Can a DUI be expunged in Michigan?
Michigan allows a DUI conviction to be cleared by setting aside a conviction after 5 years from completion of the sentence, on conditions the statute sets. Automatic for some records, by petition for others. The licensing agency keeps the DUI on the driver record either way.
A DUI conviction is the offence most often written out of a state's expungement law. Where relief exists at all it usually arrives with a waiting period, a one-time limit and a list of disqualifiers, and clearing the court record is not the same as clearing the record the licensing agency keeps. The rules below are Michigan's own, each quoted from the statute or the agency that holds the record.
Also called: expungement; setting aside a conviction without application (Clean Slate).
Whether a DUI can be cleared at all
| What the relief is called | setting aside a conviction |
|---|---|
| A DUI conviction | Can be cleared, on conditions |
| Waiting period | 5 years from completion of the sentence |
| How it is obtained | Automatic for some records, by petition for others |
| Filing fee | $50 |
Michigan law bars setting aside a conviction for operating while intoxicated, but that bar does not apply to a first violation operating while intoxicated offense where the person has not previously had one set aside. A first-offense OWI can only be set aside by application; it is never set aside automatically. The court may weigh whether the applicant completed or benefited from rehabilitative or educational programming.
“The prohibition on setting aside a conviction for operating while intoxicated under subsection (1)(d)(i) does not apply to a conviction for a first violation operating while intoxicated offense if the person applying to have the first violation operating while intoxicated offense conviction set”
The driving record is a separate record
This is the part most summaries leave out. A court can seal or expunge the criminal case and the licensing agency can still keep the DUI on the driver record, where it reaches insurers and counts as a prior offence if there is a second one.
Not cleared. Setting aside an operating while intoxicated conviction does not clear the driving record. Michigan law states that an order setting aside a traffic offense must not require the conviction to be removed or expunged from the driving record the Secretary of State maintains under the Michigan Vehicle Code. The Michigan State Police also keeps a nonpublic record of the set-aside conviction that a court may consider in sentencing for a later offense.
“An order setting aside a conviction for a traffic offense under this act must not require that the conviction be removed or expunged from the applicant's driving record maintained by the secretary of state as required under the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923.”
What else sits on that record: suspensions and points in Michigan.
How long the wait is, and from when
An application to set aside one first violation operating while intoxicated offense may only be filed five or more years after the latest of: imposition of sentence, completion of probation, discharge from parole, or completion of any term of imprisonment. Deferred-and-dismissed dispositions listed in Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621(2) are treated as misdemeanor convictions when counting eligibility.
“An application under section 1 to set aside 1 or more serious misdemeanor convictions, 1 first violation operating while intoxicated offense, or 1 felony conviction shall only be filed 5 or more years after whichever of the following events occurs last: (a) Imposition of the sentence”
Automatic or by petition
Michigan's Clean Slate law, Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621g, added by 2020 Public Act 193 effective April 11, 2021, sets aside certain misdemeanor and felony convictions with no application filed once seven or ten years have passed, beginning two years after that effective date. Operating while intoxicated is carved out: a first violation operating while intoxicated offense is expressly not eligible to be set aside without application, so a DUI conviction in Michigan is cleared only by filing.
“However, a conviction for a first violation operating while intoxicated offense that may be set aside upon application is not eligible for and shall not be set aside without application under section 1g.”
Where it is filed, and what it costs
| Filed with | the court where the conviction occurred, with copies served on the Michigan State Police, the Attorney General and the prosecuting official |
|---|---|
| Filing fee | $50 |
| Form | Application to Set Aside Conviction(s) (MC 227) · courts.michigan.gov |
The application is filed in the convicting court with a certified copy of each conviction attached, sworn before the clerk or a notary. The applicant is fingerprinted on an applicant card (RI-008), and the application packet, fingerprint card and $50 fee go to the Michigan State Police. Copies also go to the Attorney General and to the prosecuting official for the county, city or township where the conviction occurred.
“You must file the application in the court where the conviction occurred. ... Make out a money order or check to the State of Michigan for the application. The application fee is $50.00. This fee is sent with the application packet to the Michigan State Police for processing.”
Whether a cleared DUI still counts as a prior
A set-aside conviction is not erased for criminal-justice purposes. The Michigan State Police keeps a nonpublic record of the order and of the arrest, fingerprints, conviction and sentence, and a court may use it in determining the sentence for a later offense punishable as a felony or by more than one year. Because the conviction also stays on the Secretary of State driving record, it remains available for operating-while-intoxicated enhancement.
“The department of state police shall retain a nonpublic record of the order setting aside a conviction ... (c) The court's consideration in determining the sentence to be imposed upon conviction for a subsequent offense that is punishable as a felony or by imprisonment for more than 1 year.”
The statute: Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621c
“(1) A person shall not apply to have set aside, and a judge shall not set aside, a conviction for any of the following: ... (d) The following traffic offenses: (i) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a conviction for operating while intoxicated committed by any person.”
Questions about clearing a DUI in Michigan
- Can a first-offense OWI conviction be set aside in Michigan?
- Yes, with conditions. Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621c(1)(d)(i) bars setting aside an operating while intoxicated conviction, but § 780.621c(3) lifts that bar for a first violation operating while intoxicated offense where the person has not already had one set aside. Under § 780.621c(4) the court may consider whether the applicant completed or benefited from rehabilitative or educational programming.
- How long after the sentence can the application be filed?
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621d(2) allows an application to set aside one first violation operating while intoxicated offense only five or more years after the latest of: imposition of sentence, completion of probation, discharge from parole, or completion of any term of imprisonment. Under § 780.621d(4) there must be no pending charges and no intervening convictions.
- Does a set-aside remove the OWI from the Michigan driving record?
- No. Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621c(5) states that an order setting aside a traffic offense must not require the conviction to be removed or expunged from the driving record the Secretary of State maintains under the Michigan Vehicle Code. Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.623(2) also keeps a nonpublic State Police record that a court may use at sentencing for a later offense.
Sources
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621c – Prohibition on setting aside convictions for certain criminal cases; inapplicable to secretary of state driving record (Michigan Legislature)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621d – Application and procedures for setting aside felonies and serious misdemeanor convictions (Michigan Legislature)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621 – Application for order setting aside conviction; definitions (Michigan Legislature)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.621g – Setting aside certain convictions without application (Michigan Legislature)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.623 – Nonpublic record of set-aside order; permitted uses (Michigan Legislature)
- Michigan Courts – Application to Set Aside Conviction(s), form MC 227 (SCAO-approved)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.204a – Central file of individual driving records (Michigan Legislature)
Cite this page
Every state page quotes the statute or agency page each value comes from; when citing this page, include the verification date shown above.
WheelsBack. "DUI expungement and record sealing in Michigan." Verified against primary sources August 29, 2026; sources re-checked September 4, 2026. https://wheelsback.com/michigan/dui-expungement/