Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 257 / Act 300 of 1949
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.204a (2026)

Central file of individual driving records; certified copies as evidence; electronic certification; use of computer-generated certified information; persons who may receive information contained in records maintained by secretary of state.

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

MICHIGAN VEHICLE CODE


Act 300 of 1949


257.204a Central file of individual driving records; certified copies as evidence; electronic certification; use of computer-generated certified information; persons who may receive information contained in records maintained by secretary of state.

Sec. 204a.

    (1) The secretary of state shall create and maintain a computerized central file that provides an individual historical driving record for a natural person with respect to all of the following:

    (a) A license issued to the individual under chapter III.

    (b) A conviction, civil infraction determination, or other licensing action that is entered against the individual for a violation of this act or a local ordinance that substantially corresponds to a provision of this act, or that is reported to the secretary of state by another jurisdiction.

    (c) A failure of the individual, including a nonresident, to comply with a suspension issued under section 321a.

    (d) A cancellation, denial, revocation, suspension, or restriction of the individual's operating privilege, or other licensing action regarding that individual, under this act or that is reported to the secretary of state by another jurisdiction. This subdivision also applies to nonresidents.

    (e) An accident in which the individual is involved.

    (f) Any driving record requested and received by the secretary of state under section 307.

    (g) Any notice given by the secretary of state and the information provided in that notice under section 317(2) or (3).

    (h) Any other information received by the secretary of state regarding the individual that is required to be maintained as part of the individual's driving record as provided by law.

    (2) A secretary of state certified computer-generated or paper copy of an order, record, or paper maintained in the computerized central file of the secretary of state is admissible in evidence in the same manner as the original and is prima facie proof of the contents of and the facts stated in the original.

    (3) An order, record, or paper generated by the computerized central file of the secretary of state may be certified electronically by the generating computer. The certification must be a certification of the order, record, or paper as it appeared on a specific date.

    (4) A court or the office of the clerk of a court of this state that is electronically connected by a terminal device to the computerized central file of the secretary of state may receive into and use as evidence in any case the computer-generated certified information obtained by the terminal device from the file. A duly authorized employee of a court of record of this state may order a record for an individual from a secretary of state computer terminal device located in, and under the control of, the court, and certify in writing that the document was produced from the terminal and that the document was not altered in any way.

    (5) After receiving a request for information contained in records maintained under this section, the secretary of state shall provide the information, in a form prescribed by the secretary of state, to any of the following:

    (a) Another state.

    (b) The United States Secretary of Transportation.

    (c) The individual who is the subject of the record.

    (d) A motor carrier employer or prospective motor carrier employer, but only if the individual who is the subject of the record is first notified of the request as prescribed by the secretary of state.

    (e) An authorized agent of an individual or entity listed in subdivisions (a) to (d).

    

    

History: Add. 1953, Act 215, Eff. Oct. 2, 1953 ;-- Am. 1968, Act 278, Imd. Eff. July 1, 1968 ;-- Am. 1978, Act 510, Eff. Aug. 1, 1979 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 359, Eff. Sept. 1, 1994 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 102, Imd. Eff. Mar. 5, 1996 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 346, Eff. Oct. 1, 1999 ;-- Am. 1999, Act 73, Eff. Oct. 1, 1999 ;-- Am. 2004, Act 362, Imd. Eff. Oct. 4, 2004 ;-- Am. 2016, Act 332, Imd. Eff. Dec. 9, 2016 ;-- Am. 2020, Act 376, Eff. Oct. 1, 2021 ;-- Am. 2024, Act 113, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1964–2022 · leading case: People v. Nunley, 819 N.W.2d 8 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Nunley, 819 N.W.2d 8 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 8× “Careful review of MCL 257.204a reveals that it does not require creation of the certificates or maintenance of the certificates in the Secretary of State’s records.”
Tortora v. Gen. Motors Corp., 130 N.W.2d 21 (Mich. 1964). · cites it 6× “Plaintiff's proof of the alleged unfitness of Boike, for entrustment with an automobile to be driven on public ways, disclosed these facts: From the time the secretary of State commenced (after the effective date of PA 1953, No 215, § 204a [CLS 1961, § 257.204a, Stat Ann 1960…”
Tobin v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 331 N.W.2d 184 (Mich. 1982). “13 For availability of driver’s license information, including record of traffic offenses and the duty to notify of address changes, see MCL 257.204a; MSA 9.1904(1), MCL 257.208; MSA 9.”
Kestenbaum v. Michigan State Univ., 327 N.W.2d 783 (Mich. 1982). “” 18 For availability of driver’s license information, including record of traffic offenses and the duty to notify of address changes, see MCL 257.204a; MSA 9.1904(1), MCL 257.208; MSA 9.”
Tyus v. Booth, 235 N.W.2d 69 (Mich. Ct. App. 1975). · cites it 2× “But the record shows no proof of such knowledge, and no proof from which the jury might with propriety have inferred that the employer became possessed of such knowledge prior to the date of Mr.”
Emilee Kathryn Buckmaster v. Dep't of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2019). “MCL 257.204a. Those records, unless confidential or restricted by law from disclosure, must be available to the public as set forth in the MVC, the FOIA, or other applicable laws.”
Chad Morrow v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2022). “625f] or the driving record created under [MCL 257.204a] for a statutory legal issue, and may determine that the petitioner is eligible for full driving privileges or, if the petitioner is subject to a revocation under [MCL 257.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.204a(1) — 1 case
People v. Nunley, 819 N.W.2d 8 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011). “Careful review of MCL 257.204a reveals that it does not require creation of the certificates or maintenance of the certificates in the Secretary of State’s records.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.204a(1)(h) — 1 case
People v. Nunley, 819 N.W.2d 8 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011). “Careful review of MCL 257.204a reveals that it does not require creation of the certificates or maintenance of the certificates in the Secretary of State’s records.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.204a(l) — 1 case
People v. Nunley, 819 N.W.2d 8 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011). “Careful review of MCL 257.204a reveals that it does not require creation of the certificates or maintenance of the certificates in the Secretary of State’s records.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.