Clearing your driving record in Michigan means different things depending on what you want gone. Points fall off on their own after two years. A fresh ticket’s points can be kept off entirely by completing a Basic Driver Improvement Course. Older convictions may be eligible to be set aside by petition, and some are now removed automatically under Michigan’s Clean Slate law. Errors and identity-theft entries get fixed through a written dispute with the Secretary of State. What you cannot do is delete points early or erase a conviction the law specifically protects, like most OWIs or any traffic offense that caused injury or death.
Waiting Out Points
Every moving violation in Michigan carries a point value between one and six. Minor freeway speeding sits at the low end; leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing police, and vehicular manslaughter sit at the top with six points each.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.629c
Points stay on your record for two years from the conviction date, then drop off automatically. Michigan law does not allow early removal of points for any reason — no course, no petition, no hardship claim will speed that up. The underlying conviction, however, stays visible on your record long after the points are gone.
Twelve or more points inside a two-year window triggers a driver assessment reexamination with the Secretary of State, and so does racking up six or more one-point violations in the same period. That reexamination can add restrictions, require an improvement course, or suspend your license.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.320
Keeping Points Off With the Basic Driver Improvement Course
Because points cannot be removed early, the most useful tool most drivers have is preventing them from posting in the first place. Michigan’s Basic Driver Improvement Course does exactly that for an eligible ticket. If you pass, the violation still appears on your driving record, but the points are never posted and neither the ticket nor the points are reported to your insurance company.3Michigan Department of State. Basic Driver Improvement Course (BDIC) Eligibility
You have to meet all of the following at the time the ticket was issued:3Michigan Department of State. Basic Driver Improvement Course (BDIC) Eligibility
- No more than two points already on your record
- The violation is a civil infraction, not a criminal offense
- The ticket was issued in Michigan
- You do not hold a commercial driver’s license
- You were not driving a commercial vehicle when ticketed
- You hold a valid Michigan driver’s license
If you qualify, the Secretary of State sends a letter giving you 60 days to enroll and complete the course. There are no extensions. The course runs at least four hours, is available online or in person through approved sponsors, and by law cannot cost more than $100. Miss the 60-day deadline and the points and violation go on your record and get shared with your insurer, with no second chance.
Setting Aside a Conviction by Petition
Michigan allows people to petition a court to “set aside” certain criminal convictions, which is the state’s version of expungement. A person with up to three felony convictions total may apply, though no more than two can be assaultive crimes and no more than one can be a felony punishable by more than ten years.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621 – Setting Aside Conviction
The process runs through the court that convicted you. You file an application, get fingerprinted (usually at a local police station or Michigan State Police post), and send copies of the application, the certified record of conviction, and your fingerprints to the Michigan State Police with a $50 processing fee. The prosecuting attorney gets notice and can object, and the court may hold a hearing before ruling.
A set-aside is not a full erasure. Law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see the conviction, and it can be considered in future sentencing.
Traffic Offenses That Cannot Be Set Aside
Michigan specifically bars expungement for several categories of traffic offenses:5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621c – Prohibition on Setting Aside Certain Convictions
- Second and subsequent OWI convictions, ever
- Any traffic offense committed by a CDL holder while driving a commercial vehicle, or that otherwise counts as a commercial motor vehicle violation
- Any traffic offense that caused injury or death, regardless of severity or time elapsed
The First-OWI Exception
A first OWI conviction has a narrow path. If you have a single OWI conviction and have never previously had an OWI set aside, you can apply to have it removed. It has to be done by petition, because first OWIs are explicitly excluded from Michigan’s automatic expungement process.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621c – Prohibition on Setting Aside Certain Convictions – Section 1c(3) It is also a one-time opportunity. If the court grants it, you cannot ever apply for another OWI set-aside.
Automatic Expungement Under Clean Slate
Michigan’s Clean Slate law, enacted in 2020 and operational since April 2023, sets aside certain convictions without any application. The Michigan State Police reviews records and removes eligible convictions once the waiting period has run.7Michigan Attorney General. Automatic Expungements – Michigan Clean Slate
Waiting periods run from the date of sentencing for misdemeanors, and from sentencing or release from prison (whichever is later) for felonies:8Michigan State Police. Michigan Clean Slate
- Misdemeanors punishable by less than 93 days: 7 years, no limit on number
- Misdemeanors punishable by 93 days or more: 7 years, up to 4 convictions
- Felonies: 10 years, up to 2 convictions
Clean Slate carries the same traffic exclusions as the petition process: no OWI convictions (not even a first offense), no CDL-related violations, and no traffic offenses that caused injury or death.8Michigan State Police. Michigan Clean Slate Automatic expungement also excludes assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, crimes of dishonesty, offenses punishable by ten or more years, offenses involving minors or vulnerable adults, and human trafficking. For those, the petition process is the only path, and for most of the categories above it is not available either.
Fixing Errors and Identity-Theft Entries
Administrative mistakes, data entry errors, and identity theft all put wrong information on driving records. Checking yours periodically is the only way to catch a problem before it turns into a surprise suspension or an inflated insurance quote. You can buy a certified copy of your record for $16, or an uncertified copy by mail for $15.9Michigan Department of State. Driving Record
If you find an error, send a written dispute to the Secretary of State with documentation: court records showing a dismissal, a police report, proof the ticket was issued to someone else. Keep copies of everything and follow up to confirm the correction was made.
Identity theft is its own track. If someone used your name during a traffic stop or picked up citations under your identity, file a police report locally, then report the theft at IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government’s identity-theft reporting site.10Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft Bring both reports to the Secretary of State with your written dispute. Fraudulent entries usually take more documentation and more patience, but the Secretary of State is obligated to correct records that do not belong to you.
How Long Convictions Stay Visible
Points and convictions are different things, and clearing one does not clear the other. Most traffic convictions stay on your record for seven to ten years even after their points have dropped off at two years. Serious offenses — impaired driving, reckless driving involving injury, and anything resulting in a fatality — stay on your record permanently unless a court sets them aside. Insurers and employers look at convictions, not just active points, so a zero point total does not mean a clean record.
If You Hold a Commercial Driver’s License
Almost none of the tools above work for CDL holders. Federal law prohibits states from masking, deferring judgment on, or diverting any traffic conviction for a CDL holder, whether the driver was in a commercial or personal vehicle at the time. The only exceptions are parking, vehicle weight, and vehicle defect violations.11eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions That means no Basic Driver Improvement Course, no set-aside of traffic convictions, and every qualifying conviction feeds into the national Commercial Driver’s License Information System. The restriction applies to commercial learner’s permit holders too, and it overrides anything Michigan would otherwise allow.