Short answer: Michigan sorts registrable offenses into three tiers under MCL 28.722. Tier I is 15 years with annual verification, Tier II is 25 years with twice-yearly verification, and Tier III is lifetime registration with quarterly verification. The tier follows the offense of conviction, not an individual risk assessment.
The Tier Follows the Conviction — Not You
This is the part people find hardest to accept. Michigan does not assess whether a particular registrant is dangerous. It looks at the statute you were convicted under and assigns a tier.
The practical consequence is that the plea negotiation is the whole ballgame. Moving a case down a tier, or to a non-registrable offence entirely, is worth more to most clients than months off a sentence — because the sentence ends and the registry largely does not.
What Each Tier Requires
- Tier I — 15 years of registration, in-person verification once a year.
- Tier II — 25 years, verification twice a year.
- Tier III — life, verification four times a year. CSC 1st and CSC 3rd sit here.
Verification is not the whole obligation. Address, employment, school enrolment, vehicles, phone numbers, and email addresses and internet identifiers all have to be kept current, and travel or temporary lodging can trigger reporting too.
Why Older Registrants Should Get a Fresh Read
Michigan’s registry has been through sustained constitutional litigation. Does v. Snyder (6th Cir. 2016) held that retroactively applying certain 2006 and 2011 amendments violated the Ex Post Facto Clause, and People v. Betts (Mich. 2021) reached a similar result under the state constitution. The Legislature amended SORA effective 2021.
If your conviction predates those amendments, what you were originally told about your duties may simply no longer be correct.
Missing a Deadline Is a Separate Felony
Failure to comply is charged under MCL 28.729 independently of the underlying conviction, and it escalates. It is also genuinely defensible — the prosecution must prove the failure was wilful. See failure to register and the full breakdown of Michigan’s registry requirements.
How the Tier Shapes Ordinary Life
The verification schedule is the visible part, but it is rarely what registrants find hardest.
Registration restricts where you can live and work, and those restrictions interact with school zones in ways that rule out large parts of a city. It affects college enrolment and campus residence. It appears in background checks run by employers, landlords and volunteer organisations. It follows you across state lines, because moving triggers registration obligations wherever you go.
For a Tier III registrant this is permanent. That is why moving a charge down a tier — or off the registry entirely — is usually worth more than any reduction in custody time.
What Has to Be Reported, and How Fast
Most registry violations are not people hiding. They are people who did not know something counted, or who missed a short window.
Reportable items generally include residence, employment, school enrolment, vehicles you own or regularly operate, telephone numbers, and email addresses and internet identifiers. That last category catches people repeatedly — a new email account or a new social media handle is reportable, and creating one without reporting it can support a charge.
Temporary lodging and travel can also trigger duties. If you are unsure whether something is reportable, ask before the deadline rather than after.
Getting Off the Registry
Relief is limited but real. Certain Tier I registrants can petition after a qualifying period with a clean record. There is also limited relief for some young registrants whose offence involved consensual conduct with a small age gap.
Separately, if your conviction predates the 2021 amendments, the constitutional litigation may mean the obligations actually applicable to you differ from what you were told. That is worth a fresh review rather than an assumption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Michigan’s registry apply if I move here from another state?
Yes. Registration obligations follow you across state lines, and Michigan will assign a tier based on how your out-of-state conviction maps onto Michigan offences. That mapping is sometimes contestable.
Is my information on the public registry?
It depends on the offence and the registrant. Some information is published on the public internet registry and some is available only to law enforcement.
Do I have to report a new email address or social media account?
Generally yes. Email addresses and internet identifiers are reportable, and this is one of the most common ways registrants unintentionally fall out of compliance.
Can I travel or take a holiday?
Usually, but travel and temporary lodging can carry reporting duties, and international travel has its own notification requirements. Check before you book.
Does the tier ever change?
The tier follows the offence of conviction, so it does not change on its own. It changes if the conviction itself is altered, which is why the plea is the moment that matters.
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