License plate and registration sanctions after an OWI in Michigan

License plate and registration sanctions are the vehicle-side consequences of certain Michigan OWI cases: the plate confiscated at the roadside, a temporary paper plate, a block on new registrations, and limits on selling or giving the vehicle away.^[1][3][4][5] They come from the Michigan Vehicle Code, chiefly MCL 257.904c, 257.219 and 257.233, and run alongside the court's immobilization and forfeiture orders.^[1][3][6]

These rules attach to the vehicle and its owner's registration rather than to the driver's license, though some of them turn on the owner's license status.^[3][4]

Plate confiscation at the roadside

When a peace officer detains a driver for a violation for which vehicle immobilization is required, the officer must:^[1]

1. immediately confiscate the vehicle's registration plate and destroy it;^[1]
2. issue a temporary registration plate in the form the Secretary of State prescribes;^[1]
3. place the temporary plate on the vehicle;^[7]
4. notify the Secretary of State through the Law Enforcement Information Network that the plate was confiscated and destroyed and a temporary plate issued.^[7]

Which OWI cases trigger it

The trigger is an offense for which immobilization is "required."^[1] In OWI cases, immobilization is required for a conviction within 7 years after a prior conviction, after 2 or more prior convictions, and for OWI causing death or serious impairment.^[2] For a first OWI, OWVI, child endangerment or 625(8) drug offense with no priors, immobilization is only discretionary.^[8] The officer acts when detaining the driver, before any plea or verdict.^[1]

How priors are counted for immobilization is explained in vehicle immobilization; the sentencing side of repeat cases is covered in second-offense penalties and third-offense OWI.

How long the temporary plate lasts

A temporary plate issued under 904c is valid until one of these happens:^[1]

• the charges are dismissed;^[1]
• the driver pleads guilty or no contest;^[1]
• the driver is found guilty or acquitted.^[1]

While the case is pending, the Secretary of State may not issue a registration for that vehicle until the violation is adjudicated or the vehicle is transferred to a person who pays use tax.^[3] During the same period, transferring the vehicle without a court order to someone who is not subject to use tax is barred.^[5]

Registration denial after a third OWI

The Secretary of State must refuse to issue a registration or transfer a registration if, at the time of the application, the license of the owner, co-owner, lessee or co-lessee is suspended, revoked or denied for:^[4]

• a third or subsequent violation of section 625 or 625m, or a matching local ordinance or other state's law; or^[4]
• a fourth or subsequent suspension or revocation under section 904 (driving while suspended).^[4]

The same rule covers an operator who has never been licensed in Michigan.^[4] The statute makes an exception for an applicant issued a license under section 304, the specialty-court restricted license; see the sobriety court restricted license.^[4] Separately, registration is refused whenever the vehicle's own registration is suspended or revoked under Michigan's motor vehicle laws.^[9]

A person whose license is suspended, revoked or denied for a third or subsequent OWI also may not purchase, lease or otherwise acquire a motor vehicle during that period; a violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days and/or $100.^[10]

Limits on selling or transferring the vehicle

MCL 257.233 makes several transfers crimes, each a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year and/or $1,000:^[6]

• buying or leasing another vehicle with intent to get around immobilization;^[6]
• transferring a vehicle subject to forfeiture, or ordered forfeited, with intent to avoid the forfeiture;^[6]
• without a court order, transferring title or an interest to a person not subject to use tax while the vehicle is under a temporary plate, forfeiture, immobilization or registration denial, or between adjudication and immobilization or forfeiture.^[5]

The use-tax-exempt group includes close family members, which is why a transfer to a spouse, parent or child needs court approval during these periods.^[5][11] A transfer to a person who pays use tax is also one of the two events that end the registration block in 219(3).^[3] More on household situations is in when a family member is arrested for OWI.

Other rules that reach the plate

Driving without a required interlock

If an officer stops a driver whose license requires an interlock and the vehicle has no properly installed device, the officer must impound the vehicle.^[12] If the driver owns or co-owns it, the officer destroys the plate, issues a temporary plate and notifies the Secretary of State through LEIN; the owner pays towing and storage.^[12] See ignition interlock devices.

Letting a suspended or unlicensed driver use the vehicle

On notice from a peace officer after a driving-while-suspended violation, the Secretary of State must cancel the vehicle's registration plates. For a first violation the exceptions are a stolen vehicle or one used with the permission of someone who did not knowingly let an unlicensed driver operate it; after a prior conviction, only a stolen vehicle is excepted.^[13] An owner who knowingly lets a suspended, revoked or never-licensed driver use the vehicle commits a misdemeanor, punishable for a first violation by up to 93 days and/or $500.^[14] See driving while license suspended or revoked.

How these rules fit together

In a repeat OWI case the sequence can run from the roadside to sentencing. At the stop, the plate is destroyed and a temporary plate issued.^[1] While the case is pending, the vehicle cannot get a new registration except through adjudication or a use-tax-paying buyer, and transfers to close relatives need a court order.^[3][5] At sentencing, the court must order immobilization unless it orders the vehicle forfeited.^[15] After a third OWI, the owner also faces registration denial and the ban on acquiring a vehicle for as long as the license sanction lasts.^[4][10]

Common misunderstandings

• "The plate is taken only after conviction." The 904c confiscation happens when the officer detains the driver.^[1]
• "Every OWI arrest means losing the plate." The 904c rule applies only where immobilization is required, which does not include a first OWI with no priors unless it caused death or serious impairment.^[1][8][2]
• "Re-titling the car to a relative fixes the registration problem." That transfer needs a court order during these sanctions.^[5]

Practical points: keep the temporary plate paperwork, note the date it was issued, and keep the title and any loan or lease documents together. Questions about whether a particular vehicle is blocked from registration go to the Secretary of State, and questions about a court order allowing a transfer go to the court handling the case.