Michigan's Sex Offender Registry (SORA) Explained

Michigan's Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) requires people convicted of certain "listed offenses" to register with law enforcement, verify their address in person on a set schedule, and report changes within short deadlines, for 15 years, 25 years or life depending on the tier of the offense.^[7][2][8] What the statute says and what can be enforced are no longer the same thing: state and federal courts have struck down or blocked several parts of the act since 2021.^[9][3]

Law as of 4 October 2026. Court rulings are changing this area. On September 9, 2026 the Michigan Supreme Court held that the 2021 SORA may not be applied retroactively to registrants whose offenses predate the 2011 amendments, and the Michigan State Police reported on September 11, 2026 that it had removed more than 20,000 people from the registry, with numbers that could change as its review continued.^[3][10] A registrant should confirm current duties with the Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit or an attorney before relying on this page. The unit's telephone number is (517) 241-1806.^[11]

This page explains how the registry is organized and points to the guide in this hub that covers each part in detail.

Which version of SORA is in force?

The act now in force is SORA as rewritten by 2020 PA 295, effective March 24, 2021. Courts and this guide call it "the 2021 SORA." The definitions section, which contains the tier lists, was amended again by 2024 PA 66, effective October 6, 2024.^[1] That 2024 act added two offenses involving a dead human body and renumbered the tier lists, so subparagraph numbers in sources written before October 2024 can be off by one.^[12]

The Michigan Supreme Court held on December 19, 2025 that the 2021 SORA is punishment, not only a civil regulation, while also holding that it is not cruel or unusual punishment on its face.^[13] Each ruling is set out in the SORA court rulings guide.

Who does the statute require to register?

Under MCL 28.723(1)(a), a person convicted of a listed offense after October 1, 1995 is required to be registered if the person is domiciled or temporarily resides in Michigan, works here with or without compensation, or is a student here.^[14] Several other groups appear in the statute:

• A person from another state who is required to register or otherwise be identified as a sex or child offender under a comparable statute of that state.^[15]
• A non-resident convicted in Michigan of a listed offense on or after July 1, 2011, who must register and be photographed, although the continuing reporting requirements do not apply while the person remains a non-resident and is not otherwise required to report.^[16]
• A juvenile, but only where the juvenile was 14 or older at the time of the offense, the order of disposition is open to the general public, and the offense would classify the person as a Tier III offender.^[17]

A judge can also bring an offense onto the list. When sentencing for an offense that is not a listed offense, the court must determine whether it is a violation that "by its nature constitutes a sexual offense against an individual who is less than 18 years of age"; if so, the conviction is for a listed offense and the court must put the basis on the record and include the determination in the judgment of sentence.^[18]

Registration happens at conviction, not at arrest or charge. A person convicted of a listed offense must register before sentencing, and the court may not impose sentence until it determines that the registration was forwarded to the State Police.^[19] A person assigned to youthful trainee status who successfully completes the term of supervision is not "convicted" for purposes of the act.^[20] That route is explained in HYTA and sex offenses.

Who has been taken out of the statute's reach by court rulings?

Three groups stand out as of October 2026.

Offenses committed before the 2011 amendments

In People v Smith, an order dated September 9, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court held that requiring the defendant to register under the 2021 SORA was an ex post facto punishment, that the 2021 SORA "may not be retroactively applied to registrants whose criminal acts subjecting them to registration occurred before enactment of the 2011 SORA amendments," and that severance or revival of prior versions of SORA is not appropriate.^[3] The Michigan State Police responded in Legal Update No. 172, which states that people registered solely for a Michigan registrable offense committed before July 1, 2011 will be permanently removed, and that offenders removed because of the order "have no further duty to register, report, or verify as a sex offender in Michigan."^[10]

Two questions remain open. First, the defendant in Smith had Michigan convictions.^[21] The State Police legal update states the agency's position that a person registered in Michigan solely because another state requires registration, for conduct committed in that state before July 1, 2011, is similarly required to be removed.^[3][22] That is an agency position, not a court holding, and a separate federal ruling on non-Michigan convictions is stayed on appeal, so this guide treats pre-2011 out-of-state convictions as unsettled.^[23][24] Second, the federal Sixth Circuit has held that federal registration obligations are independent of state-law duties, and no source read for this guide addresses whether a person removed under Smith could still face federal obligations.^[25]

Offenses with no sexual component

On July 29, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court held in People v Lymon that imposing the 2021 SORA on non-sexual offenders is cruel or unusual punishment under the Michigan Constitution and that offenders whose crimes lacked a sexual component are entitled to removal.^[26] The federal judgment in Does v Whitmer reaches the same group: for kidnapping (other than under two subdivisions of that statute), unlawful imprisonment, leading away a child, or a similar out-of-state offense against a minor, registration may not be required unless a court first determines that the offense by its nature was a sexual offense, and the State did not appeal that part.^[27]

"Recapture" after a later non-sexual felony

MCL 28.723(1)(e) requires registration by a person with an older listed-offense conviction who is convicted of any other felony on or after July 1, 2011. On July 22, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court held in People v Ellis that imposing registration this way as a penalty for a non-sexual offense is cruel or unusual punishment as applied to the defendant and similarly situated individuals.^[28]

For offenses committed on or after July 1, 2011, registration under the 2021 SORA remains enforceable.^[29]

How the three tiers work

Every listed offense falls in Tier I, II or III, and the tier sets both the length of registration and how often the registrant verifies in person.^[7][2][8]

Tier	Registration period	In-person verification
Tier I	15 years	Once a year, in the birth month[2][8]
Tier II	25 years	Twice a year[2][8]
Tier III	Life	Four times a year[2][8]

The periods exclude any period of incarceration for committing a crime and any period of civil commitment.^[30] Which offenses fall in which tier is covered in SORA tiers in Michigan, and the length rules in how long registration lasts.

What a registrant has to do

Beyond scheduled verification, a Michigan-resident registrant must report in person, or in another manner the State Police prescribes, not more than 3 business days after changing or vacating a residence, changing or losing a job, enrolling or ending enrollment at an institution of higher education, or changing name.^[31] A registrant pays a $50 fee on initial registration and $50 annually, with a total cap of $550.^[32]

Some duties printed in the statute cannot currently be enforced. Reporting of email addresses and internet identifiers is permanently enjoined.^[4] The federal court also held the "used by" wording for phones and vehicles unconstitutionally vague.^[33] Each duty, with its current status, is set out in what registrants must report.

What the public can see

The State Police keep a law enforcement database of all registrations and a separate public internet website.^[34] The public website must not show the registrant's tier classification or the identity of any victim.^[35] A person registered solely for a single Tier I offense is kept off the public website, with listed exceptions, and so is a person registered solely because of a juvenile disposition in a case not designated for adult-style trial.^[36][37] See public versus non-public registration.

Penalties, and ways off the registry

A registrant who willfully violates the act commits a felony punishable by up to 4 years, 7 years or 10 years depending on prior SORA convictions.^[38] The details, including the separate federal offense, are in failure-to-register penalties.

MCL 28.728c is the sole means of obtaining judicial review of registration requirements, apart from an appeal of the conviction or sentence.^[39] It offers a time-based petition to Tier I offenders, a narrower one to Tier III offenders whose registration rests on a juvenile adjudication, and mandatory relief in certain consensual-act and juvenile cases.^{[40][41][42][43]} See petitioning to be removed and Michigan's Romeo and Juliet provisions.

What people get wrong

"Anyone convicted of a sex offense since 1995 is on the registry." That is the statute's text, but since September 9, 2026 the 2021 SORA cannot be applied to registrants whose offenses predate the 2011 amendments.^[14][3]

"Registrants cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school." SORA's school zone sections were repealed effective March 24, 2021; the surviving 1,000-foot rule is a condition of probation for a listed offense.^[5][6] See residency and school zone rules.

"Setting aside the conviction ends registration." The statutes point in different directions and no decision reconciling them was found, so neither outcome can be stated as settled.^[44] See setting aside a sex offense conviction.