What to Do If There Is a Warrant for Your Arrest in Michigan

You heard there is a warrant

A relative got a call from a detective. A letter from a district court showed up at an old address. Or you missed a court date last month and have been waiting for a knock. However you learned about it, the question is the same: what do you do with a warrant that has your name on it?

This page is general information about Michigan law, written for someone who wants to handle this before it handles them. It is not advice about your case; a lawyer who knows the court and the charge can tell you what fits your facts. The site’s arrest warrants page covers how the office approaches these cases.

This page does not explain how to avoid arrest. A warrant is a court order; the choices below are about meeting it on terms you control rather than at a roadside at midnight.

Three kinds of paper, three different problems

An arrest warrant starts a new case. Under MCL 764.1a(1), a magistrate issues it on a sworn complaint after finding reasonable cause to believe you committed the offense, and under MCR 6.102(A) the court must find probable cause. The warrant commands a peace officer to arrest you and bring you before a magistrate without unnecessary delay, MCL 764.1b. The statute sets no date on which it lapses.

A summons is the gentler cousin. Since the 2021 amendment to MCL 764.1a(2), the magistrate must issue a summons instead of a warrant unless the complaint is for an assaultive crime or domestic violence, there is reason to believe you will not appear, a summons would pose a public safety risk, or the prosecutor asks for a warrant. A summons tells you to appear on a stated date and can be served by mail to your last known address under MCL 764.1a(3). If you do not appear, that same subsection says a warrant may be issued. The domestic violence guide explains being charged later by warrant or mail.

A bench warrant is issued by the judge in a case that already exists, most often for a missed court date. Under MCR 6.103(A), the court must wait 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays when the court is closed, before issuing one so that you can come in voluntarily. Under MCR 6.103(A)(1), that waiting period does not apply to an assaultive crime or domestic violence offense, or if you have already missed a date in the case. A bench warrant can also follow a violation of bond conditions under MCR 6.106(I).

How to find out which court, and what kind

The warrant lives at the court that issued it. Ways people confirm one:

• Call the district court clerk for the city or county where the incident happened and ask whether there is an active warrant and in which case. Clerks will usually tell you the case number, the charge and the next step, though practice varies.
• Check the statewide MiCOURT case search run by the Michigan courts. Not every court is on it, and it is not the official record, so a clean search is not proof there is no warrant. The sibling guide how to check your case status in Kent County walks through the Kent County courts one by one.
• Have a lawyer call. A lawyer can often learn the charge, the bond noted on the warrant and the court’s walk-in schedule in one call, without you saying anything to anyone.
• Read any letter or summons closely for the court name, the case number and the date. A summons mailed under MCL 764.1a(3) is a court date, not a suggestion.
• Skip the paid "warrant search" websites; they are not the court and are often out of date.

Your options, in order

Once you know the court and the kind of warrant, the choices narrow to a few.

• Talk to a lawyer before you talk to police or the court. Anything you say to a detective can be used; the call to a lawyer stays private.
• Arrange a voluntary appearance. For a bench or arrest warrant, MCR 6.105(A) says that if you present yourself to the issuing court within one year of the warrant, the court must either arraign you within two hours if it is available or recall the warrant and schedule a future date. The rule adds that you are presumed not to be a flight risk when bond is set at that arraignment. Under MCR 6.105(B) this does not apply to assaultive crimes or domestic violence offenses, or to someone who has already used it on a pending charge. Courts set their own walk-in hours; a lawyer can find out when.
• Surrender with a plan. If the case is one where arrest and a jail hold are likely, such as a domestic assault warrant, where MCL 780.582a(1)(b) requires a hold until a judge or magistrate sets bond, going in early on a weekday with a lawyer who has spoken to the court is very different from being picked up on a Friday night. Have a ride, money for a likely bond, and someone who knows where you are. The sibling guide what bond and bail mean explains what you may be asked to post.
• Do not wait it out. Under MCL 764.15(1)(e), a peace officer who receives positive information that a court holds a warrant for your arrest may arrest you without anything more, which means an old warrant can surface at something as routine as a traffic stop. If you are already on bond in a felony case, absconding on or forfeiting that bond is itself a felony under MCL 750.199a.

What usually happens when you come in

Whether you walk in or are brought in, the next event is an arraignment. Under MCR 6.104(A) you must be arraigned without unnecessary delay, in person or by two-way video, and you are entitled to a lawyer at that hearing unless you waive one or the court issues a personal bond and takes no plea. The court tells you the charge and decides release under MCR 6.106(A): held, released on personal recognizance or an unsecured bond, or released on conditions with or without money bail.

If you were arrested on a warrant from another county, MCR 6.104(B) sends you to the court named in the warrant; if transport cannot be arranged promptly, you are taken before the nearest court for a preliminary appearance and, under MCR 6.104(C), can be released on a promise to appear before the issuing court within 14 days.

For a bench warrant after a missed date, the judge decides what to do about the miss. A judge can recall the warrant and reinstate the old bond, add conditions, raise the bond or hold you, and MCR 6.106(I) allows the court to forfeit a bond. Coming in voluntarily, with a reason and a lawyer, is the more controlled version of that hearing. What happens next in the case is laid out in what an arraignment is and the first 48 hours after an arrest.

Next steps and when a lawyer matters

Today: find out the court and the kind of warrant, and write down the case number. Tomorrow: talk to a lawyer about whether a voluntary appearance under MCR 6.105 is open to you, what bond is likely, and what to bring. Then go, on a date and at an hour you chose.

A lawyer matters most when the warrant is for an assaultive or domestic violence charge, when you have already missed a date in the same case, when the warrant is from a county you no longer live in, or when you are on bond or probation in another case. Those are the situations where the rules above have exceptions.

The office of Attorney Shawn Haff, a criminal defense practice in Michigan state courts with offices in Wyoming and Grand Rapids, offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719, answered 24 hours a day; the contact page has the details. Call before a traffic stop does it for you.