Stalking Law in Michigan: MCL 750.411h Explained

In Michigan, stalking is a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested, and that actually causes the victim to feel that way.^[1] It is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.^[3]

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline describes its service as free, confidential and available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788.^[8] Michigan's statewide VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[9][10]

The definition is built from several defined terms, and most disputes in a stalking case are about whether the facts fit those terms. This page takes them one at a time, then covers the punishment, the probation rules that are specific to stalking, and the presumption that arises when contact continues after a request to stop.

What does the prosecutor have to prove?

Reading the definitions together, a stalking charge under MCL 750.411h has these parts:^[1]

1. A course of conduct. That means a pattern of conduct made up of a series of 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts evidencing a continuity of purpose.^[2]
2. Harassment. The conduct is directed toward a victim and includes, but is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact.^[11]
3. An objective effect. The conduct would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.^[1]
4. An actual effect. The conduct in fact caused the victim to feel that way.^[1]
5. Willfulness. The person willfully engaged in the course of conduct; the statute does not require intent to bring about the harm.^[12]

Because a course of conduct needs two or more separate acts, one incident, however frightening, is not stalking under this statute.^[2] A single incident may still be another offense, such as an assault or a threat; see Are threats a crime in Michigan?

What "harassment" and "unconsented contact" mean

Harassment is conduct directed toward a victim that includes, but is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact that would cause a reasonable individual to suffer emotional distress and that actually causes the victim emotional distress.^[11] Emotional distress means significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling, so the statute does not make treatment a condition.^[13]

Unconsented contact is any contact that is initiated or continued without the other person's consent, or in disregard of that person's expressed desire that the contact be avoided or discontinued.^[14] The statute gives seven examples and says the list is not exclusive:

Example listed in the statute	Everyday form
Following the person or appearing within the person's sight[14]	Trailing a car, waiting outside a gym
Approaching or confronting the person in a public place or on private property[14]	Walking up to the person in a store or parking lot
Appearing at the person's workplace or residence[14]	Showing up at the house or the job
Entering or remaining on property the person owns, leases, or occupies[14]	Coming into the yard or the apartment hallway
Contacting the person by telephone[14]	Calls and voicemails
Sending mail or electronic communications[14]	Letters, texts, emails, direct messages
Placing an object on, or delivering an object to, the person's property[14]	Notes, gifts or packages left at the door

The right-hand column is illustration only. Whether a given act counts in a real case depends on the evidence and on the other parts of the definition.

What is not stalking: protected activity and legitimate purpose

The statute says that harassment does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct that serves a legitimate purpose.^[11] The Michigan Supreme Court has read "conduct that serves a legitimate purpose" to mean conduct that contributes to a valid purpose that would otherwise be within the law irrespective of the stalking statute.^[15]

A sympathetic motive does not by itself make the contact legitimate. In People v White, the Court of Appeals held that repeated telephone calls, sometimes fifty to sixty times a day, along with threats to kill the victim and her family, were not protected speech or conduct serving a legitimate purpose, "even if that purpose is 'to attempt to reconcile.'"^[16] In People v Coones, the court said the exclusion cannot be read to cover conduct that is clearly illegitimate, and rejected the argument that forcing entry and contacting a wife in violation of a court order served the legitimate purpose of preserving the marriage.^[17]

The reasonable-person part of the test is also tied to the situation. In a 2025 decision under the aggravated stalking statute, which defines harassment in the same words, People v Eichler, the Court of Appeals described a "reasonable individual" as a reasonable person similarly situated to the victim. It reversed an aggravated stalking conviction for insufficient evidence, and ordered a judgment of acquittal, where a probationer had sent his probation agent 152 supervision-related messages over nearly two weeks to her work-issued phone.^[18]

What happens if contact continues after a request to stop?

Under MCL 750.411h(4), evidence that the accused continued a course of conduct involving repeated unconsented contact after the victim asked the accused to stop, and to refrain from further unconsented contact, gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that the continued conduct caused the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.^[7]

"Rebuttable" means the accused can answer it with evidence. The model jury instruction tells jurors that they may, but are not required to, draw the inference, and that the prosecutor still bears the burden of proving all of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt.^[7]

In practical terms, a clear, dated request to stop matters to both sides. For the person receiving the contact, it is worth keeping a copy of the request and a log of each later contact. For the person asked to stop, the statutory definition of unconsented contact includes contact continued in disregard of the other person's expressed desire that it be discontinued.^[14]

Penalties for stalking

Version of the offense	Level	Maximum jail or prison	Maximum fine
Stalking, MCL 750.411h(2)(a)[3]	Misdemeanor	1 year	$1,000
Stalking where the victim was under 18 at any time during the course of conduct and the accused is 5 or more years older, MCL 750.411h(2)(b)[4]	Felony	5 years	$10,000
Stalking between people in a domestic relationship, MCL 750.411h(2)(c)[5]	Misdemeanor	1 year	$1,000

A stalking penalty may be imposed in addition to any penalty for another crime arising from the same conduct, and in addition to contempt of court for the same conduct.^[19] Using the internet or a computer to communicate with any person for the purpose of committing stalking is itself a separate offense.^[20] Misdemeanor stalking is tried and sentenced in district court.^[21] Charges may be filed within 6 years after the offense is committed.^[22]

The domestic version added in 2024

Since February 13, 2024, under 2023 PA 199, MCL 750.411h(2)(c) separately classifies stalking where the victim and the accused are spouses or former spouses, have or have had a dating relationship, have or have had a child in common, or are residents or former residents of the same household.^[5] "Dating relationship" has the same definition used in the domestic assault statute.^[23] That definition is explained in What counts as a dating relationship.

The domestic version does not carry a heavier maximum sentence: it is the same 1 year and $1,000.^[5] The difference is the label. A conviction under subdivision (2)(c) is a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence" under MCL 750.224f.^[5][24] A person convicted of such a misdemeanor may not possess, use, transport, sell, purchase, carry, ship, receive, or distribute a firearm or ammunition in Michigan until 8 years after all fines are paid, all imprisonment is served, and all probation conditions are successfully completed.^[6] Details are in Michigan's 8-year gun ban.

Probation for stalking is different

As a general rule, a probation term for an offense that is not a felony may not exceed 2 years.^[25] Stalking is an exception: the court may place a person convicted of stalking on probation for up to 5 years.^[26][27]

• The court may order the person to refrain from stalking anyone during probation, to have no contact with the victim, and to be evaluated for, and if appropriate receive, psychiatric, psychological, or social counseling at the person's own expense.^[26][28]
• A stalking conviction is not eligible for the reduced-probation (early discharge) provisions of the probation statute.^[29]
• The graduated jail caps that apply to technical probation violations do not apply to a person on probation for stalking.^[30]

General probation rules are covered in Domestic violence probation conditions and Probation violations.

When stalking becomes a felony, and related charges

Stalking becomes aggravated stalking if at least one act violates a restraining order of which the person had actual notice or violates an injunction or preliminary injunction, at least one act violates a condition of probation, parole, pretrial release or release on bond pending appeal, the course of conduct includes one or more credible threats against the victim, a member of the victim's family or another person living in the victim's household, or the person has a previous conviction for stalking or aggravated stalking.^[31] That offense is explained in Aggravated stalking (MCL 750.411i).

Neighboring offenses cover conduct that does not fit the stalking definition or that overlaps with it: harassing calls and texts, posting messages that cause others to contact the victim, and GPS tracking.

Civil options: a PPO or a lawsuit

A person does not have to wait for a criminal charge. A nondomestic stalking personal protection order (PPO) can be sought against any individual to restrain conduct prohibited by the stalking, aggravated stalking, or posting-a-message statutes, and the petition has to allege facts that constitute that conduct.^[32] Relief may be granted whether or not the person has been charged or convicted.^[32] See Types of PPOs in Michigan and How to get a PPO.

Separately, a stalking victim may sue for damages and may be awarded exemplary damages, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney fees, whether or not the person has been charged with or convicted of stalking.^[33] Misdemeanor stalking is also on the list of "serious misdemeanors" in the Crime Victim's Rights Act; what that means for a victim is covered in Crime victim rights.^[34]