# Michigan enacts 'Clean Slate' automatic expungement law (2020)

Date: 2020

In October 2020 Michigan Governor [Gretchen Whitmer](/people/gretchen-whitmer) signed a bipartisan 'Clean Slate' package that automatically expunges many misdemeanor and felony records after set crime-free periods, without requiring people to file petitions. Misdemeanors are cleared after seven years and eligible felonies after ten. When automatic processing began in April 2023, more than 1.5 million records were cleared, helping people with old convictions access jobs and housing. Michigan followed Pennsylvania and Utah but adopted what advocates called the broadest version to date.

## Drivers

- Supranational rule-of-law accountability pressure: https://factrail.ai/drivers/justice-supranational-accountability-pressure

## Sources

_Sources are listed on the canonical page._

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/justice-fact-michigan-clean-slate-2020