Michigan background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Michigan adds a handful of rules to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Employers may not ask about or keep records of misdemeanor arrests that did not lead to a conviction. Convictions set aside under the 2020 Clean Slate law count as no conviction for most purposes and cannot be used in a negligent hiring case. Local governments are barred from regulating what employers ask on applications or in interviews, and health facilities and schools must run fingerprint checks. We found no Michigan lookback, credit check or private-employer ban-the-box statute as of October 2026.

This page covers those rules, how the Michigan State Police public record search works, and what changes for staffing agencies placing health care workers. The federal disclosure and adverse action steps are in our FCRA background check process guide, and registration, new hire reporting and other state rules are in hiring employees in Michigan.

Michigan background check rules at a glance

Can Michigan employers ask about arrests?

Only some. Section 205a of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2205a, says an employer, employment agency or labor organization, other than a law enforcement agency, "shall not in connection with an application for employment or membership, or in connection with the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment or membership request, make, or maintain a record of information regarding a misdemeanor arrest, detention, or disposition where a conviction did not result."

Three points matter in practice:

• It covers keeping records, not just asking. If a background report or a candidate's own comment reveals a misdemeanor arrest with no conviction, do not store it in the ATS or notes.
• The candidate may leave it out. A person "is not guilty of perjury or otherwise for giving a false statement" by not mentioning information they have a right to withhold under the section.
• Felony charges are different. The section "does not apply to information relative to a felony charge before conviction or dismissal."

Employment agencies are named, so a staffing firm's application and screening calls are covered on their own, not just through the client.

What do set-aside convictions mean for Michigan employers?

Michigan's Clean Slate package, Public Act 193 of 2020, took effect April 11, 2021, according to the Michigan State Police. It expanded which convictions can be set aside and added automatic set-asides.

• Effect. Once a conviction is set aside, "the applicant, for purposes of the law, is considered not to have been previously convicted," subject to exceptions in the act (MCL 780.622(1)).
• Negligent hiring. A set-aside conviction and related records "cannot be used as evidence in an action for negligent hiring, admission, or licensure against any person" (MCL 780.622(8)). That removes a common reason employers give for screening out old records; see what is negligent hiring.
• Automatic set-aside. MCL 780.621g provides that, beginning two years after the 2020 amendment took effect and subject to appropriation, eligible misdemeanors are set aside after seven years and eligible felonies after ten years from sentencing or release, without an application. A lifetime cap of two felonies and four misdemeanors applies to some categories, and assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, crimes of dishonesty, offenses punishable by ten or more years and other listed offenses are excluded.

The practical result is that a Michigan candidate may truthfully answer "no" to a conviction question even though an older private database still shows the case. If a report shows a conviction the candidate says was set aside, use the federal pre-adverse action window to let them show it.

What does a Michigan State Police record check show?

The Michigan State Police's public search, the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT), "allows the search of public criminal history record information" held by the state's Criminal Justice Information Center. Felonies and misdemeanors punishable by more than 93 days must be reported to it. The MSP says ICHAT does not include suppressed records or warrant information, nor federal, tribal, traffic, juvenile or local misdemeanor records, or records from other states. Fingerprint-based checks are available through the state's Livescan vendors.

ICHAT is a name search, so it can miss records or return someone else's. A county court search or a fingerprint check answers different questions; agree with your screening company which sources each role needs.

When can you ask about criminal history in Michigan?

We found no statewide Michigan law that sets the timing of criminal history questions for private employers. Local governments cannot fill the gap: MCL 123.1384 says a local governmental body "shall not adopt, enforce, or administer an ordinance, local policy, or local resolution regulating information an employer or potential employer must request, require, or exclude on an application for employment or during the interview process." The act applies to measures adopted after December 31, 2014, and does not stop local rules requiring a background check for a local license or permit.

That leaves the arrest rule above, the federal FCRA and Title VII as the main limits. Many multi-state teams still hold criminal history until after an offer for consistency; see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.

Does Michigan limit lookbacks, credit checks or salary history?

• Lookback. We found no Michigan statute; the federal FCRA bars reporting arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years unless the job pays $75,000 or more, and sets no limit for convictions (15 U.S.C. § 1681c).
• Credit checks. Michigan is not among the states in our credit check laws guide; the FCRA disclosure and notices govern.
• Salary history. No statewide ban, and MCL 123.1384 is generally read as blocking local bans; see our salary history ban list.

Which Michigan jobs require fingerprint background checks?

Health facilities and the staffing agencies that supply them

MCL 333.20173a bars a covered facility, such as a nursing home, from employing or contracting with someone who regularly has direct access to patients or residents if they have certain convictions, with look-back periods of 15 years for listed violent, sexual, abuse and drug diversion felonies and ten years for other felonies. After "a good faith offer of employment," the staffing agency or covered facility must ask the Michigan State Police to run a check, enter the applicant's fingerprints in the state system and forward them to the FBI. The applicant may not be charged for the check, and the fingerprints stay on file so that later criminal history matching them triggers an automatic notice.

Schools

On an offer of employment, a school district, intermediate district, public school academy or nonpublic school must request a Michigan State Police criminal history check and receive the report before employing the person, with a conditional-employment route at the start of a school year (MCL 380.1230). It must also request an FBI records check, for which the applicant submits fingerprints (MCL 380.1230a). Contractors who regularly and continuously work in schools are covered too.

What this means for staffing agencies

• The arrest rule binds you directly. Remove "have you ever been arrested" from applications and screening scripts, and do not keep misdemeanor arrest details a client sends you.
• Health care placements trigger your own duty. MCL 333.20173a names staffing agencies, so the fingerprint request after a good-faith offer is yours to make when you employ the worker.
• Ask about set-asides before you decide. A record that conflicts with the candidate's answer may have been set aside automatically.
• Keep notes clean. See what not to write in interview notes.

A Michigan background check checklist

1. No question about misdemeanor arrests without conviction on forms, in screens or in notes.
2. Federal stand-alone disclosure and written authorization signed before ordering a report.
3. Set-aside convictions treated as no conviction; candidates given the pre-adverse window to show a set-aside.
4. Before a decision: federal pre-adverse action notice with the report and summary of rights, then the final notice.
5. Health facility and school roles run through the Michigan State Police and FBI fingerprint process.

Hiring in neighboring states? See the companion pages for Ohio and Colorado.