Michigan Hands-Free Law: Fines, Points, and Crash Penalties

Michigan’s hands-free law, in effect since June 30, 2023, makes it illegal to hold or manually use a phone or similar electronic device while driving on any public road. A first offense is a $100 civil fine, penalties climb for repeat offenses and for commercial drivers, and the fine doubles if phone use causes a crash. Police can pull you over for a phone violation by itself, and the rule applies even when you’re stopped at a red light.¹

What You Can’t Do Behind the Wheel

Under MCL 257.602b, you can’t hold a mobile device with any part of your body while driving: hand, shoulder, knee, or lap. You also can’t manually use it. That covers texting, scrolling social media, watching or recording video, browsing the web, searching for music, dialing a phone number, or typing an address into a navigation app.¹

The restriction runs whenever your vehicle is on a public roadway and not legally parked. Sitting at a red light counts. Idling in stop-and-go traffic counts. Waiting in a drive-through line on a public street counts. Picking up your phone to glance at a notification while your car is in gear is enough for a citation.

What’s Still Allowed

The law doesn’t ban every use of a phone in the car. It bans holding and manual interaction. A few specific uses stay legal.

Voice-operated and hands-free use is permitted, with one narrow allowance for touch: a single tap, swipe, or button press to activate a feature, start or end a call, or select a contact. One touch to answer a Bluetooth call is fine. Scrolling your contact list to find the right name is not.¹

A phone in a dashboard or windshield mount can be used for any of the activities the statute allows, including voice features and the single-touch interactions. The mount can’t block your view, and mounting the phone doesn’t open the door to free manual use.¹

GPS and navigation apps are allowed if you set them up before you drive. Typing a new address while rolling down the highway is not.

You can hold and use your phone to call or text 911, law enforcement, or other emergency services to report a fire, crash, serious road hazard, medical emergency, hazardous materials incident, a reckless or impaired driver, or a crime in progress.¹

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, authorized emergency vehicle operators, and other public safety first responders are exempt when acting in their official capacity. Public utility employees and contractors responding to utility emergencies are also exempt. Dashcams used solely for continuous recording or broadcasting are permitted. Permanently installed CB, FCC-licensed amateur, and commercial two-way radios aren’t covered, and worn medical devices such as insulin pumps are outside the definition of a mobile electronic device.¹

Fines for a Standard Driver

Violations are civil infractions, not crimes. The penalty tiers are:

First violation: $100 fine or 16 hours of community service, or both.
Second or subsequent violation: $250 fine or 24 hours of community service, or both.

The statute doesn’t set a lookback period for counting repeat offenses. A second violation is a second violation no matter how much time has passed. If you accumulate three or more violations within a three-year period, the court must order you to complete a basic driver improvement course within a timeframe the court finds reasonable.¹

Higher Fines for Commercial and School Bus Drivers

Drivers of commercial motor vehicles and school buses face a separate, stiffer tier under the same statute:

First violation: $200 fine or 32 hours of community service, or both.
Second or subsequent violation: $500 fine or 48 hours of community service, or both.

These civil fines sit on top of anything a commercial driver may face from an employer or from federal rules governing commercial driver’s licenses.¹

Doubled Fines and Criminal Exposure in a Crash

If you violate the law and cause a crash, the court must double the civil fine. A first-time standard driver who causes an at-fault accident pays $200 instead of $100. A commercial driver’s second-offense fine jumps from $500 to $1,000. The doubling applies to whichever tier fits the driver and prior history.¹

The civil fine is not the only exposure in a crash. Under MCL 257.601d, a driver who causes a death while using a mobile device can be charged with a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Causing serious impairment of a body function can bring up to 93 days in jail. Those are criminal penalties on top of the civil infraction.

Points on Your License

Michigan’s point system treats hands-free violations on a sliding scale:

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

Points accumulate on your driving record. The Secretary of State reviews records when point totals hit certain thresholds, and that review can lead to license restrictions or suspension. Points also tend to raise auto insurance premiums, sometimes significantly.²

Primary Enforcement

A hands-free violation is a primary offense in Michigan. A police officer can stop you solely because they see you holding or using a phone. No other traffic violation is required to justify the stop.¹

Staying on the Right Side of the Line

Set up before you drive. Enter the destination, pick the playlist, and connect Bluetooth while you’re parked. Once you’re moving, the only legal hand-to-phone contact is one tap to answer a call, dismiss a notification, or start a voice command on a mounted or hands-free device.

If you need to do more than that, pull off the road and park. Parked means legally stopped, not idling in a travel lane. A parking lot, a rest stop, or a legal shoulder stop all qualify. Flipping on your hazards in a traffic lane does not make you parked under the statute, and it won’t shield you from a citation.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.602b – Holding or Using a Mobile Electronic Device While Operating a Motor Vehicle
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.320a – Points for Traffic Violations