Recent Changes to Michigan Domestic Violence Law: A Timeline

Michigan domestic violence law has changed repeatedly since 2013, so a description written a few years ago may no longer match the statutes. The largest changes: third-offense domestic assault became a 5-year felony in 2013, the probation and set-aside statutes were amended in 2021, and a state firearm prohibition for domestic violence misdemeanors and the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act both took effect on February 13, 2024.^{[3][10][11][1][8]}

The tables below list each change by its effective date, with the source for the date and a link to the guide that explains the current rule. Every row was checked against the current statute, court rule or benchbook as of October 2026. Where a source confirms that a statute was amended but not what the amendment changed, the row says so.

2013 to 2019

Effective	What changed	Current rule explained in
April 1, 2013	MCL 750.84 was amended by 2012 PA 367, and the sentencing guidelines list assault by strangulation or suffocation, a 10-year felony, from this date. The section has not been amended since.[12][13]	Strangulation charges
April 1, 2013	Domestic assault with prior convictions and aggravated domestic assault with prior convictions went from a 2-year to a 5-year statutory maximum in the sentencing guidelines list.[3][4][14]	Second and third offenses
January 1, 2015	The current felony schedule applies to cases arraigned on or after this date: a probable cause conference 7 to 14 days after arraignment and a preliminary examination 5 to 7 days after the conference (2014 PA 123).[15][16][17]	Preliminary examination
2015	People v Lockridge made the felony sentencing guidelines advisory rather than mandatory.[18]	Felony sentencing guidelines
August 18, 2015	The upper age for the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act rose from 21 to 24 (2015 PA 31). It changed again in 2021.[19]	HYTA and domestic violence
July 25, 2016	MCL 750.81 was renumbered by 2016 PA 87. Subsection (3) now covers assault of a pregnant individual; the second-offense provision is (4) and the third-offense felony is (5). MCL 750.81b was never updated to match.[20][3][21][22][4]	Assaulting a pregnant partner
July 25, 2016	MCL 750.145e and 750.145f, on dissemination of sexually explicit images with intent to threaten, coerce, or intimidate, took effect: a misdemeanor of up to 93 days for a first violation.[23][24][25]	Online harassment
March 17, 2019	MCL 768.27b, on evidence of other acts of domestic violence, was amended by 2018 PA 372. Acts more than 10 years old are excluded unless one of three sexual-assault exceptions or the interest of justice applies.[26][27][28]	Prior acts of domestic violence
March 21, 2019	MCL 750.50b, on killing or torturing animals, was amended by 2018 PA 452. The current statute has three degrees, with maximums of 10, 7 and 4 years, and covers threatening an animal to exert control over a person.[29][30][31]	Animal cruelty in domestic cases
March 27, 2019	The cyberbullying statute, MCL 750.411x, took effect: a misdemeanor of up to 93 days for a first offense.[32][25]	Online harassment

2020 to 2023

Effective	What changed	Current rule explained in
May 1, 2020	The criminal discovery rule, MCR 6.201, began to apply in misdemeanor cases through MCR 6.610(E).[33][34]	Discovery
April 1, 2021	The probation statutes were amended by 2020 PA 397. Under the current text the general cap on a probation term is 2 years for a misdemeanor and 3 years for a felony. Domestic violence offenses are not eligible for reduced probation, and the jail caps for technical violations do not apply to them.[10][35][36][37]	Probation conditions
April 4, 2021	The occupational licensing statute on "good moral character" was amended by 2020 PA 368. Under the current text, with listed exceptions, a licensing board may consider a conviction only if it is a felony that meets one of the statutory tests.[38][39]	Professional licenses
April 11, 2021	The set-aside statute was amended by 2020 PA 191. Under the current text, a person with not more than 3 felony convictions may apply to set aside all of his or her Michigan convictions, with a lifetime limit of 2 assaultive-crime convictions.[11][40][41]	Expunging a conviction
October 1, 2021	"Juvenile" now generally means a person under 18, not under 17 (2019 PA 113).[42] The PPO statute itself still draws its adult-contempt line at 17, while the arrest statute says 18.[43]	Juveniles and domestic violence
October 1, 2021	The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act now covers offenses committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th, with the prosecutor's consent needed from age 21.[44][19]	HYTA and domestic violence
June 25, 2022	Federal law: dating partners were added to the definition of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence." The change does not apply to convictions entered before that date, and a single dating-relationship conviction can stop disqualifying a person after 5 years.[45][46]	The federal gun ban
June 25, 2022	Federal law: the maximum for knowingly possessing a firearm while prohibited became 15 years, under 18 USC 924(a)(8), a paragraph added by Pub. L. 117-159.[47][48][45]	The federal gun ban
April 11, 2023	The automatic set-aside process began, two years after 2020 PA 193 took effect. It excludes assaultive crimes and serious misdemeanors, so domestic assault convictions are not cleared automatically.[5][11][6][7]	Automatic expungement
August 12, 2023	The maximum crime victim compensation award rose from $25,000 to $45,000 (2022 PA 77).[49][39]	Workplace and financial protections

2024 to 2026

Effective	What changed	Current rule explained in
January 1, 2024	Parts of the Michigan Rules of Evidence were renumbered. The other-acts purposes moved from MRE 404(b)(1) to 404(b)(2), and the residual hearsay exception moved to MRE 807.[50]	Hearsay and confrontation
February 13, 2024	2023 PA 201 added an 8-year firearm and ammunition prohibition after a conviction for a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence." The 8 years run from completion of the sentence, not from the conviction date.[1][51][2][52]	Michigan's 8-year gun ban
February 13, 2024	2023 PA 199 amended the statutes on stalking, malicious use of telecommunications, malicious destruction of property, illegal entry and vulnerable adult abuse, and the current text of each has a domestic-relationship version. For stalking, malicious use of telecommunications and malicious destruction of property the jail maximums match the ordinary versions; the difference is that each is a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence."[53][54][55][56][57]	Stalking law
February 13, 2024	The Extreme Risk Protection Order Act (2023 PA 38) took effect. An ERPO bars the restrained person from purchasing or possessing firearms; it is not a no-contact order.[8][58]	Extreme risk protection orders
February 13, 2024	A Michigan license is needed to purchase any firearm, not only a pistol; purchases before that date are not affected.[59][39]	CPL and purchase licenses
March 5, 2024	MCL 750.81 was amended by 2023 PA 271. The sources reviewed confirm the amendment but not what it changed; the domestic assault maximums in the current text are 93 days, 1 year and 5 years.[60][61][22][4]	Domestic assault explained
June 21, 2024	In United States v Rahimi, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal firearm prohibition for people subject to qualifying protection orders, 18 USC 922(g)(8).[62]	PPOs and firearms
2024	In People v Butka, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the "public welfare" in the set-aside statute refers to the community at large, and that two victims' statements did not by themselves comprise it.[63]	Expunging a conviction
2024	In People v Gardner, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a defendant could not be convicted of both assault with intent to murder and felonious assault for the same assault.[64]	Felonious assault
April 2, 2025	MCL 768.27b and 768.27c were amended by 2024 PA 184 and 183. MCL 768.27c now also reaches prostitution and human-trafficking cases and defines "infliction or threat of physical injury" broadly.[26][65][66][67]	Statements to police
April 2, 2025	The limitations statute, MCL 767.24, was amended by 2024 PA 268, for offenses committed on or after that date. The amendment did not create a domestic violence period; domestic assault remains at 6 years.[68][69]	Statute of limitations
2025	In People v Eichler, the Court of Appeals reversed an aggravated stalking conviction based on work-related text messages to a probation agent, holding that a "reasonable individual" is a reasonable person similarly situated to the victim.[70]	Aggravated stalking
2026	In Case v Montana, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the emergency-aid exception for entering a home does not require probable cause and does not permit a search beyond what the emergency reasonably requires.[71]	Police entering a home
July 17, 2026	A person who leaves work due to domestic violence and meets the statute's requirements is no longer disqualified from unemployment benefits for voluntarily quitting.[72]	Workplace and financial protections
July 27, 2026	MCL 750.50b was amended again, by 2026 PA 88. The sources reviewed confirm the amendment but not what it changed.[29]	Animal cruelty in domestic cases
July 31, 2026	In People v Madison, the Michigan Supreme Court overruled People v Carpenter (2001) and held that the insanity statute does not bar diminished-capacity evidence offered to contest the intent element of a specific-intent crime. As of the August 31, 2026 jury instructions, no replacement instruction had been adopted.[9][73]	Accident and lack of intent

A date still ahead

The provision that lets a sentencing court impose costs reasonably related to the actual costs incurred by the trial court applies, under the statute text in force in October 2026, only "until December 31, 2026."^[74] Anyone reading about court costs after that date should check whether the Legislature has extended it. See Fines, costs and fees.

What has not changed, despite what you may read

Some widely repeated statements describe changes that never happened.

• No domestic violence limitations period. The current limitations statute has no special period for domestic assault; the 6-year general rule applies.^[69]
• No hour count in the hold statute. MCL 780.582a states no number of hours; a person arrested for domestic assault is held until arraignment or until a judge or magistrate sets interim bond.^[75]
• No mandatory arrest. The arrest statute says an officer "may arrest"; agency policies are to say that in most circumstances an officer should arrest when there is probable cause.^[76][77]
• No custody presumption. Michigan treats domestic violence as one best-interest factor and has no statutory presumption against custody for a parent who committed it.^[78]
• No look-back period for priors. The repeat-offender provisions of MCL 750.81 have no limit on how old a prior conviction may be.^[79]

These and other common errors are collected in Myths about Michigan domestic violence cases.

How to tell whether a page is out of date

A few details date a web page quickly. Each of the following points to a description written before the change in question:

• A 2-year maximum for third-offense domestic assault: written before April 2013.^[3]
• "MCL 750.81(3)" cited for a second offense: written before July 25, 2016.^[20][22]
• A general felony probation cap other than 3 years: does not match the current text, last amended effective April 1, 2021.^[10][35]
• Youthful trainee status described as ending at 21 or 24: written before October 2021.^[19][44]
• No mention of a Michigan firearm ban for misdemeanors: written before February 2024.^[1]
• A 10-year federal firearm penalty: written before June 25, 2022.^[47][48]
• Diminished capacity described as unavailable in Michigan: written before July 31, 2026.^[9][73]

Terms used in this timeline are defined in the glossary.