Michigan Sex Offender Registration Compliance Checklist

Law as of 4 October 2026 — confirm your own duties with the State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit or an attorney. The Unit's telephone number is (517) 241-1806 and its stated business hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.^[13] Registry law is changing through court decisions, and an appeal in a federal class action was still pending as of the State Police's September 2026 legal update.^[14] Nothing on this page tells any reader that he or she may stop registering, reporting or verifying.

A person on Michigan's sex offender registry has three kinds of recurring duty under the Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA): in-person verification in fixed calendar months, reports within 3 business days of listed changes, and advance notice before moving out of state or traveling abroad.^[1][3][5][6] This page lists each duty and deadline as the statute states it, and then the court rulings that change how some of them are enforced.

It is a checklist of the general law, not a statement of any individual's obligations. The written notice of duties that the State Police mails to registrants, and the registering authority itself, are the sources for an individual's own requirements.^[15]

1. Scheduled in-person verification

A registrant who is not incarcerated shall report in person to the registering authority where he or she is domiciled or resides for verification of domicile or residence.^[1]

Birth month	Tier I: once each year	Tier II: twice each year	Tier III: 4 times each year
January	January	January and July	January, April, July, and October[1]
February	February	February and August	February, May, August, and November[1]
March	March	March and September	March, June, September, and December[1]
April	April	April and October	April, July, October, and January[1]
May	May	May and November	May, August, November, and February[1]
June	June	June and December	June, September, December, and March[1]
July	July	January and July	July, October, January, and April[1]
August	August	February and August	August, November, February, and May[1]
September	September	March and September	September, December, March, and June[1]
October	October	April and October	October, January, April, and July[1]
November	November	May and November	November, February, May, and August[1]
December	December	June and December	December, March, June, and September[1]

• Window. The report must be made no earlier than the first day or later than the last day of the month in which the individual is required to report.^[2]
• Last month of the term. If the registration period expires during a reporting month, the individual shall report during that month on or before the date the period expires.^[16]
• Review. When reporting, the individual shall review all registration information for accuracy.^[16]
• Receipt. The officer or authorized employee shall sign and date a verification receipt and give the individual a copy showing the date of verification.^[16] The receipt is the registrant's record of the date of verification.
• Photograph. If the photograph on file no longer matches the individual's appearance sufficiently to identify him or her, the officer shall require a current photograph within 7 days.^[16]
• Proof of residence. A registered individual shall comply with the verification and proof of residence procedures of the act.^[17] The license or state identification card may be used as proof of domicile or residence, and the officer may require another document bearing the individual's name and address, such as voter registration or a utility or other bill.^[18]

2. Changes to report within 3 business days

Under MCL 28.725(1), a registrant who is a resident of Michigan shall report in person, or in another manner as prescribed by the State Police, and notify the registering authority having jurisdiction where his or her residence or domicile is located, not more than 3 business days after any of the following:^[3]

• the individual changes or vacates his or her residence or domicile;^[3]
• the individual changes his or her place of employment, or employment is discontinued;^[3]
• the individual enrolls as a student with an institution of higher education, or enrollment is discontinued;^[3]
• the individual changes his or her name;^[3]
• any change required to be reported under the higher-education section, MCL 28.724a.^[4]

Some definitions decide whether a change counts. "Residence" means the place at which a person habitually sleeps, keeps personal effects and has a regular place of lodging; if a person has more than 1 residence, the place at which the person resides the greater part of the time is the official residence; for a person who is homeless or otherwise lacks a fixed or temporary residence it means the village, city or township where the person spends a majority of his or her time.^[19] "Employee" includes a person who is self-employed or works as a full-time or part-time employee, contractual provider or volunteer, regardless of whether the individual is financially compensated.^[20]

Higher-education reports under MCL 28.724a

• A registrant shall report his or her status in person if the individual is or enrolls as a student with an institution of higher education or discontinues that enrollment, or if, as part of a course of studies at a Michigan institution, the individual is present at any other location in this state, another state, or a territory or possession of the United States, or discontinues studies at that location.^[21]
• A Michigan resident reports to the registering authority where his or her new residence or domicile is located; a non-resident reports to the registering authority having jurisdiction over the campus.^[21]
• The report is due not more than 3 business days after enrolling or discontinuing enrollment.^[22]
• The agency shall require the individual to pay the registration fee and to present written documentation of employment status, contractual relationship, volunteer status or student status, which may include, but need not be limited to, a W-2 form, pay stub or written statement by an employer, a contract, or a student identification card or student transcript.^[23]
• The section does not apply to an individual whose enrollment and participation is solely through the mail or the internet from a remote location.^[22]

3. Vehicles, phones and temporary stays: the statute and the court judgment

MCL 28.725(2) says a Michigan-resident registrant shall report, in the manner prescribed by the State Police and not more than 3 business days afterward, any change in vehicle information, electronic mail addresses, internet identifiers, or telephone numbers registered to or used by the individual, and an intention to temporarily reside at any place other than his or her residence for more than 7 days.^[24] A federal court judgment in Does v Whitmer limits how parts of that subsection are enforced. Both columns below matter.

Item	Statute text	Under the federal judgment and court-approved notice
Telephone numbers	Any change in telephone numbers registered to or used by the individual, within 3 business days[24]	The "used by" wording was held vague. Registrants do need to report phone numbers registered to them; they do not need to report a number that is not registered to them, such as a borrowed phone.[8][9]
Vehicles	Any change in vehicle information, within 3 business days[24]	Registrants do need to report all vehicles currently owned by or registered to them, and a change in vehicles registered to them within three business days. Any other vehicle operated since the last report must also be reported, but that report can wait until the next report date.[9]
Email addresses and internet identifiers	Required of individuals required to be registered after July 1, 2011[24]	Permanently enjoined; registrants do not need to report them. This part of the judgment was not appealed.[7]
Temporary stays	When the individual intends to temporarily reside at any place other than his or her residence for more than 7 days[24]	Domestic travel must be reported if the registrant stays at one place for more than 7 consecutive days; it does not need to be reported in advance.[25]

Under the judgment, failing to report information that the judgment says need not be reported is not a willful violation unless that part of the judgment is reversed.^[26] Registrants appealed some of the reporting rulings, so these points could change.^[27] The full treatment is in What registrants must report and the court rulings on the registry.

4. Advance notice before moving out of state or traveling abroad

• Moving to another state. A registrant who is a resident of Michigan shall report in person and notify the registering authority where his or her residence or domicile is located not more than 3 business days before he or she changes domicile or residence to another state, and shall indicate the new state and, if known, the new address.^[5]
• Moving or traveling abroad. A registrant who is a resident of Michigan shall report in person and notify the registering authority where his or her residence or domicile is located not later than 21 days before he or she changes domicile or residence to another country or travels to another country for more than 7 days.^[6]
• Non-residents working in Michigan. A registrant who is not a Michigan resident but has a place of employment here shall report in person and notify the registering authority where the place of employment is located, or the State Police post of the place of employment, not more than 3 business days after changing that place of employment or after employment is discontinued.^[28]

Federal law adds its own layer. The federal registration act separately requires a sex offender to appear in person, not later than 3 business days after each change of name, residence, employment or student status, in at least one jurisdiction involved.^[29] A knowing failure to register or update as that act requires, by a person the federal offense covers, is punishable by up to 10 years.^[30] See Moving to or from Michigan on a registry and Travel and passports.

5. Identification, photograph and signature

• License or ID. A registrant shall maintain a valid Michigan operator's or chauffeur's license or official state personal identification card with the individual's current address. The requirement does not apply to a registrant who is homeless, meaning someone who lacks a fixed or temporary residence.^[31]
• Photograph after release. A registered individual who was incarcerated shall report to the Secretary of State not more than 7 days after release to have a digital photograph taken, unless one of the statute's exceptions for an existing photograph applies.^[18]
• Signature. The individual shall sign a registration and notice.^[32] Willfully failing to sign is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.^[11]
• Accuracy. An individual shall not knowingly provide false or misleading information concerning a registration, notice or verification.^[32]
• "I understand" statements. The court-approved notice in Does v Whitmer tells registrants that they do not need to sign an Explanation of Duties form that says they understand their registration obligations, and that the language has been removed from the form.^[33] That is separate from signing the registration and notice itself, which the statute still requires.^[32]

6. Fees

• A $50 registration fee is paid upon initial registration and annually following the year of initial registration, and the total must not exceed $550.^[34]
• The annual payment is made when the individual reports in his or her first reporting month of each year in which the fee applies, unless the individual elects to prepay; prepaying does not change the requirement to report.^[35]
• The annual fee is not required of any individual initially required to register after January 1, 2027.^[34]
• For an indigent individual the fee is waived for a period of 90 days, and the burden of proving indigence is on the individual.^[36] The fee is not prorated on the ground that the registration period will end later in the year.^[35]
• Willfully refusing or failing to pay the fee within 90 days of the date the individual reports is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days.^[11]

7. How long the duties last

Except as otherwise provided in the same section and in the petition section, a Tier I offender shall comply for 15 years, a Tier II offender for 25 years and a Tier III offender for life.^[37] The subsections do not say on what date the period starts.^[37] The registration periods exclude any period of incarceration for committing a crime and any period of civil commitment.^[38] When the State Police determines that a registration period is complete, it must remove the registration information from both the law enforcement database and the public website within 7 days after making that determination.^[39]

The end of a term is a determination made by the State Police, not by the registrant.^[39] See How long registration lasts and, for the court process, Petitioning to be removed from the registry.

8. Penalties for willful violations

Violation	Classification and maximum
Willful violation of the act other than the three misdemeanors below, no prior conviction under it	Felony, not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both[10]
Willful violation, 1 prior conviction	Felony, not more than 7 years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both[10]
Willful violation, 2 or more prior convictions	Felony, not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both[10]
Willful failure to comply with the verification section, other than the fee	Misdemeanor, not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both[11]
Willful failure to sign a registration and notice	Misdemeanor, not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both[11]
Willful refusal or failure to pay the registration fee within 90 days of the date the individual reports	Misdemeanor, not more than 90 days[11]

A court shall revoke the probation, or the youthful trainee status, of an individual who willfully violates the act, and the parole board shall rescind the parole of an individual who willfully violates it.^[12] If an individual fails to register or update, the registering authority must, among other steps, seek a warrant for the individual's arrest if the legal requirements for obtaining one are satisfied.^[40] The offenses and defenses are covered in Failure to register penalties.

9. Court rulings to know about as of October 2026

• Offenses before July 1, 2011. By order of September 9, 2026 in People v Smith, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the 2021 act may not be retroactively applied to registrants whose criminal acts occurred before enactment of the 2011 amendments.^[41] The State Police announced that it was removing those registrants, and its legal update states that offenders removed because of the order have no further duty to register, report or verify in Michigan.^[42] The order does not affect the validity of the underlying conviction.^[43]
• Offenses on or after July 1, 2011. The State Police's update describes those offenders as remaining registered.^[14] The Court of Appeals in People v Shannon (2026) rejected an ex post facto challenge by a defendant whose crimes were committed while the 2011 act was in effect.^[44]
• Out-of-state convictions. The federal court's ruling on registration based on non-Michigan convictions is stayed during the appeal, and the court-approved notice says the relief will not go into effect until the appeals are done.^[27] Separately, the State Police's September 2026 legal update states the agency's position that a person registered in Michigan solely because of another state's requirement, for conduct committed in that state before July 1, 2011, is similarly required to be removed because of Smith.^[45] That is the agency's own position stated to officers, not a court decision; the Smith order concerned Michigan offenses, and the question is unsettled.
• Federal duties. A federal district court, describing the Sixth Circuit's decision in Willman, stated that federal registration obligations are independent of state-law duties.^[46] No source reviewed says how that applies to a person removed from Michigan's registry after Smith; it should not be assumed either way.

A person who believes one of these rulings applies should confirm his or her status with the State Police Sex Offender Registry Unit or an attorney, and keep complying until removal is confirmed. The Unit's mailing address is P.O. Box 30634, Lansing, MI 48909-0634.^[13] The tier system behind the verification schedule is explained in SORA tiers, and the registry as a whole in The Michigan sex offender registry explained.