Resources for People Accused of a Sex Offense and for Registrants in Michigan

This page lists resources for people accused of or charged with a sex offense in Michigan, for people required to register, and for people worried about their own conduct. A person charged with a crime that carries possible jail or prison time is entitled to a lawyer, and one must be appointed if the person cannot afford one.^[1] Every entry below was checked against the organization's or agency's own page on 4 October 2026; telephone numbers and hours change, so confirm them at the linked source before relying on them.

If you are thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7/365, and conversations are free and confidential.^[5]

The list is deliberately short. An organization appears here only if its contact details and the description of what it does could be verified on its own site. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of any lawyer, and none of these organizations is connected with this library.

Quick reference

Need	Resource	Contact
A lawyer, and you cannot afford one	Appointed counsel through the court where you are charged[1]	Ask at arraignment; the court provides the form[1]
A referral to a private lawyer	State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral Service[2]	(800) 968-0738, weekdays[2]
A question about the registry or a registry record	Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit[3]	(517) 241-1806[3]
Information on registry litigation	ACLU of Michigan registry page[6]	Online only; no individual advice[6]
Concerns about child sexual abuse, including a person's own behavior	Stop It Now helpline[4]	1.888.PREVENT, weekday hours[4]
A crisis	988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline[5]	Call or text 988[5]

Appointed counsel: who qualifies and how to ask

Indigency is determined, and counsel provided, by local indigent criminal defense systems under minimum standards that the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is directed to set.^[7][8] The commission's frequently asked questions page states the basic rule: "If you are charged with a crime and facing the possibility of time in jail or prison, you are entitled to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, the local funding unit must appoint one for you."^[1]

How to ask

1. At arraignment. The commission says that when you are in court and arraigned, if you have not been asked yet, you will be asked whether you have a lawyer or need one appointed.^[1]
2. The form. If you need an appointed attorney, someone in the court will give you a form on which you disclose some information about your finances. The commission's guidance is to fill it out as well as you can and turn it in to the court right away.^[1]
3. It is the defendant's application. Under the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act, a defendant is responsible for applying for indigent defense counsel and for establishing indigency and eligibility, and statements material to indigency must be made under oath or an equivalent affirmation.^[9]
4. The decision. The determination of indigency, including partial indigency, must be made not later than the defendant's first appearance in court.^[7] The commission says that if the local system finds you indigent, your attorney should be assigned very quickly, and that you should also learn very quickly if the request is denied.^[1]

The commission's Standard 4 provides that counsel is to be assigned as soon as the defendant is determined to be eligible, that representation includes the arraignment on the complaint and warrant, and that eligible defendants are also to have appointed counsel at pre-trial proceedings, during plea negotiations and at other critical stages.^[10][11]

Who counts as indigent

Under MCL 780.991, as the section read on 4 October 2026, a defendant is considered indigent if unable, without substantial financial hardship to the defendant or the defendant's dependents, to obtain competent, qualified legal representation on his or her own.^[7] The statute presumes substantial financial hardship, subject to rebuttal, if the defendant receives personal public assistance, resides in public housing, or earns an income less than 140% of the federal poverty guideline, or is currently serving a sentence in a correctional institution or receiving residential treatment in a mental health or substance abuse facility.^[7][12] The legislature's website marks the section as amended effective October 1, 2027.^[12]

A defendant outside those presumptions is not automatically refused. The statute says such a defendant must be given a more rigorous screening that looks at the person's particular circumstances, including the seriousness of the charges, monthly expenses and local private counsel rates.^[7] A defendant can also be found partially indigent, in which case the local system determines an amount the defendant contributes, subject to judicial review.^[7]

The commission's own Standard for Determining Indigency and Contribution is worded differently from the statute. As printed on the commission's site on 4 October 2026, it presumes indigency where a defendant receives personal public assistance, earns a net income less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, is serving a sentence in a correctional institution, is less than 18 years of age, or is receiving residential mental health or substance abuse treatment.^[13][14] It also says the appointing authority will not presume that a defendant can use household income, including a spouse's income, to pay defense costs unless it has information that the household income should be considered.^[14] So the statute's income presumption is 140% of the federal poverty guideline and the commission standard's is 200% of net income; this page prints both as written and does not say which a particular local system applies.^[12][13]

What the standards say about appointed lawyers

• The commission says there is no cost for requesting an assessment for indigency and that no screening costs can be passed to the defendant.^[15]
• Under the commission's indigency standard, an appointing authority cannot require an indigent defendant to contribute to the cost of the defense, and cannot require a partially indigent defendant to contribute if doing so would cause a substantial financial hardship.^[15]
• That is a rule about contribution while the case is pending. Separately, if a defendant pleads guilty or no contest or is found guilty, the costs a court may impose include the expenses of providing legal assistance to the defendant.^[16]
• Appointed attorneys are ethically prohibited from taking money from an indigent defendant in an assigned case.^[17]
• The selection of lawyers and the payment for their services is not to be made by the judiciary or employees reporting to the judiciary.^[15]
• The commission asks appointed attorneys to visit clients who are in jail within three business days of appointment; a client who is not in jail is told to contact the attorney's office directly to set up an appointment.^[17]
• Standard 2 calls for a client interview as soon as practicable after appointment, and Standard 3 for an independent investigation of the charges and for counsel to request investigators and experts where appropriate.^[18]

The sister guide compares the two routes in Court-appointed lawyer vs hiring a lawyer.

Before any charge

The sources above speak to a person who has been charged. The commission's FAQ addresses a person "charged with a crime," and Standard 4 speaks of "the defendant."^[1][10] They do not describe an appointment process for a person who is only being investigated. A person in that position who wants a lawyer looks for one privately; the next section lists the State Bar's referral routes. The questions that arise at that stage are covered in Do you need a lawyer before charges? and When a detective calls.

Finding a private lawyer: State Bar of Michigan

The State Bar of Michigan operates a Lawyer Referral Service at (800) 968-0738.^[2] As its page describes the service:

• A referral assistant matches the caller with a participating attorney for an initial consultation of up to 25 minutes.^[2]
• All participating attorneys are active and in good standing with the State Bar, have no current disciplinary proceedings pending, and maintain malpractice insurance.^[2]
• The service operates on weekdays during business hours, starting at 8:30 a.m.^[2]
• The State Bar also has a free online directory that can be searched by geographic and practice area.^[2]

The State Bar's page sets out the terms of the service, including its administrative charge and what happens after the first consultation; read them there, since they can change. Questions worth raising in a first meeting are collected in Questions to ask a lawyer about a CSC case.

Registry questions: the State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit

The Michigan State Police maintain the registry. The unit's published contact details are:^[3]

Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit
Telephone	(517) 241-1806[3]
Mail	P.O. Box 30634, Lansing, MI 48909-0634[3]
Stated business hours	8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday[3]
Web	State Police Sex Offender Registry page[3]

The contact page describes itself as being for questions regarding the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry.^[3] Neither the State Police page nor the registry contact page says the unit gives legal advice.

The September 2026 removals

The State Police reported that by Friday, September 11, 2026 they had removed more than 20,000 people from the registry to comply with a Michigan Supreme Court order, and that the numbers could change as their review continued.^[19] The State Police describe the September 9, 2026 order as holding that the 2021 version of the registration act is unconstitutional retroactive punishment for any registrable offense committed before July 1, 2011, so that every person registered solely for a Michigan registrable offense committed before that date is removed.^[20] That is the agency's description; the order itself was not read for this page.^[20]

The State Police add that the order has no effect on the validity of the underlying conviction, and their description covers only people registered solely for a Michigan registrable offense committed before July 1, 2011.^[21][20] Nothing on this page tells any reader that he or she has been removed or may stop registering, reporting or verifying; that depends on the person's own record, and the registry unit above and a lawyer are the places to confirm it. Anyone aware of an error concerning a person who remains registered for an offense committed on or after July 1, 2011 is directed to the registry unit or to the local law enforcement agency for the registered address.^[19]

The law itself is explained in Michigan's sex offender registry explained, SORA court rulings, What registrants must report and the registration compliance checklist. Court removal is covered in Petitioning for removal from the registry.

Registry litigation: the ACLU of Michigan's information page

The ACLU of Michigan maintains a page titled "What You Need to Know About Michigan's Sex Offenders Registration Act."^[6] As of 4 October 2026 it reported the September 9, 2026 Michigan Supreme Court decision, linked case documents and court-approved notices to registrants in English, Spanish and Arabic from its Does II case, and offered a sign-up for updates.^[6] It also described the March 26, 2025 judgment in its Does III case.^[6]

Two cautions apply. First, the ACLU of Michigan is an advocacy organization that filed the litigation it describes, so its page presents its own account of the cases.^[6] Second, the page states that "the lawyers in this case cannot answer questions for individual registrants. If you have questions about your individual case, you should talk to an attorney."^[6]

Concerns about your own or someone else's behavior toward children

Stop It Now runs a national prevention helpline. In its own words, the helpline "provides free, confidential, and direct support and information to individuals with questions or concerns about child sex abuse," and anyone concerned about child sex abuse can reach it by telephone, email or chat.^[4] Its counselors are trained on, among other things, warning signs in youth and adults of causing sexual harm, and the organization says "there's nothing that will shock or scare them."^[22]

• Number. The site prints the helpline number as 1.888.PREVENT.^[4] A numeric form of the number could not be found on the organization's own site on 4 October 2026, so none is printed here.^[4]
• Hours (Eastern time). Monday 12pm to 8pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 12pm to 6pm; Thursday 10am to 6pm. The site says hours are subject to change. It is not a 24-hour line.^[4]
• What it is not. The site says its helpline counselors are not therapists or mental health counselors and do not provide therapy.^[4]
• Ages 14 to 21. The site directs users aged 14 to 21 to WhatsOK, which it describes as offering free, confidential support and resources to youth and young adults with concerns about their own or a friend's sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviors.^[4]

The page read for this library does not state the limits of the helpline's confidentiality, so this page cannot describe them.^[4] A helpline is not a substitute for a lawyer.

Finding a treatment provider

The Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse has an online referral system for seeking treatment, support or other services from its members.^[23] The association warns that communications through the system "are not private, nor are they HIPAA compliant," and that if abuse or ethical concerns are detected they may be reported.^[23]

For people serving a prison sentence, the Michigan Department of Corrections runs the Michigan Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, which it describes as an evidence-based treatment program using a residential treatment unit model.^[24] The department says people receive 6 to 18 months of therapy based on their risk level and responsivity to treatment.^[24] That is prison programming and is covered in Prison, parole and treatment for sex offenses.

Crisis support

An accusation, a pending case or life on a registry can be overwhelming, for the person and for family members. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by call, text or chat at 988, 24/7/365, and it says conversations are free and confidential.^[5] Family members will find more in When a family member is accused of a sex offense.

Michigan's VOICES4 hotline and the National Sexual Assault Hotline are services for survivors and the people supporting them.^[25][26] They are listed in Where to get help after sexual assault in West Michigan.

What is not on this list, and why

Several kinds of resource are left out because they could not be verified from a primary source for this library: community-based treatment programs for people on probation or parole, private support groups for registrants and their families, and county-by-county public defender office contact details. Their absence is not a statement that they do not exist. An appointed or retained lawyer, or a supervising agent, can be asked about local programs.

One state program is closed to registrants by statute: a person who is required to be registered under the Sex Offenders Registration Act is not eligible to apply to Michigan's Address Confidentiality Program.^[27]

For where a case will be heard, see West Michigan courts for sex offense cases, and for the first steps after an accusation, Accused of a sex crime: first steps.

What people get wrong

• "You only get a public defender if you have no income." The statutory test is substantial financial hardship, and a defendant outside the presumptions must still be screened on individual circumstances.^[7]
• "The judge picks the appointed lawyer." The commission's Standard 5 says the selection of lawyers shall not be made by the judiciary or employees reporting to the judiciary.^[15]
• "Removal from the registry erases the conviction." The State Police say the September 2026 order does not affect the validity of the underlying conviction.^[21]
• "The ACLU can advise me about my registration." Its page says its lawyers cannot answer questions for individual registrants.^[6]
• "Stop It Now is a 24-hour hotline." It publishes weekday hours only.^[4]