state may have already cleared it. Michigan's Clean Slate legislation, signed in 2020 and fully phased in with automatic expungement beginning in April 2023, produced the broadest expansion of expungement eligibility in the state's history and has cleared hundreds of thousands of records, which means a large number of Michiganders are now eligible for relief they don't know exists. If you have an old conviction, here's where things stand in 2026, starting with the possibility that the record you're still answering for isn't the record you actually have.

Key takeaways

Under MCL 780.621g, eligible misdemeanors clear automatically 7 years after sentencing and eligible felonies 10 years after sentencing or release, with no petition, no hearing, and no lawyer, though broad exclusions apply.
The petition process under MCL 780.621 now reaches up to three felonies and unlimited misdemeanors, with waiting periods of 3, 5, or 7 years depending on the record.
The one bad night rule in MCL 780.621b treats multiple felonies from the same 24 hour transaction as a single conviction for eligibility, which alone made thousands of people eligible.
A single first offense OWI can now be set aside by petition after 5 years under MCL 780.621d, and marijuana offenses that wouldn't be crimes after 2018 legalization can be petitioned with no waiting period at all.
An expungement doesn't restore firearm rights lost under federal law, and the sealed conviction still counts as a prior if you're charged with something new.

What does an expungement actually do?

An expungement, formally the setting aside of a conviction, removes the conviction from the public record. After it's granted, the conviction doesn't appear on a standard background check, you may lawfully answer that you have no conviction in most contexts, and the conviction is treated as though it didn't occur for most purposes. The relief is real, but it isn't total: the record is retained nonpublicly and remains available to law enforcement, courts, and certain licensing bodies, and it still counts as a prior conviction if you're charged with a new offense. There's one limitation worth stating plainly, because people learn it too late: an expungement doesn't restore firearm rights lost under federal law, particularly the permanent prohibition under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) that follows a domestic violence conviction.

Which convictions clear automatically?

Automatic expungement under MCL 780.621g is the provision that changed everything, because eligible convictions are set aside without a petition, without a hearing, and without a lawyer. Misdemeanors clear automatically 7 years after sentencing, and felonies clear 10 years after sentencing or release from incarceration, whichever is later, with limits of up to two felonies and up to four misdemeanors. The exclusions are substantial: automatic expungement doesn't reach assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, crimes of dishonesty, offenses punishable by 10 or more years, human trafficking offenses, or any offense involving a minor, a vulnerable adult, injury or serious impairment, or death. The practical takeaway is simply to check your record, because a meaningful number of people are walking around with convictions that were cleared years ago and don't know it, still checking the box on applications the law no longer requires them to check.

What can you still expunge by petition?

For everything automatic expungement doesn't reach, the petition process under MCL 780.621 applies, and its current limits are far more generous than the old law: up to three felony convictions total (no more than two of the same offense if that offense is punishable by more than 10 years), and unlimited misdemeanors. The waiting periods run from the later of sentencing, completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration: 3 years for most misdemeanors, 5 years for serious misdemeanors and a single felony, and 7 years for more than one felony. The math matters, because plenty of people crossed their eligibility threshold two or three years ago and never noticed, and every year the petition doesn't get filed is another year of applications answered the hard way.

Still answering for a conviction from years ago? You may already be eligible to clear it, or it may already be gone. Finding out starts with one records check.

(734) 453-7806

What is the one bad night rule?

Under MCL 780.621b, multiple felony offenses arising from the same transaction and occurring within 24 hours are treated as a single felony conviction for eligibility purposes, provided none of them is an assaultive crime, a crime involving a dangerous weapon, or an offense with a maximum of 10 or more years. This provision alone made thousands of people eligible who previously had three or four separate convictions from one incident, one arrest, one very bad night. If your record looks disqualifying on paper because a single episode generated a stack of counts, this rule is the first thing to check, because the stack may legally count as one.

Can an OWI or a marijuana conviction be cleared?

Historically, no Michigan OWI could ever be expunged, and that changed in 2021. Under MCL 780.621d, one first offense operating while intoxicated conviction may be set aside after a 5 year waiting period, by petition only, never automatically, and the decision is discretionary, meaning the court isn't required to grant it. Because it's discretionary, presentation matters enormously: courts look at what the person has done in the intervening years, employment, treatment, driving record, and community involvement. Marijuana is even more favorable. Under MCL 780.621e, a person convicted of a marijuana offense that wouldn't have been a crime after the 2018 legalization initiative may petition to have it set aside, with a rebuttable presumption in favor of granting the application and no waiting period at all. It's one of the most straightforward and underused provisions in the entire statute, which is a quiet scandal given how many old marijuana convictions are still sitting on Michigan records.

What can never be expunged?

Some convictions stay, no matter how much time passes. Offenses punishable by life imprisonment, criminal sexual conduct in the first, second, or third degree, child sexually abusive activity, felony domestic violence where there was a prior misdemeanor domestic conviction, human trafficking offenses, and terrorism offenses are all outside the statute. So are most traffic offenses other than the single first offense OWI, along with commercial driver's license violations. If your conviction falls in one of these categories, the honest answer is that expungement isn't the tool, and it's better to know that at the start than after months of paperwork.

How does the petition process work, and what do judges weigh?

The mechanics are concrete: obtain a certified copy of the conviction record from the convicting court, get a fingerprint based criminal history from the Michigan State Police, complete the SCAO application form, file with the convicting court and serve the Attorney General, the prosecuting attorney, and the Michigan State Police, then attend a hearing where the judge exercises discretion, and if the petition is granted, the order goes to the State Police for record modification. The timeline typically runs three to six months from filing to decision. The legal standard is whether your circumstances and behavior since the conviction warrant setting it aside and whether doing so is consistent with the public welfare, and in practice judges weigh the time elapsed and whether it's been trouble free, employment history and stability, education and training completed, family and community ties, treatment or rehabilitation where relevant, the specific reason the expungement matters now (a job offer, a licensing application, a housing opportunity), and any objection from the prosecutor or a victim. A petition supported by employment letters, certificates, and a clearly articulated purpose is materially more likely to be granted than a bare application, which is where careful preparation earns its keep.

The record you think you have may not be the record you have

A single old misdemeanor can block employment, professional licensure in nursing, education, real estate, insurance, and law, rental housing applications, volunteer positions that require background checks like coaching and school volunteering, adoption and foster care approval, firearm rights in some cases, and entry into Canada, and people carry those limitations for decades without realizing the record could have been cleared years ago. The first step costs almost nothing: pull your own Michigan State Police criminal history and find out what's actually there, because a significant number of people discover their record was already automatically cleared, or that they became eligible to petition years ago. Michigan has made expungement more accessible than it's ever been, and because the petition process is discretionary, the quality of the presentation genuinely affects the outcome. Call Boria Law at (734) 453-7806 to find out what's possible with your record. Attorney Aaron J. Boria handles expungement petitions in Wayne County and across Southeast Michigan, and for a lot of clients the work starts with the best news they've had in years: the conviction they've been answering for on every application may already be gone.

Quick answers

How long does an expungement petition take?

Typically three to six months from filing to decision. That covers gathering the certified conviction record and fingerprint based criminal history, filing and serving the required parties, and waiting for the hearing date. The waiting period for eligibility is separate and runs first, so the smart move is to start assembling the petition before the eligibility date arrives rather than after.

Can I file an expungement petition without a lawyer?

Yes, the process is open to anyone, and automatic expungement requires no filing at all. But the petition decision is discretionary, the judge can deny an eligible applicant, and a prosecutor or victim can object, so the presentation carries real weight. A petition backed by employment letters, certificates, and a clear reason the expungement matters now is materially more likely to be granted than a bare application.

Does an expungement restore my gun rights?

Not necessarily. A Michigan set aside doesn't restore firearm rights lost under federal law, and the permanent prohibition under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) that follows a domestic violence conviction survives expungement entirely. If firearm rights are your goal, get advice on your specific convictions before assuming an expungement solves the problem, because for some records it won't.