Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.18513 (2026)

Confidentiality of communication.

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

PUBLIC HEALTH CODE

Act 368 of 1978

333.18513 Confidentiality of communication.

Sec. 18513.

(1) An individual registered or licensed under this part or an employee or officer of an organization that employs the registrant or licensee is not required to disclose a communication or a portion of a communication made by a client to the individual or advice given in the course of professional employment.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a communication between a registrant or licensee or an organization with which the registrant or licensee has an agency relationship and a client is a confidential communication. A confidential communication shall not be disclosed, except under either or both of the following circumstances:

(a) The disclosure is part of a required supervisory process within the organization that employs or otherwise has an agency relationship with the registrant or licensee.

(b) The privilege is waived by the client or a person authorized to act in the client's behalf.

(3) If requested by the court for a court action, a registrant or licensee shall submit to an appropriate court a written evaluation of the prospect or prognosis of a particular client without disclosing a privileged fact or a privileged communication. An attorney representing a client who is the subject of an evaluation described in this subsection has the right to receive a copy of the evaluation. If required for the exercise of a public purpose by a legislative committee, a registrant or licensee or agency representative may make available statistical and program information without violating the privilege established under subsection (2).

(4) A registrant or licensee may disclose a communication or a portion of a communication made by a client pursuant to section 946 of the mental health code, 1974 PA 258, MCL 330.1946, in order to comply with the duty set forth in that section.

History: Add. 2000, Act 11, Imd. Eff. Mar. 7, 2000 ;-- Am. 2004, Act 61, Eff. July 1, 2005

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2007–2023 · leading case: People v. Carrier, 867 N.W.2d 463 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

People v. Carrier, 867 N.W.2d 463 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “The relevancy of Ginther’s “limited license” to our privilege issue is revealed in MCL 333.18513, which, amongst other licensed social workers, covers limited licensed bachelor’s social workers, and which provides: (1) An individual registered or licensed under this part [Part…”

Anna Maday v. Pub. Libraries of Saginaw, 480 F.3d 815 (6th Cir. 2007). “See Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.18513 . However, a party waives that privilege when he or she raises a claim seeking to recover damages for emotional distress.”

Jilek v. Stockson, 796 N.W.2d 267 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010). “2156; spousal testimony and communications, MCL 600.2162; journalistic sources, MCL 767.5a; physician-patient communications, MCL 600.”

People of Michigan v. James Edward Garlinger (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “Plaintiff nonetheless acknowledges that defendant’s statement was privileged under MCL 333.18513, which applies to communications with licensed social workers.”

People of Michigan v. Douglas Carl Richards (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “18117; MCL 333.18513. -4- that records protected by privilege are likely to contain material information necessary to the defense, the trial court shall conduct an in camera inspection of the records.”

Maday v. Pub Lib Saginaw (6th Cir. 2007). “See Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.18513 . However, a party waives that privilege when he or she raises a claim seeking to recover damages for emotional distress.”

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.