Michigan judgment expiration is the question behind “how long is a judgment good for in Michigan”: a money judgment entered by a Michigan court is enforceable for a fixed number of years, it can be renewed if the creditor acts inside the window, and it earns interest the whole time.
This guide gives the Michigan figures in a dated table, explains what “dormant” means, how a creditor renews or revives a judgment, how the judgment becomes a lien on real property, what each side can do while it is alive, and how a paid judgment is cleared.
The Michigan judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Michigan statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Michigan Judgment Expiration at a Glance
| Enforceable for | 10 years from rendition |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Renewal window | any time within 10 years of rendition (6 years for a judgment of a court not of record, including small-claims division judgments) |
| Post-judgment interest | set every 6 months by the State Treasurer: 1 percent plus the average rate at auctions of 5-year U.S. |
| Statute | MCL 600.5809(3) (10-year limitation on actions on a judgment); 600.6013 (judgment interest) |
In This Michigan Judgment Expiration Guide:
What a Money Judgment Is Before the Michigan Judgment Expiration Clock Starts
A money judgment is a court’s final order that one party owes another a set amount of money. In Michigan these are entered by circuit courts, district courts (including the small-claims division) and municipal courts. The judgment itself is a personal debt order. A judgment lien is separate: it attaches to real estate only after a notice of judgment lien is recorded with the county register of deeds (MCL 600.2803).
The Michigan Judgment Expiration Figures
The Michigan Judgment Expiration figures in the table above apply to this part as well.
| Rule | Bonus Bank Daily verified figure |
|---|---|
| Statute | MCL 600.5809(3) (10-year limitation on actions on a judgment); 600.6013 (judgment interest)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Enforceable for | 10 yearsstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Clock runs from | renditionstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewable | Yesstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| How it is renewed or kept alive | within the 10 years, an action may be brought on the judgment, and the new judgment carries its own 10-year period (600.5809(3)); there is no renewal affidavit — the ‘renewal’ is a new lawsuit on the old judgmentstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewal window | any time within 10 years of rendition (6 years for a judgment of a court not of record, including small-claims division judgments)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Post-judgment interest | set every 6 months by the State Treasurer: 1 percent plus the average rate at auctions of 5-year U.S. Treasury notes for the preceding 6 months, compounded annually, running from the date the complaint was filed (600.6013(8)); a judgment on a written instrument with a stated rate bears that rate up to 13 percent (600.6013(7))statute — verified Oct 2026 |
The Michigan judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Michigan statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Is there a judgment against you, or one you need to collect?
The renewal window and the exemption deadlines in Michigan are short and they do not wait. A Michigan debt defense or collections attorney can read the docket and tell you where you stand, usually in a free first consultation. Every state bar runs a lawyer-referral service that sets up a low-cost first consultation; legal aid represents many people in debt cases at no cost.
What Michigan Judgment Expiration Actually Means
This part of the Michigan Judgment Expiration guide uses the same sources listed at the end of the page.
Once the enforcement period ends, the judgment expires. Michigan Legal Help says the creditor then loses the legal right to collect it through the court, so garnishments, seizure orders and creditor examinations can no longer be used on it. In most cases the underlying debt is not erased by the expiration. It simply can no longer be enforced through that judgment.
Renewal and Revival Under the Michigan Judgment Expiration Rule
Check each Michigan Judgment Expiration point here against your own court papers before you act.
1) Before the judgment expires, the creditor files an Ex Parte Motion and Order to Renew Civil Judgment (SCAO form MC 390). It lists the judgment amount, the last payment received and the debtor’s military status. 2) The motion is filed in the same court that entered the judgment. 3) Because the motion is ex parte, the debtor is generally not notified before the court rules.
4) Courts generally grant it without a hearing, and the renewed judgment is entered. Confirm the current form and local practice with the court clerk.
The Judgment Lien in Michigan
If your paperwork differs from this Michigan Judgment Expiration summary, the court record controls.
The creditor gets a Notice of Judgment Lien (form MC 94) certified by the clerk of the court that entered the judgment, then records it with the register of deeds in each county where the debtor owns property (MCL 600.2803, 600.2805). The lien expires 5 years after recording, or sooner if the judgment expires first. It may be rerecorded only once, at least 120 days before it expires (MCL 600.2809).
It attaches to property the debtor acquires later in that county at the moment the debtor acquires it.
Interest on a Michigan Judgment
Interest is figured on the judgment balance under MCL 600.6013, and the statutory rate is recalculated on January 1 and July 1 of each year. The Michigan Department of Treasury publishes each certified rate on its “Interest Rates for Money Judgments” page (michigan.gov/taxes/interest-rates-for-money-judgments). Courts and creditors use that table to compute the amount owed, and the court clerk can confirm which rate periods apply to a case.
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What a Creditor Can Do While the Michigan Judgment Is Alive
Bank levy: a one-time “nonperiodic garnishment” of a bank account, requested on form MC 13. Wage garnishment: a “periodic garnishment” of ongoing wages, requested on form MC 12; a state tax refund can be garnished on form MC 52. Property execution: a “Request and Order to Seize Property” (form MC 19) tells a court officer to seize certain non-exempt property.
Debtor examination: a “creditor’s examination” or discovery subpoena (form MC 11) requires the debtor to appear and answer questions about income and assets. Michigan Legal Help says each of these generally cannot start until 21 days after the judgment is signed.
What a Debtor Can Do Before the Michigan Judgment Expiration
Claim exemptions: you may file Objections to Garnishment (form MC 49) within 14 days of getting notice, for example if the money is exempt (such as Social Security or SSI) or the judgment is paid. Installment payments: a debtor whose only income is wages may ask for an order to pay in installments (Motion for Installment Payments, form MC 15).
Pay or settle: payment can be made to the court clerk, or the parties may agree to a satisfaction. Vacate a default: you may file a Motion and Affidavit to Set Aside Default, which requires good cause and a meritorious defense (MCR 2.603).
Out-of-State Judgments in Michigan
The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (MCL 691.1171 et seq.) lets the creditor file an authenticated copy of the out-of-state judgment with a Michigan circuit, district or municipal court clerk, along with an Affidavit and Notice of Entry of Foreign Judgment (form MC 62) that is mailed to the debtor.
Once filed, it has the same effect as a Michigan judgment, and the debtor may ask the court to stay enforcement. MCL 600.5809(3) sets the same limitation period for actions on judgments from other states’ courts of record.
Clearing a Paid Michigan Judgment
Under MCR 2.620 a judgment is marked satisfied in one of three ways: the creditor or their attorney files a signed, acknowledged satisfaction; the debtor pays the judgment, interest and costs to the clerk; or the court orders satisfaction on a motion after hearing proofs. The SCAO form is the Certificate of Satisfied Judgment (MC 17). The court rule sets no filing deadline.
If a judgment lien was recorded, a certified satisfaction or discharge recorded with the register of deeds ends the lien (MCL 600.2809(6)).
Child-support orders enforceable under the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act follow a different clock. Their limitation period runs from the date the last support payment is due under the order, whether or not that payment is made (MCL 600.5809(4)). Judgment liens on real estate are not paused by a bankruptcy or insolvency filing (MCL 600.2809(5)).
Next rung: what a creditor can take from a bank account, and what is protected, is the next question — the Michigan bank-levy page joins this guide when that cluster is live; until then, the CFPB debt-collection page in the sources below is the place to read.
Michigan — the bottom line
- Michigan judgment expiration runs on a fixed clock from the date in the table above; when it passes, the creditor’s court tools stop unless the judgment was renewed in time.
- Renewal under the Michigan judgment expiration rule is the creditor’s job, on the window in the table; a judgment nobody renewed is the one a debtor can finally stop paying on.
- Interest keeps running until the judgment is paid or the Michigan judgment expiration date arrives — the rate and who publishes it are in the table.
Michigan Judgment Expiration FAQ
How long is a judgment good for in Michigan?
A Michigan money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from rendition, and it can be renewed. Once the enforcement period ends, the judgment expires.
Can a judgment be renewed in Michigan?
within the 10 years, an action may be brought on the judgment, and the new judgment carries its own 10-year period (600.5809(3)); there is no renewal affidavit — the ‘renewal’ is a new lawsuit on the old judgment
Does a Michigan judgment expiration mean the debt is gone?
Once the enforcement period ends, the judgment expires. Michigan Legal Help says the creditor then loses the legal right to collect it through the court, so garnishments, seizure orders and creditor examinations can no longer be used on it.
What interest does a Michigan judgment earn?
set every 6 months by the State Treasurer: 1 percent plus the average rate at auctions of 5-year U.S.
Official Michigan Sources & Resources
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5809
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-6013
- Michigan statute / opinion: https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/MCL-600-5809.pdf
- Michigan Legal Help – Collecting Your Judgment: https://michiganlegalhelp.org/node/2418
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: consumerfinance.gov
- CFPB — Debt collection: know your rights: consumerfinance.gov
This Michigan judgment expiration guide was last verified against official Michigan sources in October 2026. Rules change — confirm the current rule with the statute or a licensed attorney.
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Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Bonus Bank Daily is an independent educational resource — not a law firm, not a bank, not a debt collector and not a government agency. Judgment, levy, interest-rate and debt rules change — every figure here carries the date we verified it.
Confirm the current rule with the statute, the court clerk or a licensed attorney in your state before you act.