What Is the Penalty for an Unregistered Pistol in Michigan?

The penalty for an unregistered pistol in Michigan depends on which part of the state’s licensing process was skipped. Missing or incomplete sales-record paperwork is a civil infraction with a fine of up to $250. Buying or otherwise obtaining a pistol without the required License to Purchase is a misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine. And if the person in possession has a prior felony conviction, the charge is a five-year felony regardless of whether the gun was ever registered.

What “Unregistered” Means in Michigan

Michigan has no standalone pistol registration form. Two overlapping requirements under MCL 28.422 and MCL 28.422a create what functions as a registry: a License to Purchase issued by your local police chief or sheriff before you buy, and a Pistol Sales Record (form RI-060) that the seller returns to local law enforcement within 10 days of the sale.¹² The sales record goes into the MiPistol database maintained by Michigan State Police, linking the pistol to its current owner.

When people say a pistol is “unregistered,” they usually mean one of three things happened: the sales record was never filed, the License to Purchase was never obtained, or the person holding the pistol is someone who can’t legally possess one at all. Each triggers a different penalty.

Civil Infraction: Missing or Late Sales Record

Failing to comply with the Pistol Sales Record requirements under MCL 28.422a is a state civil infraction with a fine of up to $250.³ This is the category most private buyers worry about: the RI-060 wasn’t returned to local law enforcement within 10 days, or it was turned in with missing information.

It isn’t a criminal charge. There’s no jail exposure, and it doesn’t produce a criminal record. The fine is enforceable, though, and the infraction itself becomes part of the paper trail if any follow-up questions come up about the firearm. For the civil infraction specifically, correcting the deficiency after the fact doesn’t erase the ticket but can influence how it’s handled.

Misdemeanor: Buying Without a License to Purchase

Obtaining a pistol without the required License to Purchase is a separate offense under MCL 750.232a. The penalty is up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $100, or both.⁴ Using false identification or someone else’s identity to buy a firearm carries the same penalty under the statute.

This is the charge that typically applies when someone acquired a pistol through a private sale and never went through the pre-purchase licensing step at the local police department or sheriff’s office. It’s a misdemeanor rather than a felony, but it is a criminal offense, and the conviction stays on your record.

Felony: Possession by a Prohibited Person

The penalty structure changes entirely if the person in possession has a prior felony conviction. Under MCL 750.224f, possession of any firearm by a person with a prior felony is itself a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.⁵ The same penalty applies to possessing, transporting, or selling ammunition while prohibited.

“Felony” in this statute means any conviction punishable by more than one year of imprisonment under state or federal law, including out-of-state convictions. Whether the pistol was registered is beside the point here: a prohibited person cannot cure the offense by filing paperwork, because the possession itself is what the statute forbids.

Federal disqualifiers that would also prevent someone from legally buying a pistol include a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, an active protection order, a history of involuntary commitment to a mental institution, being an unlawful user of controlled substances, being a fugitive from justice, or being under felony indictment.⁶

When You Weren’t Actually Required to Register

Before accepting a charge for an unregistered pistol, it’s worth checking whether an exemption applies. Several categories of buyer or firearm don’t trigger the License to Purchase requirement at all, and in some cases the sales record requirement doesn’t apply either.

CPL Holders

If you hold a valid Michigan concealed pistol license, you don’t need a separate License to Purchase before buying a pistol.³ You do still have to complete the RI-060 and get it to local law enforcement within 10 days. Emergency CPL holders and people carrying only a CPL receipt don’t qualify.

Antique Firearms

Antique firearms are exempt from the licensing requirement. Under state law, an antique firearm is one manufactured in or before 1898 that wasn’t designed for rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, including matchlocks, flintlocks, and percussion-cap firearms. Replicas of those designs also qualify regardless of when they were made. Firearms using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898 also qualify if that ammunition is no longer commercially available in the United States.⁷

Inherited Pistols

If you inherit a pistol or receive one through a will, Michigan gives you a 10-day grace period after you take physical possession. During that window, you can apply for a license to keep the pistol, transfer it to another eligible person, or turn it over to a licensed dealer.⁸ If you’re not eligible for a license and law enforcement seizes the firearm, you keep an ownership interest and have 30 days to petition a court to direct the agency to transfer it to an eligible person of your choosing.⁹

Dealers and Law Enforcement

Federally licensed firearms dealers and active law enforcement officers certified under Michigan’s Commission on Law Enforcement Standards are exempt from the License to Purchase.³ Dealers buying from wholesalers for retail resale are also exempt from the sales record requirement for those transactions.¹

Defenses That Come Up in These Cases

The strongest defense in a Michigan unregistered-pistol case is usually a challenge to the search that produced the firearm. If law enforcement found the pistol during a search conducted without a valid warrant, without probable cause, or outside the scope of consent you gave, the evidence may be suppressed. Without the firearm in evidence, the charge typically collapses.

A second line of defense involves showing a legitimate reason for failing to complete the process, such as incorrect guidance from a law enforcement agency about whether a license was needed. Courts evaluate these claims individually, and demonstrating a genuine lack of intent to violate the law can lead to reduced charges or alternative sentencing. This argument carries more weight for paperwork-timing issues than for someone who never attempted to obtain a license at all.

For the civil infraction specifically, late completion of the sales record is treated differently than non-completion. Bringing proof that the deficiency has been corrected won’t erase the infraction, but it can shape the outcome.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28-422 – License to Purchase, Carry, Possess, or Transport Pistol
2
Michigan State Police. Pistol Sales Record RI-060 Instructions
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28-422a – Individuals Not Required to Obtain License
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750-232a – Obtaining Firearm in Violation of Licensing Requirements
5
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750-224f – Possession of Firearm by Felon
6
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – NICS Implementation Revisions
7
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750-231a – Exceptions to MCL 750.227(2) and Antique Firearm Defined
8
Michigan Legislature. Grace Period for Licensing Inherited Pistol Bill Analysis
9
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28-422 – License to Purchase, Carry, Possez, or Transport Pistol