What Automatic Set-Aside Actually Does and Doesn't Do
Michigan's Clean Slate Act created something significant: a process that sets aside certain criminal convictions without requiring the person to file a petition or navigate the legal system. For people who had eligible records and didn't know they could do anything about them, this matters.
But "automatic" has specific limits. Understanding what it actually covers — and what it doesn't — makes the difference between knowing where you stand and assuming something that isn't quite right.
What Automatic Set-Aside Is
Before 2021, Michigan expungement required everyone to file a petition with the court, pay a filing fee, attend a hearing, and navigate a process that was difficult without legal help. Many people who qualified never pursued it because the process itself was a barrier.
The Clean Slate Act changed this. For certain convictions that meet specific eligibility criteria, the Michigan State Police now processes set-asides automatically. The conviction is identified as eligible, the set-aside is processed, and the record is updated — without the person filing anything.
This is genuinely significant. It means some people's records have already changed without them having done anything, and they may not know it yet.
What "Automatic" Actually Means in Practice
Automatic describes the process, not an immediate outcome.
The Michigan State Police processes set-asides on an ongoing basis — in batches, not instantly. There is a gap between when a conviction becomes technically eligible and when it is actually processed. This gap can be weeks or longer depending on where the processing cycle is.
The waiting period itself begins from sentence completion — not from conviction date, not from arrest date. Sentence completion means the end of the last part of the sentence: the last day of probation, the last day of parole, the discharge date from any incarceration, or the date when fines and court costs were fully paid — whichever of these came last.
This distinction matters because people often count from the wrong starting point. If probation ended three years after conviction, the waiting period clock started at the end of probation, not at conviction.
The standard waiting periods:
For most misdemeanor convictions, the waiting period before automatic set-aside eligibility is seven years from sentence completion.
For most felony convictions, it is ten years from sentence completion.
Some offense types have different periods, and some offenses are not eligible for automatic set-aside at all.
Key insight: If you're not sure when your sentence was fully completed, that's the first thing to establish.
The waiting period doesn't start from when you think it does — it starts from when the last obligation was satisfied.
What Changes When Set-Aside Happens
When a conviction is automatically set aside, the conviction is removed from Michigan's public-facing criminal history records.
Michigan's official criminal record — what appears on ICHAT and what is accessible to most background check requestors — no longer shows the conviction. For most purposes, the conviction is treated as if it did not happen. Michigan law prohibits most employers from asking about or acting on set-aside convictions in hiring decisions. In most contexts, the person can legally say they don't have a conviction for that offense when asked on an application.
Court records related to the case are also updated to reflect the set-aside. The underlying records are not destroyed, but their public availability is significantly restricted.
For many people, this is a meaningful practical change — particularly for employment, housing, and professional licensing outside of specific exception categories.
What Doesn't Change
This is where honesty matters more than reassurance.
Federal records. Automatic set-aside is a state action. Michigan has no authority over federal criminal records, including FBI records. A conviction that appears in federal databases is not affected by state-level set-aside. Federal employers, federally-regulated employers, and some licensing situations involve federal records checks, not just state ones.
Third-party consumer background report databases. Private background check companies — the ones most employers use — maintain their own databases built from court records. They do not receive automatic updates when Michigan processes a set-aside. A conviction can be cleared from Michigan's official records while still appearing in a consumer background report for months or longer.
Certain professional licenses. Some professional licensing boards maintain their own records and background check processes. The treatment of set-aside convictions varies significantly by board and by licensing category. If a professional license is at stake, the specific board's rules are what matter — not just whether the Michigan record has been cleared.
Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Sex offender registry registration requirements are not affected by expungement or automatic set-aside.
Certain employment categories. Law enforcement, certain government positions, and roles involving vulnerable populations often involve federal background checks or have specific statutory exceptions that make expunged records accessible even after set-aside.
Key insight: Automatic set-aside changes what Michigan's official record shows.
It does not change every system that touches your record. Those two things are different, and they require different follow-up.
Who Automatic Set-Aside Applies To
Not every conviction is eligible. The main categories that are generally excluded include:
- Convictions for crimes against a minor
- Convictions for certain sexual offenses
- Convictions for crimes of terrorism
- Life-maximum offenses
- Traffic offenses that resulted in serious injury or death
- Convictions resulting in serious injury to a law enforcement officer
Additionally, Michigan's expungement law has limits on how many convictions can be expunged in total, and these limits interact with automatic set-aside eligibility. Having multiple convictions — particularly multiple felonies — can affect whether the automatic process applies.
Whether a particular conviction is eligible depends on the exact conviction name and the Michigan statute involved. A general sense of what the offense was is often not enough. Two convictions that sound similar can have different eligibility outcomes based on the specific statute.
How to Check Whether It Happened
The most direct way to check is through ICHAT — Michigan's Internet Criminal History Access Tool, available at apps.michigan.gov/ichat. Running a check on your own name shows what an official Michigan background check currently shows.
If the conviction no longer appears, or if the record reflects that it was set aside, the process has completed. If the conviction still appears and you believe the waiting period has passed, there may be a reason — covered below.
ICHAT checks are available to the public for a small fee.
If It Should Have Happened but Hasn't
If you believe a conviction should have been automatically set aside but your ICHAT check still shows it, a few things might be happening.
Processing lag. The Michigan State Police processes set-asides in batches. If the waiting period has recently ended, it may not have been processed yet. This is common and resolves on its own.
Eligibility question. There may be something about the conviction — the specific statute, the number of total convictions, or some other factor — that makes it ineligible in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
Sentence completion question. The waiting period may not have started when you thought it did. If fines or fees were paid late, if probation had a violation or extension, or if there was any supervised release period, the completion date may be later than expected.
Petition-based expungement may be the appropriate path. Some convictions that aren't eligible for automatic set-aside are eligible for petition-based expungement, which is a separate process. One not qualifying doesn't mean neither does.
EraseMyCrime provides general educational information about Michigan expungement. This is not legal advice. The eligibility of any specific conviction for automatic set-aside depends on details that a general explainer cannot fully account for. If you need guidance specific to your record, a Michigan attorney or legal aid organization can help.