Michigan Cell Phone Law: Fines, Points, and Insurance Impact

Michigan’s cell phone law, codified at MCL 257.602b, prohibits any driver from holding or using a mobile electronic device while operating a vehicle. A first offense carries a fine of up to $100, and penalties climb from there for repeat violations, crashes, and commercial drivers. Because it is a primary enforcement law, an officer can pull you over for phone use alone.¹

What You Cannot Do Behind the Wheel

The statute bans holding or using a mobile electronic device while driving. That covers phones, tablets, and laptops, and it covers the full range of things people do on them: calls, texts, social media, video, apps, even a quick glance at a notification.¹

One point trips people up: “operating” a vehicle includes being temporarily stopped in traffic, at a red light, or at a stop sign. Scrolling your phone at a light is the same violation as scrolling on the highway. The law only steps aside when your vehicle is lawfully parked.¹

What the Law Still Allows

The statute carves out several situations where a mobile device is permitted:

Calls to 911, law enforcement, a fire department, or a health care provider to report emergencies such as a crash, fire, road hazard, or an apparently intoxicated driver.¹
Voice-operated or hands-free use, provided you are not holding the device. A single tap or swipe to activate a feature, pick a contact, or answer a call is allowed; more than that is not.¹
GPS navigation on a mounted phone, as long as you don’t type the destination by hand while driving. Set the route before you move, or use voice entry.¹
Infotainment screens and other systems permanently installed in the vehicle.
A device used solely for continuously recording or broadcasting video, such as a dashcam.
Law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and public utility workers responding to emergencies in the course of their duties.

The hands-free carve-out is where most everyday questions land. Bluetooth earpieces, speakerphone through the car’s audio, and voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant are fine so long as the phone stays out of your hand. Mount it before you pull out of the parking spot.

Fines and Community Service

A violation is a civil infraction, not a criminal offense. The base penalties escalate with each ticket, and a judge can impose fines, community service, or both.

First offense: up to a $100 fine, or 16 hours of community service, or both.¹
Second or subsequent offense: up to a $250 fine, or 24 hours of community service, or both.¹

These figures don’t include court costs and administrative fees, which can add meaningfully to what you actually owe. Budget for more than the base fine.

Crash Doubles the Fine

If you cause an at-fault crash while using your phone, the fine doubles. A first offense goes from $100 to $200, and a repeat offense goes from $250 to $500.² Community service also increases: 32 hours for a first offense and 48 hours for a subsequent one.¹

Three Violations in Three Years

Three or more violations inside a three-year window trigger a mandatory basic driver improvement course, which the court must order you to complete within a reasonable timeframe set by the judge. This is on top of the fines and community service for the third ticket itself.¹

Points on Your Driving Record

Michigan assigns points to distracted driving violations, and they scale with repeat offenses:

First offense: no points.
Second offense: 1 point.
Third or subsequent offense: 2 points.

The zero-point first offense is a grace period, not a free pass. Points from a second or third ticket stay on your record and, combined with other violations, can eventually contribute to a license suspension.

What It Does to Your Insurance

Even a no-point first offense can affect your rates. Insurers pull driving records and can raise premiums based on civil infractions, and Michigan drivers ticketed for distracted driving have historically seen some of the steepest surcharges in the country. Once a second or third violation adds points, the increase is harder to avoid. The real cost of a $100 ticket often shows up over the following years in higher premiums.

How Officers Enforce It

Because this is a primary enforcement law, an officer can pull you over solely for seeing a phone in your hand. No other traffic violation is needed to justify the stop.¹

The statute does draw one line. An officer cannot search your vehicle or your person solely because of a hands-free law violation. The stop can produce a citation, but it doesn’t open the door to a search.¹

Commercial Drivers Face a Separate, Stricter Rule

If you drive a commercial motor vehicle, federal law adds a second layer on top of the state rule. Under 49 CFR 392.82, a CMV driver cannot use a hand-held phone while driving, including when temporarily stopped in traffic.³ Federal penalties reach up to $2,750 per offense for a driver and up to $11,000 for an employer who allows or requires hand-held use. Repeat violations can disqualify a driver from operating a commercial vehicle entirely.⁴

Fighting a Ticket

You can contest a citation, and some defenses have real weight. The most direct is showing the use was permitted. Phone records with no calls or texts at the time of the stop, evidence that the phone was mounted and used for hands-free GPS, or documentation of an emergency call all go to whether a violation happened at all.

Challenging what the officer saw is another route. Distance, angle, obstructions, or misidentification of what you were holding can all undermine the citation. Dashcam footage from your own vehicle, or from a nearby business, sometimes decides the question.

Because these are civil infractions, the prosecution doesn’t need to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Winning generally comes down to concrete evidence that contradicts the officer’s account, not simply disputing it.

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257-602b
2
Michigan Judicial Institute. Civil Infraction Fines, Costs, and Assessments Table
3
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.82 – Using a Hand-Held Mobile Telephone
4
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Mobile Phone Restrictions Fact Sheet