Can You Expunge an OWI in Michigan? What the 2021 Law Changed

The Law That Changed Everything

For decades, Michigan was one of the strictest states in the country when it came to drunk-driving convictions: an OWI stayed on your record permanently, with no path to expungement, regardless of how long ago the conviction occurred or how clean your record had been since. That changed when the legislature amended MCL 780.621d as part of the 2020 Clean Slate package, with the OWI-specific provisions taking effect on February 19, 2022.

The amendment did not make OWI expungement automatic, and it did not eliminate the consequences of a conviction at the time it occurs. What it did was create — for the first time — a discretionary path to clearing a single OWI from a person's public record after a meaningful period of demonstrated rehabilitation.

Who Is Eligible

To petition for expungement of an OWI in Michigan, all of the following must be true:

1. It must be a first-offense OWI. Second-offense and third-offense (felony) OWI convictions remain ineligible. If you have any prior OWI on your record from any state, you do not qualify under this provision.
2. It must not be an excluded category. The following are categorically ineligible:
   • OWI causing serious impairment of a body function (MCL 257.625(5))
   • OWI causing death (MCL 257.625(4))
   • OWI in a commercial motor vehicle by a CDL holder
3. Five years must have passed. The clock runs from the completion of your sentence — meaning the date you finished probation, completed any jail time, and paid all fines and costs. Not the date of arrest, and not the date of conviction.
4. You can only expunge one OWI in your lifetime. This relief is available exactly once.
5. You must have no pending criminal charges at the time the petition is filed.

A person seeking OWI expungement may also apply to expunge other eligible convictions in the same petition under the broader Clean Slate framework, subject to the separate eligibility rules for those offenses.

What "Discretionary" Actually Means

The single most important thing to understand about OWI expungement in Michigan is that it is not automatic and not a right. The 2021 amendments did not include OWI in the automatic-expungement provisions of the Clean Slate law. Every OWI expungement requires a petition to the sentencing court, and every petition is decided by the judge after the prosecuting attorney — and the Michigan Department of State — have an opportunity to object.

The standard the court applies is whether the petitioner's circumstances and behavior since the conviction warrant the relief, weighed against the public interest. In practice, judges look at how long ago the conviction occurred, what the petitioner has done with the intervening years, whether there has been any subsequent criminal activity, and whether the original offense involved aggravating factors (very high BAC, accident, refusal, and so on).

This is where having counsel matters. A petition that simply checks the statutory boxes is not the same as a petition that affirmatively presents the petitioner's case for relief — employment history, family circumstances, treatment completion, community involvement, and the absence of any subsequent issues. Oakland County judges, in particular, expect petitioners to make a real case, not just file paperwork.

What the Process Looks Like

1. Verify eligibility. Pull a certified copy of your driving record and your criminal history, and confirm that the conviction is a first offense, that no excluded factors apply, and that the five-year waiting period has elapsed.
2. Prepare the petition. The petition must be filed in the court that originally entered the conviction. It must include supporting documentation and be accompanied by fingerprints submitted to the Michigan State Police for a current background check.
3. Notice and objection period. The prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, and the Michigan Department of State each receive notice and have an opportunity to object. The court will set a hearing.
4. The hearing. The petitioner — typically with counsel — presents the case for expungement. The prosecutor may oppose. The judge rules.
5. If granted. The court enters an order setting aside the conviction. The conviction is removed from the public record, though it remains accessible to law enforcement and certain regulatory bodies, and it will continue to count as a prior conviction if you are ever charged with another OWI.

What Expungement Does Not Do

Even when a court grants the petition, an expunged OWI is not erased completely. Several important consequences remain:

• The conviction can still be used as a prior if you are charged with a subsequent OWI. Michigan's enhancement rules treat an expunged prior the same as an unexpunged one for sentencing purposes.
• Law enforcement and courts retain access. The record is removed from public view, not destroyed.
• Federal consequences are unaffected. Immigration, federal employment, and federal firearm prohibitions are governed by federal law, which does not always recognize a state expungement.
• Driver's license consequences already imposed are not undone. Restrictions, suspensions, and revocations that occurred at the time of conviction stand. License restoration is a separate process handled through the Secretary of State.

The Practical Takeaway

For someone with a single, older OWI conviction whose life has moved on, the 2021 amendments offer something that did not exist before: a real chance to put the conviction behind them on background checks, employment applications, and professional licensing. But the relief is discretionary, the eligibility rules are strict, and the petition is the kind of filing where preparation and presentation make the difference between a granted petition and a denied one.

If you are uncertain whether you qualify, or you want to understand what your specific petition should look like, the firm represents clients throughout Oakland County in OWI expungement matters and can give you a clear answer based on your record.