Sexual Assault Kits in Michigan: Testing Deadlines and Tracking

Michigan law sets a timetable for a sexual assault evidence kit once the patient consents to its release: 24 hours for the health care facility to notify police, 14 days for police to pick the kit up, a further 14 days to send it to a laboratory, and 90 days for the laboratory to analyze it.^[1][2][3][4] The last step carries a condition. The 90 days applies only "provided that sufficient staffing and resources are available to do so."^[4]

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The national hotline of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).^[7] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline has advocates available by call or text at 1-855-864-2374.^[8]

Three 2014 statutes work together here: the Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act (the deadlines), the Sexual Assault Victim's Access to Justice Act (a survivor's right to information), and the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Tracking and Reporting Act (the planning for a statewide tracking system).^[9][10][11] This page takes them in that order.

The statutory timetable

Step	Who	Deadline
1. Notice that a kit has been released	The health care facility that obtained written consent to release the kit	Within 24 hours after obtaining that consent.[1]
2. Pick-up	The law enforcement agency that received the notice	Within 14 days after receiving the notice.[2]
3. Submission to a laboratory	The investigating law enforcement agency	Within 14 days after that agency takes possession.[3]
4. Analysis	The Department of State Police or another accredited laboratory	Within 90 days after all of the necessary evidence is received, provided that sufficient staffing and resources are available.[4]

Two details are often lost when this is summarized. First, there are two separate 14-day periods, one for pick-up and one for submission.^[2][3] Second, the 90-day clock does not start at the hospital or at the police station; it runs from the point at which the laboratory has received "all of the necessary evidence."^[4]

The Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act took effect March 31, 2015.^[9] Its text applies the analysis deadline to kit evidence submitted on or after its effective date.^[4]

If the assault happened somewhere else

Sometimes the agency that collects the kit from the hospital is not the one that will investigate. If that agency determines the alleged assault occurred within another agency's jurisdiction, it must notify the other agency within 14 days after receiving the kit, and the other agency must take possession within 14 days after that notice.^[12] The 14-day submission period then runs from the investigating agency's possession.^[3]

What "analyzed" means

The Act defines "analyzed" as evaluating items for the presence of a body fluid, cellular material or DNA, followed by the testing of suitable items at forensic DNA regions for comparison purposes.^[9] DNA profiles from analyzed kits are uploaded only into the state and national databases specified by the State Police.^[13] The Act covers a "sexual assault offense," defined as a violation or attempted violation of the criminal sexual conduct sections.^[9]

Why "kits must be tested in 90 days" is not quite right

The sentence in the statute reads that kit evidence "shall be analyzed within 90 days after all of the necessary evidence is received by the department or other accredited laboratory, provided that sufficient staffing and resources are available to do so."^[4] The condition is part of the rule. The statute does not say what timetable applies when staffing and resources are not sufficient.

What happens when a deadline is missed

The Act answers this directly.

• The kit can still be collected, submitted and tested. An agency's failure to take possession or to submit within the time prescribed does not alter its authority to do so later, and does not alter the laboratory's authority to accept and analyze the evidence or upload the DNA profile.^[14]
• A late result is still usable. Failure to comply with the Act is not grounds in any criminal proceeding for challenging the validity of a database match, and a court may not exclude evidence of the DNA record on those grounds.^[14]
• The accused cannot object. A person accused or convicted of committing a crime against the victim has no standing to object to any failure to comply, and non-compliance is not grounds for setting aside a conviction or sentence.^[6]
• No damages claim under the information statute. The Access to Justice Act does not create a cause of action for monetary damages against the state, a county, a municipality or their agencies or employees.^[15]

Kits that were not released to police

The timetable above starts only with written consent to release. A facility that has not obtained that consent must tell the individual its storage policy, including how long the evidence will be stored before it is destroyed and how to have it released to law enforcement later.^[16] Unreleased kit evidence must be stored for a minimum of 1 year before it is destroyed.^[16]

Having the exam does not commit a person to a police report.^[17] The exam itself, and who pays for it, are covered in The sexual assault medical forensic exam.

A survivor's right to information

The Sexual Assault Victim's Access to Justice Act took effect April 1, 2015.^[10] Apart from the first notice, it works on request.

What police must hand over at the start

Within 24 hours after the initial contact with a sexual assault victim, the investigating agency must give the victim a written copy of, or access to, listed information, including notice of the right to request the case and testing information described below and notice of the right to request a personal protection order.^[10]

What a victim may ask for

Subject	Information the agency must provide on request, if available and if disclosure would not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation
The case	Contact information for the investigating officer; the current status of the case; whether it has been submitted to the prosecuting attorney's office for review; and, if it has been closed, the documented reason.[18]
The kit and DNA testing	When the kit was submitted to the forensic laboratory; whether a DNA profile of a suspect was obtained; whether that profile was entered into a data bank; and whether there is a match to any profile in a data bank.[5]

A victim who is given information about forensic testing results must also be given a copy of, or access to, an informational handout that explains the meaning of possible results.^[5]

How the request works

• The agency must respond by telephone, by mail or by email, as the victim specifies.^[15]
• The victim may designate another person to receive the information.^[15]
• The agency may require the request to be in writing.^[15]
• The Act does not require the agency to communicate if the victim does not specifically make a request, and the agency may, but is not required to, send new or updated information without a new request.^[15]

Practically, that last point means the statute puts the first move with the survivor: a request, and later a follow-up request, is what triggers the agency's duty.

Track-Kit: following a kit online

The 2014 tracking statute created a commission and directed it to develop a plan for a uniform statewide system to track the location, lab submission status, completion of forensic testing and storage of kits, and for secure electronic access for victims.^[11] According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the State Police contracted for the system in 2017, a pilot began in 2018, and the statewide rollout was completed in 2019.^[19]

The department describes Track-Kit this way:^[20]

• Medical facilities, law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories enter anonymous information about kits.^[20]
• It is free for survivors and available 24/7 from any device with internet access.^[20]
• No personally identifiable information is stored in it; each kit is identified by a unique barcode number.^[20]
• A survivor tracks a kit by entering the barcode number and login credentials on the login page. A survivor who does not have login details is told to contact the medical facility where the exam was administered.^[21]
• A survivor can use the portal even if the kit was not released for forensic testing.^[21]

Track-Kit shows where a kit is. For questions about the case, such as when the kit will be tested or the testing results, the department's page directs survivors to the law enforcement agency investigating the case.^[21] The department's page, with the login link and support contacts, is Track-Kit for Survivors.

Before a kit is destroyed

If a law enforcement agency intends to destroy or otherwise dispose of kit evidence before the limitations period for the offense expires, the agency with primary responsibility for investigating the case must notify the victim in writing at least 60 days before the evidence is destroyed.^[22] The notice rule is written for destruction that "does not otherwise conflict" with the post-conviction DNA testing statute, which separately requires the investigating agency to preserve identified biological material for as long as any person is incarcerated in connection with the case.^[23]

Kits, DNA and the time limit for charges

A kit's contents can affect how long a case may be charged. If evidence of a second-, third- or fourth-degree offense contains DNA determined to be from an unidentified individual, an indictment against that individual may be found and filed at any time after the offense is committed.^[24] For a second- or third-degree offense committed on or after April 2, 2025, once the individual is identified the charge may be filed within 15 years after the identification or by the alleged victim's 42nd birthday, whichever is later.^[24][25] For a fourth-degree offense or assault with intent, the period after identification is 10 years or the alleged victim's 21st birthday, whichever is later.^[26] These rules are explained in Statute of limitations for sex crimes and DNA evidence.

A collected kit also matters to a rule of evidence. An act of sexual assault more than 10 years before the charged offense is inadmissible as other-acts evidence under MCL 768.27b unless the court finds one of four things, one of which is that a sexual assault evidence kit was collected.^[27] See Other acts of sexual assault.

Related rights are collected in Rights of sexual assault survivors in Michigan and Privacy and rights of victims in sex-crime cases.