Wyatt’s Law in Michigan, enacted as Public Act 64 of 2022 and effective November 1, 2022, gives parents and guardians the right to check whether a caregiver appears on the state’s Central Registry for child abuse or neglect. Before the law, that registry was open only to government agencies and licensed organizations. Now, a family hiring a babysitter, nanny, tutor, or private coach can ask the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services whether that person has a confirmed history of harming a child.
Who Can Request a Check
Any parent or person responsible for a child can request a Central Registry clearance on another caregiver, as long as they have reason to believe the caregiver could place the child at risk.1Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Central Registry Reform FAQ That covers private hiring: a nanny found online, a neighbor’s teenager who babysits, a private sports coach. It is separate from the mandatory background checks already required for licensed childcare and foster care. You cannot run a check out of curiosity or for reasons unrelated to child safety. Individuals can also request their own record.2Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Central Registry
A registry clearance is not a criminal background check. Someone can come back clear on the registry and still have a criminal record for offenses that didn’t involve a child. For a fuller picture, families should pair the registry check with a criminal background check through the Michigan State Police or the FBI.
How to Submit a Request
Parents and guardians use form DHS-1929-W, available for download on the MDHHS website in English and Spanish.3Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Central Registry Clearance Requests On the form, you provide:
- The full name of the person being checked
- Their address
- Their date of birth
- Their Social Security number, if known
The Social Security number is requested but not strictly required. A copy of your valid government-issued photo ID has to go with the form so MDHHS can verify who you are and that you have authority to ask. Check the name and birth date twice before sending. Mistakes slow things down and can return a result for the wrong person.
What You Get Back and When
MDHHS sends a response letter within ten business days.2Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Central Registry The letter states whether the person is or is not listed on the Central Registry as of the date the search was run. If the person is not listed, the response comes by standard mail, fax, or encrypted email. If the person is listed, the response is sent by certified mail restricted to the addressee, or by encrypted email when the requester is authorized to receive results that way.4Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. DHS-1929 Central Registry Clearance Request Incomplete submissions or high request volumes can push the response past ten days. No published MDHHS guidance lists a fee for the clearance request itself.
The result reflects the registry only on the date the search was run. There is no ongoing monitoring and no automatic alert if the person is added later. If the caregiver stays in your child’s life, running a fresh check periodically is the only way to catch a later listing.
What a Listing Actually Means
The Central Registry is narrow by design. Under MCL 722.627j, a name goes on the registry when MDHHS confirms a case of serious abuse or neglect, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or methamphetamine production in the presence of a child. Courts can also place someone on the registry after a conviction for first- or second-degree child abuse, a sexual crime against a minor, a child sexually abusive material offense, or any crime that caused a child’s death.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.627j – Statewide Electronic Case Management System Lower-level CPS findings do not produce a registry listing.
So a “not listed” result means the person has no confirmed finding at this level. It does not mean no CPS contact has ever occurred, and it does not rule out other criminal history.
If You Were Just Told You Are on the Registry
MDHHS must notify a person in writing within 30 days of classifying their case as a central registry case, by registered or certified mail.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.627j – Statewide Electronic Case Management System A listing stays in place until MDHHS receives reliable information that the person has died, unless it is actively challenged. The route to removal depends on how the listing happened.
Listings From an MDHHS Investigation
You can ask the department to amend an inaccurate report. If MDHHS denies that request, you have 180 days from the date you were notified of your hearing right to request an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge. At the hearing, the department must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the confirmed finding is accurate. If it cannot, the listing is expunged. If you lose, you can request a removal hearing once every ten years. Listings for confirmed sexual abuse or confirmed sexual exploitation cannot be removed through that periodic review.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.627j – Statewide Electronic Case Management System
Listings From a Criminal Conviction
Removal goes through the convicting court instead of MDHHS. You can file a motion at any time if the underlying conviction has been expunged or if you were not actually convicted of a qualifying offense. Otherwise, you can petition the convicting court once every ten years. The law presumes you remain a risk to children, and you have to show that presumption is unreasonable before the court will order removal.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.627j – Statewide Electronic Case Management System
Why the Law Exists
The law is named for Wyatt Rewoldt, a one-year-old who was severely shaken by his father’s girlfriend, Rachel Ann Edwards, in November 2013. Edwards already had a 2011 felony child abuse conviction and a 2013 child abuse misdemeanor on her record. Wyatt’s mother, Erica Hammel, had no way to find out before trusting her son to Edwards’ care, because the Central Registry existed but was closed to private citizens. Wyatt’s Law was written to close that gap.