16 September, 2026
How Long Does the Michigan Expungement Process Take?
Once you decide to clear an old record, the next question is how long will this take? Maybe an employer in Lansing is waiting on a background check, a landlord in East Lansing needs an answer, or a professional license is within reach.
An application-based Michigan expungement process can take about six months or more from gathering records through the hearing and set-aside. Some cases take longer. The hearing may last minutes. Getting there takes months.
But Coontz Law will be right there by your side to help you every step of the way while we work toward getting you your second chance.
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How Long Does the Michigan Expungement Process Take After You Start?
There is no single statewide turnaround time. Record retrieval, the Michigan State Police (MSP) background check, court scheduling, and objections can all affect the calendar. The general Michigan expungement process timeline of six months or more is a useful planning point, not a guaranteed finish date.
Do not confuse that with the legal waiting period before you can apply. Michigan may require several years to pass after sentencing, probation, parole, or imprisonment before you can file. That determines eligibility. Once you are eligible and file, the process itself still takes time.
Why Should Your Timeline Start with Getting the Record Right?
The first stage is figuring out what is on the record. Before filing, you need to identify each conviction and obtain a certified copy from the court that entered it. An ICHAT criminal history report can help show what appears in Michigan’s statewide record.
Older cases, missing information, or convictions in different courts can slow this stage down. A Lansing conviction may require records from the specific district or circuit court that handled it. If convictions occurred in multiple courts, Michigan requires a separate application for each court.
Starting with the complete record helps avoid a much worse delay—preparing an application that was not ready to file.
Why Does the MSP Background Check Build Time Into Every Application?
Once your application is ready, file it in the court where you were convicted. You also need to send the required materials, including your fingerprints and a $50 processing fee, to the Michigan State Police. Copies must go to the Michigan Attorney General and the prosecutor’s office.
MSP compares the fingerprints with state records and forwards them to the FBI for comparison. It then reports relevant criminal-history information to the court. Under Michigan law, the court cannot act on the application until that report arrives.
This is not optional paperwork. The court cannot act until MSP reports back. Correct forms, service, and fingerprints cannot eliminate that wait, but mistakes can extend it.
When Will I Know My Hearing Date?
After filing, the court schedules the hearing, but the timing varies.
Your application stays with the court where the conviction occurred. If you live in Lansing now but were convicted in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, or Detroit, your move did not transfer the case with you.
Court congestion and whether the prosecutor contests the application can affect timing. For certain assaultive crimes or serious misdemeanors, the prosecutor must also notify the victim, who may participate in the proceeding.
You cannot control the court’s calendar. You can make sure the file is ready when your date arrives.
Why Isn’t Winning the Hearing the End of the Timeline?
At the hearing, the court must determine that your circumstances and behavior since the conviction warrant setting it aside and that doing so is consistent with the public welfare. That makes hearing preparation part of the process, not something to start the night before.
If the judge grants the application, the court sends the order to the appropriate agencies, including MSP. Check ICHAT after about a month to confirm that the public record reflects the set-aside.
If a job, apartment, or license prompted the application, that last check matters. The court order grants the relief. You also want the public record to show it.
Where Do Expungement Applications Commonly Lose Time?
Some delays come from government processing. Others are preventable. Incomplete service, unusable fingerprints, missing certified records, an objection, or discovering a problem with the record after filing can all cost time.
There is a useful way to spend the time while waiting. Gather concrete proof of what changed in your life after the case:
- Employment,
- Education,
- Mental health and substance use treatment,
- Community involvement,
- Professional licensing goals, or
- Caregiving responsibilities at home.
An old conviction describes an event. The hearing is about the person who stands before the court now.
Can a Michigan Expungement Lawyer Actually Save Time?
A Michigan expungement attorney can’t make MSP work overnight or manufacture an earlier hearing date. Anyone promising otherwise has more confidence than control.
What a lawyer can do is reduce avoidable delay. Coontz Law starts with the whole record, identifies which court controls each conviction, gathers the documents the application needs, tracks the required service, and prepares for the hearing before it becomes urgent.
You are not required to hire a lawyer. For a straightforward record, handling the application yourself may make sense.
Coontz Law focuses on second-chance work because an old case should not keep making new decisions for you. Our role is to build the process around where you are trying to go next.
You Have Waited Long Enough to Know What Comes Next
If a conviction affects work, housing, or a license, six months may already sound long. Filing the wrong application and starting over is longer.
Based in Lansing, Coontz Law helps people across Michigan figure out where they are in the process and what needs to happen next. Contact us to schedule a review of your record, identify the right filing path, and build a plan around the life you have now.
FAQs
Can I File in Lansing If My Conviction Happened Somewhere Else?
Usually not. A Michigan application must be filed in the court where the conviction occurred, even if you now live in another part of the state.
What If My Expungement Was Granted, but It Still Appears on ICHAT?
The public record may not update immediately after the judge grants the application. If the conviction still appears after about a month, confirm that the court sent the order and follow up on the record update.
Does Automatic Expungement Follow This Same Timeline?
No. Automatic set-asides for eligible cases do not use the application, fingerprint, or hearing process described here. They work through Michigan’s Clean Slate system once you meet the requirements for automatic relief.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page:
To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:
- Michigan Legal Help – Applying to Set Aside (Expunge) an Adult Criminal Conviction
- MCL 780.621d – Application and procedures for setting aside felonies and serious misdemeanor convictions
- Michigan State Police – Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT)
- Michigan Courts – MC 227, Application to Set Aside Conviction(s)
- Michigan State Police – Michigan Clean Slate
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