How to Prepare a Michigan Expungement Application: Forms, ICHAT and the Steps in Order

You think you qualify, and now the paperwork has to be right

The set-aside process is laid out in two places: MCL 780.621d, which says what an application must contain and who must receive it, and the instruction sheet the State Court Administrative Office prints with form MC 227, "Application to Set Aside Conviction(s)," revised March 2025. This guide walks through them in order. If you are not yet sure whether you qualify, read what expungement means in Michigan first.

Some convictions clear on their own under the automatic process in MCL 780.621g and need no application at all. Expungement by application vs. automatic explains which is which.

This is general information about Michigan law, not advice about your file. A mistake in the count or in service can cost months, so talk to a lawyer about your own case before you file.

Step 1: Confirm eligibility and count the waiting period

Start with the State Police ICHAT search, which returns your public Michigan criminal history. The State Police note that it does not show juvenile cases and that local court files may hold more detail. Then get the exact conviction date and charge from the clerk of each court where you were convicted, because the application needs them and a certified record of each conviction must be attached.

Count the waiting period from the last of sentencing, probation, parole or prison, not from the offense: 3, 5 or 7 years depending on the conviction, MCL 780.621d(1) to (3). Check that no charge is pending and that you have had no conviction during the period, MCL 780.621d(4), and that the conviction is not on the barred list in MCL 780.621c. The lifetime limits of 3 felonies and 2 assaultive crimes are in MCL 780.621(1). The firm’s page on how to get a felony expunged covers felony-specific points.

Step 2: Complete the right form and swear to it

The main form is MC 227. Two related forms cover narrow situations: MC 227a for a misdemeanor marijuana conviction under MCL 780.621e, which has its own simpler process, and MC 227b for a conviction that resulted from being a victim of human trafficking under MCL 780.621(3). The instructions say to file a separate application in each court where you have a conviction.

MCL 780.621d(7) says the application is invalid unless it is signed under oath and includes your full name and current address, a certified record of each conviction, a statement that you have had no conviction during the waiting period, a list of any charges that were deferred and dismissed, statements about earlier applications and pending charges, and your consent to the use of the nonpublic record. The form has a box for each. You sign it in front of the court clerk or a notary public, then make five copies of the application and every attachment.

Michigan Legal Help, the free self-help website that the MC 227 instruction sheet points to, has a Do-It-Yourself Expungement (Adult Conviction) tool that builds the form from an online interview. The order the judge signs is form MC 228, which lists the findings the court has to make.

Step 3: Fingerprints, filing and service

The instruction sheet and the statute set out the rest in order.

• Get fingerprinted on a Michigan applicant card, RI-008, at a local law enforcement agency; the State Police suggest calling ahead for hours. If you live outside Michigan, the State Police say to use FBI card FD-258 marked "Conviction Set Aside."
• File the application and attachments with the clerk of the convicting court. Depending on local practice, the clerk may set the hearing date at filing.
• Mail one copy of the packet, the fingerprint card and a fee set by the statute to the Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center, MCL 780.621d(8) and (9). The State Police compare the prints with their records and the FBI’s and report to the court, and the court cannot act until that report arrives. The State Police ask applicants to allow 8 weeks.
• Mail one copy to the Attorney General and one to the prosecuting official where the conviction occurred. Both may contest the application, MCL 780.621d(10).
• Fill in the proof of service on both remaining copies, take one to the court and keep the other.
• If the conviction is for an assaultive crime or a serious misdemeanor, the prosecutor must notify the victim by first-class mail, and the victim may appear and make a statement, MCL 780.621d(10).

Step 4: The hearing, and what happens after an order

At the hearing the judge applies MCL 780.621d(13): the court may set the conviction aside if your circumstances and behavior since the conviction warrant it and doing so is consistent with the public welfare. The court may require affidavits and other proof it considers proper, MCL 780.621d(11). For a first-violation OWI, MCL 780.621c(4) adds that the judge may consider whether you took part in or benefited from rehabilitative or educational programs, and is not limited to the sentencing record.

Michigan Legal Help suggests being ready to describe work, education, treatment, volunteer service and family changes since the conviction, and to bring letters of support. Those are practical suggestions, not legal requirements; the decision belongs to the judge. If the application is denied, MCL 780.621d(5) generally bars a new application on that conviction for 3 years unless the order sets an earlier date.

If the order is granted, the court sends it to the arresting agency and the State Police, MCL 780.623(1), and the State Police keep the record as a nonpublic record, MCL 780.623(2). For a traffic offense, the conviction stays on the Secretary of State driving record, MCL 780.621c(5); the OWI guide’s setting aside an OWI conviction page and the firm’s OWI expungement page go further.

Mistakes that cost time

These errors are avoidable with the statute and the instruction sheet in hand.

• Counting the waiting period from the offense or plea date instead of the last of sentencing, probation, parole or prison.
• Filing in the wrong court, or filing one application for convictions in two courts.
• Leaving out the certified record, the fingerprint card or the State Police fee; the court cannot act until the State Police report, MCL 780.621d(8).
• Skipping service on the Attorney General or the prosecutor, or not filing the proof of service.
• Applying while a charge is pending, which MCL 780.621d(4) does not allow.
• Assuming an OWI or an assaultive crime cleared automatically; both need an application.

What to do next

If your file is simple, one conviction, no assaultive crime, waiting period clearly run, the forms and the Michigan Legal Help tool are written for people filing on their own, and the Attorney General’s page says many applicants have filed without a lawyer. A lawyer matters more when the count of felonies or assaultive crimes is close, when you have an out-of-state record that the FBI comparison may show, when the prosecutor or a victim may object, or when the judge’s discretion under MCL 780.621d(13) is the real question.

The firm’s expungement page describes how the office handles set-aside applications. The office of Attorney Shawn Haff practices criminal defense in Michigan state courts, including the Kent County courts in Grand Rapids and Wyoming, and offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719. Bring your ICHAT printout and the dates from each court to any first meeting; questions to ask a criminal defense lawyer has a list to work from.