Civil Forfeiture in Michigan: Rights, Deadlines, and Defenses

Civil forfeiture in Michigan lets law enforcement seize property connected to criminal activity and, through a separate civil case, try to keep it permanently. Reforms enacted in 2019 added real protections: for drug-related seizures of property worth $50,000 or less, the government now needs a criminal conviction before it can forfeit the property, and it must prove the property’s connection to the crime by clear and convincing evidence. Those protections have exceptions, strict deadlines, and a federal workaround, so understanding how the system works before you have to respond to it is the point of this guide.

Which Forfeiture Law Applies to You

Michigan has more than one forfeiture statute, and the rules differ depending on the alleged crime. The two most commonly used frameworks are the drug forfeiture provisions in the Public Health Code (MCL 333.7521 through 333.7524) and the general forfeiture provisions in the Revised Judicature Act (MCL 600.4701 through 600.4708).¹² Drug forfeitures are by far the most frequent. Non-drug cases, including racketeering and organized criminal activity, run under the Revised Judicature Act. Timelines, procedures, and protections differ between the two, so the first thing to figure out is which statute governs your seizure.

What Property Can Be Seized

Under the drug forfeiture statute, the government can seize controlled substances and prescription forms, equipment used or intended for drug manufacturing or processing, containers for those items, vehicles used to transport drugs for sale, records tied to drug activity, and anything of value exchanged for controlled substances or traceable to such an exchange.¹

That last category is the broadest. It sweeps in cash, bank accounts, and other financial assets when the government can tie them to drug transactions. Vehicles are frequent targets because they are tangible, easy to seize, and often used in drug transportation. Real property, including homes, can be seized when the government claims it was used for drug manufacturing or distribution.

Under the Revised Judicature Act, forfeiture reaches property connected to other criminal activity. The racketeering statute (MCL 750.159j) lets courts order forfeiture of any property a convicted person used in, derived from, or realized through racketeering activity, including interests in or control over a criminal enterprise.³

The Conviction Requirement for Drug Forfeitures

The biggest change from the 2019 reforms is a conviction requirement that the original forfeiture law never had. Under MCL 333.7521a, enacted as Public Act 7 of 2019, the government cannot forfeit drug-related property with an aggregate value of $50,000 or less unless a criminal proceeding has been completed and the defendant has either pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a controlled substance violation.⁴ Before the reform, law enforcement could seize and keep property without ever charging the owner. Now the criminal case has to resolve before the forfeiture can go through.

The exceptions matter. The conviction requirement does not apply if:

You don’t file a written claim contesting the forfeiture within the deadline.
You file a claim and then withdraw it, and the prosecutor reviews and approves the forfeiture.
You voluntarily waive the requirement.
Law enforcement makes reasonable efforts to locate the defendant but cannot, or the defendant is outside Michigan and cannot be extradited.

For property worth more than $50,000, the conviction requirement does not apply at all. The government can pursue forfeiture of higher-value property through a civil proceeding regardless of whether criminal charges result in a conviction.⁴

What the Government Has to Prove

In a contested forfeiture, Michigan requires the government to prove its case by clear and convincing evidence. That standard means the evidence must show it is highly probable that the property is connected to criminal activity.¹ It sits between the lower preponderance-of-the-evidence standard (more likely than not) and the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used in criminal convictions.

Before 2019, Michigan used the preponderance standard, which meant the government only had to tip the scales slightly. Public Act 7 raised the bar.⁴ The government still doesn’t have to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, but it needs substantially more than a bare suspicion or a coin-flip probability.

Deadlines to Contest a Seizure

The forfeiture process typically starts when an officer seizes property during or after a law enforcement encounter, based on probable cause that it’s tied to a crime. What happens next depends on which statute applies and how much the property is worth.

Drug Forfeitures of $50,000 or Less

For drug-related seizures where the total property value is $50,000 or less, the seizing agency must notify the owner by delivering written notice or sending it by certified mail. If the owner can’t be identified or located, notice must be published on the government’s website and in a local newspaper for ten consecutive publishing days.⁵

You have 20 days from receiving notice to file a written claim contesting the forfeiture. The claim must be verified and signed, describe your property interest in detail, and include a certification under penalty of perjury that the information is true and complete. If you don’t file within 20 days, you lose the right to contest, and the government can proceed with forfeiture even without a conviction.⁵

Forfeitures Under the Revised Judicature Act

For non-drug forfeitures of property valued under $100,000, the Revised Judicature Act gives you slightly more time. The government must provide notice within 28 days after conviction, and you then have 28 days from receiving notice to file a claim. The claim must be written, verified, notarized, and describe your property interest.²

What Happens After You File

Once you file a claim, the case moves to the prosecuting attorney, who initiates a civil forfeiture action. The proceeding then follows standard civil litigation, including discovery and evidentiary hearings, with the state carrying the clear-and-convincing-evidence burden. If the court rules for the government, the property is forfeited. If you prevail, it comes back to you.

When Your Property Must Be Returned

The 2019 reforms added a safeguard that didn’t exist before: specific circumstances where the seizing agency must return your property. Under MCL 333.7523a, your property must be returned within 14 days if:

No warrant is issued against anyone for a related crime within 90 days of the seizure.
All charges against the person related to the crime are dropped.
The person charged is found not guilty, or where there are multiple defendants, all are acquitted.
A court orders the property returned.
The prosecutor fails to meet the burden of proof at a forfeiture hearing.

Before the reform, property could sit in government custody indefinitely after charges fell apart. Now there’s a clock.

Defenses Against Forfeiture

The most direct defense is that the government cannot meet its burden. Clear and convincing evidence requires more than proximity. Cash found in the same house as drugs isn’t automatically drug money, and a vehicle that once carried someone who later committed a crime isn’t automatically a forfeitable asset.

Innocent ownership is another meaningful defense. If you own property jointly with someone who used it in criminal activity, or if someone borrowed your car and used it to transport drugs, you can argue you had no knowledge of the illegal use. Because the government carries the burden of proving the property’s connection to the crime, an owner who genuinely didn’t know has a real path to recovery.

Constitutional challenges also matter. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and if the initial seizure violated those protections, the forfeiture built on top of it can be thrown out. Michigan courts have applied this principle, including in People v. Frohriep, which addressed when a person is “seized” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.⁶

Procedural errors offer another avenue. If the government failed to provide proper notice, missed statutory deadlines, or didn’t follow required procedures, those failures can defeat the forfeiture. This is one reason filing your claim on time matters so much; it keeps every other defense available to you.

The Excessive Fines Clause and Proportionality

The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines applies to civil forfeiture. In Timbs v. Indiana (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Excessive Fines Clause applies to state-level forfeitures through the Fourteenth Amendment.⁷ The case involved a man whose $42,000 Land Rover was seized after a drug conviction that carried a maximum $10,000 fine. The trial court found the forfeiture “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of the offense, and the Supreme Court agreed that this analysis is constitutionally required.

Michigan courts must consider whether the value of the property being seized is proportional to the seriousness of the underlying crime. Courts look at the maximum penalties authorized for the offense, the harm caused by the defendant’s conduct, and whether the forfeiture amount dwarfs the criminal fine that could have been imposed. If you’re facing forfeiture that seems wildly out of proportion to the alleged crime, this is a defense worth raising.

A Boundary: Federal Equitable Sharing

Michigan’s state-level protections have a significant gap. Under a federal program called equitable sharing, state and local agencies can partner with federal authorities to process a forfeiture under federal law instead of state law. The federal government handles the forfeiture and then shares a portion of the proceeds back with the local agency.⁸

The practical effect is that a Michigan agency facing the state’s conviction requirement and higher burden of proof can route the same seizure through the federal system, where those state protections do not apply. If your property is seized through a federal partnership, Michigan’s reforms may not protect you, and the applicable rules and deadlines will be federal.

The Cost of Fighting a Forfeiture

Contesting a forfeiture costs money, and that reality shapes outcomes. Attorney fees for civil litigation can easily exceed the value of the seized property, especially for lower-value items like a used vehicle or a few thousand dollars in cash. Walking away is sometimes the financially rational choice, even for someone who would win in court.

Costs accumulate while the property sits in government custody. Seized vehicles are typically stored at impound lots that charge daily fees, and those costs may not be recoverable even if you prevail. The longer the process drags on, the more the economics tilt against contesting.

If your property has been seized, the single most important step is filing your written claim within the deadline: 20 days for drug forfeitures of $50,000 or less, or 28 days for forfeitures under the Revised Judicature Act.⁵² Missing that deadline forfeits your right to contest and, in drug cases, waives the conviction requirement. Every other protection in this process depends on filing on time.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 333.7521 – Public Health Code (Excerpt)
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 600.4707 – Revised Judicature Act of 1961 (Excerpt)
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.159j – The Michigan Penal Code (Excerpt)
4
Michigan Legislature. SB0002 Analysis as Enacted – Asset Forfeiture Cont. Sub. Violation
5
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 333.7523 – Public Health Code (Excerpt)
6
State of Michigan Court of Appeals. People of MI v Ninety Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars
7
Supreme Court of the United States. Timbs v Indiana
8
Department of Justice. Guide to Equitable Sharing for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies