The new suspension laws do not apply to the SOS’s revocation process. A license suspension and revocation are two different things. If your license has been revoked by the SOS, your status is unchanged. Reapplication may include re-taking a road test. If your license expired during the time period it was also suspended, you will have to reapply to the Secretary of State for new license privileges. If you have 12 or more points within this time period, you will have to seek legal advice and petition the court or wait until the end of your suspension in order to have a valid license. The Secretary of State will continue to suspend your license if you have accumulated 12 or more points on your driving record within a 2-year period. Michigan’s “points” system will not change. Below are just a few of the many exceptions we can highlight. Some people will not be eligible to get their license reinstated at this time. Driving a vehicle without proper insurance is still against the law.Ĥ. Even if your license is no longer suspended, under Michigan law, the car you are driving must be insured-whether you’re driving your car or another person’s car. If you have misdemeanor cases pending against you, you are entitled to representation by a public defender who that court will appoint for you, usually at the first hearing.ģ. Specifically, you should ask the courts what your total balance is for any resolved cases and whether you have any additional pending cases against you that are in warrant status, to determine your best path forward. It also means that such traffic warrants may appear on criminal background checks that employers may run.įor this reason, it is still critical that you have your driving record run by the SOS, contact any courts where you have tickets, and attempt to clear warrants/resolve cases as soon as you can or are financially able to do so. This means that even where your previously suspended license is reinstated, if you are driving with a valid license but on an open warrant, an officer on patrol might still run your plates, pull you over, and ultimately have grounds to arrest you because of the warrant. Additionally, the court may still issue warrants for your arrest for failure to appear in court going forward.
If you had active traffic warrants and pending traffic cases before the change in law, you must still take action to clear these warrants and resolve these cases. Where your non-payment of fines and fees was because of financial hardship, the new law does not eliminate avenues for requesting grace or relief from the court, such as submitting a hardship letter (a formal request for the court to consider your economic circumstances and grant relief or a payment plan). Failure to appear at a show cause hearing may result in a warrant for your arrest. The court can still pursue various avenues to collect these costs, such as collections agencies, garnishment, or requests for you to appear at a show cause hearing to indicate whether your failure to pay was wilful (or was because of your inability to pay). You are still on the hook for those fines and costs. This change in the law does not affect the amount of money you may owe to courts for traffic offenses. Additionally, the letter will indicate whether your license may be eligible to be reinstated, along with outlining the requisite next steps, if any, that you must take.
The Secretary of State is sending letters to people whose suspensions have been lifted in accordance with the new laws.
This means that some people may be eligible to have their suspensions lifted in certain child support matters. Additionally, the law amends specific requirementsfor suspension in Friend of the Court cases. Your license may still be suspended or revoked if you are charged with or convicted of significant driving violations, including but not limited to no-insurance violations, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, or any violation that results in injury or death. Here’s a few specific things we think you should know:Īs the law currently stands, the Michigan Secretary of State should no longer suspend your driver’s license because you were issued traffic tickets for many types of lower level traffic offenses or because you missed a court date in these types of cases. On October 1, 2021, the law changed and the Michigan Secretary of State (SOS) lifted driver’s license suspensions for certain driving law violations ( website link). DISCLAIMER- THIS IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND CANNOT BE VIEWED AS LEGAL ADVICE