A do not resuscitate order in Michigan tells paramedics and other emergency responders not to perform CPR if your heart stops or you stop breathing outside a hospital. To be honored, the order has to be written on the statutory form, signed by you, co-signed by your attending physician, and witnessed. You also need to wear the DNR identification bracelet so responders can find the order in a crisis. The governing law is the Do-Not-Resuscitate Procedure Act, Public Act 193 of 1996.
One boundary to know up front: this order applies outside hospital settings. Inside a hospital, resuscitation decisions run through the facility’s own orders and your treatment plan, not the out-of-hospital DNR form.
What Makes a Michigan DNR Order Valid
The execution rules live in MCL 333.1053 and MCL 333.1054. Four things have to line up:
- The order is written on a form that matches the statutory language in MCL 333.1054, including a statement confirming compliance with the Michigan Do-Not-Resuscitate Procedure Act.
- You (the “declarant”) sign it.
- Your attending physician co-signs it.
- A witness signs it. The statutory template has one witness signature line.
You must be mentally capable of making healthcare decisions at the time you sign. Once the order is complete, keep a copy where it can be found quickly, get the identification bracelet, and expect a copy to be placed in your permanent medical record.
The DNR Identification Bracelet
The bracelet is how first responders know the order exists. Michigan law requires it to show:
- The words “DO-NOT-RESUSCITATE ORDER,” in a type size and style as easily readable as the bracelet allows.
- Your name and address.
- The name and telephone number of your attending physician, if any.
Putting a DNR bracelet on a person who does not actually have a valid DNR order is a crime. Under MCL 333.1057, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 333.1057 – Identification Bracelet
When the Declarant Can’t Sign Personally
Michigan has separate provisions for two situations:
- Court-appointed guardian for an incapacitated adult. MCL 333.1053a lets a guardian execute a DNR on behalf of a ward. This is not the same as a patient advocate under MCL 700.5506; a patient advocate’s authority over end-of-life decisions depends on the powers written into the designation, so read that document before assuming it covers a DNR.
- Parent of a minor child. MCL 333.1053b lets a parent execute a DNR on behalf of a minor. The form, signature, and witness requirements mirror the adult process but are tailored to the parent-child relationship.
A separate track under MCL 333.1055 exists for individuals who rely on spiritual means through prayer for healing, with its own form and process.
How to Revoke a DNR Order
You can revoke a DNR order at any time, by any method that conveys the intent to revoke. Speech, writing, or any other communication that makes your wishes known counts. Revocation takes effect the moment it is communicated to an attending physician, a peace officer, or emergency medical personnel.
Once revocation is communicated, the law requires specific follow-through:
- For an oral revocation, the person receiving it must confirm to you that the order is revoked and record the time, date, place, and identity of the person revoking in the medical record.
- For a written revocation, the same time, date, place, and identity entry has to go in the medical record.
- If the person receiving the revocation has the DNR form or the bracelet, they must destroy it.
Destroying the bracelet is the part people miss. Responders who arrive and see a DNR bracelet will honor it. If you changed your mind but the bracelet is still on your wrist and nothing was charted, the revocation may not save you.
A physician, peace officer, or emergency medical worker who is told about a revocation and fails to act on it is not liable for damages unless the failure resulted from gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Do-Not-Resuscitate Procedure Act – Revocation of Order
What a DNR Order Does Not Cover
A DNR order is narrow. It addresses only whether CPR should be performed when breathing or heartbeat stops. It says nothing about ventilators, feeding tubes, pain management, or other treatment questions. Two other Michigan tools handle those decisions.
MI-POST
The Michigan Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment form, created under Public Act 154 of 2017, is an optional one-page, two-sided medical order covering CPR, critical care interventions, and other treatment preferences. MI-POST is intended for people with serious advanced illness or frailty and is signed by both the patient (or their representative) and a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.3Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. MI-POST
Unlike a general advance directive, MI-POST is a portable medical order that emergency personnel will honor in the field. If a health professional has actual notice of both a valid DNR order and a valid MI-POST, MCL 333.1061a directs them to comply with the most recently executed document.
Advance Directive and Patient Advocate Designation
A patient advocate designation under MCL 700.5506 lets you name someone to make healthcare decisions if you cannot. It requires two witnesses and only becomes active when you are unable to participate in treatment decisions. It can exist alongside a DNR order; they do different work. The DNR is a direct instruction to responders in an emergency. The patient advocate designation guides longer-term care once you are under a physician’s supervision.
If a Valid DNR Order Is Ignored
When emergency personnel or a facility perform CPR on someone with a valid DNR order, the patient’s family or legal representatives may have grounds to sue. Claims commonly raised include:
- Medical negligence, for failing to check or follow the order.
- Battery, on the theory that CPR against a documented wish is unconsented medical contact.
- Breach of contract, where a patient had a written end-of-life agreement with a facility.
- Violation of patient rights under state or federal autonomy and informed consent protections.
Damages sought in these cases can include the patient’s physical pain from unwanted resuscitation, medical expenses for treatment the patient did not want, the patient’s emotional distress, and emotional trauma to family members who witnessed the interventions. The cases are hard to litigate because they require courts to weigh additional life against the patient’s expressed wish to forgo it.
The practical takeaway for anyone signing a DNR in Michigan is upstream of that lawsuit: get the form right, get the bracelet on, and if you ever change your mind, revoke it out loud to a provider and destroy the bracelet the same day.