A Detroit expungement fair is a free, one-day event where volunteer attorneys screen your Michigan criminal record, prepare your Application to Set Aside Conviction, and take the fingerprints you need to file — all in a single visit. The events are run by Detroit’s Project Clean Slate program, the Michigan Attorney General’s office, legal aid groups, and community partners. If you come prepared with the right documents, you can walk in with an unresolved record and walk out with a completed petition ready for the court.
What to Bring
Arriving prepared is the single biggest factor in whether you leave with a filed application. Without the right documents, the attorneys can advise you but can’t file anything.
- A government-issued photo ID: Michigan driver’s license, state ID, or passport. Staff verify identity before any legal work begins.
- Your criminal history report. Run a search through ICHAT, the Michigan State Police’s online criminal history tool, or request certified records from the court where you were convicted. The report gives attorneys the case numbers, conviction dates, and statute citations they need for the petition.
- Court information: the name and location of the court that handled each conviction, and ideally the sentencing judge’s name. This speeds the paperwork noticeably.
- A check or money order payable to the State of Michigan. The Michigan State Police charges a processing fee for the fingerprint background check, and some fairs cover it while others don’t.1State of Michigan. Search, Expunge, Modify, or Update Criminal History Records
The main form you’ll complete at the fair is the Application to Set Aside Conviction, Form MC 227, published by the State Court Administrative Office.2Michigan Courts. State Court Administrative Office – Form MC 227 Application to Set Aside Conviction(s) You don’t need to fill it out ahead of time — volunteers will walk you through it — but reviewing a blank copy helps you spot information gaps.
One thing most people don’t think about: get a certified copy of your conviction records before the expungement goes through. Once a court sets aside a conviction, that record becomes harder to access. If you later need proof of what happened for a professional license, immigration petition, or security clearance, having a certified copy on hand saves you from filing formal requests to unseal records.
What to Expect at the Fair
Fairs use a station-based flow designed to move hundreds of people through in one day.
You check in at registration, where staff confirm your ID and criminal history records. From there you move to screening, where legal volunteers review your record against Michigan’s eligibility rules — checking conviction types, waiting periods, and whether any disqualifying offenses are present. This is where some people learn they don’t yet qualify, and the attorneys will explain exactly why and when they will.
If you clear screening, you go to fingerprinting. Michigan requires a fingerprint-based background check through the Michigan State Police for every expungement application.3State of Michigan. Attorney General – Expungement Assistance Many fairs have MSP personnel or live-scan equipment on site so this takes minutes rather than a separate trip.
The last stop is a one-on-one with an attorney who reviews your completed MC 227 for accuracy, explains the court hearing process, and either collects your application package for filing or gives you clear instructions on where and how to submit it. Most people are in and out within a few hours, though wait times depend on turnout.
Do You Qualify
Michigan law lets you petition to have up to three felony convictions set aside, with no cap on the number of misdemeanors cleared in the same petition. Two important limits narrow that: you can never have more than two assaultive-crime convictions set aside in your lifetime, and only one felony conviction for the same offense can be cleared if that offense carries more than ten years in prison.4Michigan Legislature. MCL 780-621
Waiting periods must run first. A single felony generally requires five years after you finish your sentence or supervision. Multiple felonies require seven years. Most misdemeanors become eligible after three years. The clock runs from the later of sentencing or completion of any prison term or parole.
Some convictions can never be cleared: felonies carrying a maximum of life in prison, most sexual offenses involving minors, traffic offenses causing injury or death, human trafficking and terrorism offenses, and a felony domestic violence conviction where you already have a prior misdemeanor domestic violence conviction on your record.5Michigan Legislature. MCL 780-621c First-offense OWI became eligible in February 2022; you can petition to set aside one OWI in your lifetime, five years after probation ends, if it doesn’t involve a crash with injuries.6Michigan Legal Help. What Convictions Can You Expunge (Set Aside) with an Application?
If you fall short of eligibility by a few months, it’s still worth attending. The attorneys can tell you exactly when your window opens and what to prepare in the meantime.
Check Automatic Set-Aside First
Before you attend a fair, check whether Michigan has already cleared some of your convictions automatically. Since April 2023, the Michigan State Police have been running an automatic set-aside program that clears eligible records without any application. The waiting periods are longer than for a petition: seven years after sentencing for misdemeanors, and ten years after sentencing or release from MDOC custody for up to two felonies.
The automatic program excludes a long list of offenses — assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, crimes of dishonesty, human trafficking, any offense punishable by ten or more years, offenses involving minors or vulnerable adults, all OWI convictions, and traffic offenses causing injury or death.7State of Michigan. Clean Slate You also can’t have pending charges or new convictions during the waiting period.
If a conviction doesn’t qualify for automatic clearance, you may still be able to clear it through a petition at a fair. Attorneys at the fair can pull your ICHAT record and tell you which convictions were already cleared and which still need a petition.
Costs and Fee Waivers
The legal help at the fairs is free. Government processing fees are not always covered. The Michigan State Police charges for the fingerprint background check that accompanies every petition, and individual courts may charge a filing fee when you submit the petition.
If cost is a barrier, Michigan courts allow you to request a fee waiver using Form MC 20. The court will grant it if your household income falls below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, or if paying the fees would create financial hardship even at higher income.8Michigan Courts. Fee Waiver Request Many fair attorneys can prepare the fee waiver at the same time they prepare your petition. Don’t let money stop you from showing up.
After the Fair
Leaving with a completed application does not mean your record is cleared. The petition still has to move through the court. The Michigan Attorney General’s office estimates the process can take up to eight months from filing to final order.3State of Michigan. Attorney General – Expungement Assistance MSP has to complete the criminal history report, the prosecuting attorney’s office reviews and can object, and the court then schedules a hearing where a judge decides whether to grant or deny the set-aside.
If the judge grants the petition, the conviction is removed from your public criminal record, and you can legally answer “no” when most employers ask whether you’ve been convicted of a crime. Databases take time to update, so follow up to confirm your ICHAT record reflects the change.
What Expungement Won’t Fix
A Michigan expungement is powerful but has blind spots. A fair is not the right forum for any of these questions on its own.
Immigration Applications
If you are not a U.S. citizen, read this carefully. USCIS treats expungement as a state process that does not bind federal immigration decisions. An immigration officer may require you to submit evidence of a conviction whether or not the record has been expunged, and it remains your responsibility to obtain those records even after sealing.9USCIS. Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors USCIS runs its own FBI fingerprint check, so failing to disclose an expunged conviction on a naturalization or visa application creates a credibility problem on top of the original conviction. Talk to an immigration attorney before filing an expungement petition.
Federal Background Checks
State expungement clears your Michigan State Police record but does not automatically remove the conviction from FBI databases. Federal agencies, immigration authorities, and employers with federal security requirements run checks that go beyond state records. Some private background check companies may continue showing a conviction even after a state court has set it aside.
Firearm Rights
Federal law says an expunged conviction does not count as a disqualifying conviction for firearm possession, but only if the state expungement restores civil rights and does not expressly prohibit firearms.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 If your Michigan order or state law still bars you from having guns, the federal prohibition stays in place. A general expungement fair may not cover firearms eligibility in detail; get specific legal advice.
Professional Licensing
Some licensing boards, particularly in healthcare and law enforcement, run fingerprint checks that may reveal set-aside convictions. Whether you must disclose an expunged record on a licensing application varies by profession. The safer approach is to assume the board may discover the record and plan disclosure accordingly, because being caught concealing a conviction is almost always worse for your application than disclosing it.
How to Find a Detroit Expungement Fair
Detroit’s main year-round program is Project Clean Slate, run through the Mayor’s Office. You can register online, call (313) 237-3024, or email projectcleanslate@detroitmi.gov to get started.11City of Detroit. Project Clean Slate Project Clean Slate offers both scheduled clinics and larger fair-style events throughout the year.
The Michigan Attorney General’s office runs expungement events across the state, including in Detroit, and posts scheduling details on its website.3State of Michigan. Attorney General – Expungement Assistance Safe & Just Michigan maintains an event calendar listing upcoming fairs; as of mid-2026 it shows a Detroit expungement event scheduled for June 27, 2026 at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.12Safe & Just Michigan. Events Lakeshore Legal Aid runs regular expungement clinics in the metro Detroit area, though those typically require pre-registration.
Fairs fill up. If an event requires pre-registration, sign up as soon as slots open. Even if walk-ins are accepted, arriving early gives you the best chance of getting through every station before the attorneys leave for the day.