Michigan Expungement and Background Checks: What Still Shows After a Set-Aside

What a Set-Aside Does to Your Record

After a Michigan set-aside — whether automatic through Clean Slate or by court order — the conviction becomes nonpublic in the MSP criminal history database. It no longer appears on a standard ICHAT name search. Under MCL 780.622, the individual can generally deny having a criminal record for that offense, subject to statutory exceptions.

On paper, the conviction is invisible to the general public. In practice, the story is more complicated.

The Private Database Lag

Private background check companies — Checkr, Sterling, HireRight, BackgroundChecks.com — may use court records, data brokers, public filings, or other sources, and their records do not necessarily update when the MSP record changes.

A conviction can be successfully set aside in the MSP system and still appear on a commercial screening report. The product research does not indicate that screening companies automatically receive set-aside updates. Disputing an inaccurate report is one way to ask a company to investigate and update its records.

MCL 780.623(6) provides that an entity is not liable under that section for reporting a conviction that was public on the report date. A set-aside alone therefore does not establish that a private report is inaccurate or guarantee that the entry will be removed.

The market research identifies outdated private reports as a recurring problem. A person can receive a court order and still find an older conviction on an employer's screening report.

How to Dispute Under the FCRA

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives individuals the right to dispute inaccurate information on any consumer report, including criminal background checks. The process:

1. Get a copy of the report. If an employment decision is based on a consumer report, request the applicable FCRA notices and a copy of the report.

2. Send a written dispute. Mail a certified copy of the court order granting the set-aside, a copy of your government-issued ID, and a formal dispute letter to the screening company. Specify the conviction that was set aside and request its removal.

3. Wait for the investigation. Under the FCRA, the company generally has 30 days to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation. It may take up to 15 additional days if you provide relevant information during the first 30 days. If the information is found inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, the company must correct or delete it.

4. Follow up. If the company does not complete the required reinvestigation or correct or delete information found inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Ask a consumer-law attorney about remedies for a specific FCRA violation.

Send disputes to every screening company that has reported the sealed conviction. Major providers include Checkr, Sterling, HireRight, IntelliCorp, and First Advantage. If the employer names the screening company in their adverse action notice, start there.

The Local Court Problem

Michigan's Clean Slate system updates the MSP record, but a local court's public docket may not reflect the set-aside at the same time. A conviction may disappear from ICHAT while remaining visible on a county court website.

Screening companies that search county court records directly may still find it. After a set-aside, verify that the local court clerk has updated the case status. If the conviction still shows as active on the court's website, contact the clerk with a copy of the set-aside order and request an update.

Who Still Has Access

Even after a set-aside and successful background check disputes, MCL 780.623 allows access to the nonpublic record only for listed entities and purposes, including:

• Courts, judicial-branch agencies, the Department of Corrections, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, the Attorney General, and the Governor, for purposes listed in the statute
• Federal immigration law may still treat a state set-aside as a conviction; the research does not establish those agencies' access to the nonpublic state file
• Federal firearm consequences are separate; the research does not establish the ATF's general access to the nonpublic state file

Standard employers running standard commercial background checks should not see a nonpublic set-aside record in the state database. MCL 780.623 includes judicial-branch licensing functions, not a general grant of access to all state licensing boards; check any separate authority for the specific position.

The Michigan Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes pre-formatted dispute letter templates for major screening companies, a step-by-step FCRA dispute walkthrough, and the verification process for confirming both MSP and local court records are updated.

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