Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4706 (2026)

Return of personal property to owner; discharge of lien against real property or motor vehicle; time limitation.

✓ current as of July 2026

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REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961

Act 236 of 1961

600.4706 Return of personal property to owner; discharge of lien against real property or motor vehicle; time limitation.

Sec. 4706.

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, personal property seized under section 4703 shall be returned to the owner, or a lien filed against real property under section 4703 or against a motor vehicle under section 4705 shall be discharged, within 7 days after the occurrence of any of the following:

(a) A warrant is not issued against a person for the commission of a crime within 28 days after the property is seized or, if the property is real property, within 28 days after the lien is filed.

(b) All charges against the consenting legal owner relating to the commission of a crime are dismissed.

(d) In the case of multiple defendants, all persons charged with committing a crime are acquitted of the crime.

(e) Entry of a court order under this chapter for the return of the property or the discharge of the lien.

(2) Before the expiration of period of time prescribed under section (1)(a), the prosecuting attorney, attorney general, or the city or township attorney of the local unit of government where the property is seized or located may petition the court ex parte for not more than an additional 28 days to complete its investigation and issue charges or return the property. The court shall grant an extension under this subsection to the extent necessary upon determining that there is good cause shown for the extension.

History: Add. 1988, Act 104, Eff. June 1, 1988 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 333, Eff. Jan. 14, 2015

Compiler's Notes:

In subsection (2), the reference to "section (1)(a)" evidently should be a reference to "subsection (1)(a)."

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1995–2023 · leading case: In Re Return of Forfeited Goods, 550 N.W.2d 782 (Mich. 1996).

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In Re Return of Forfeited Goods, 550 N.W.2d 782 (Mich. 1996). “After the trial court granted the prosecutor's motion to dismiss, counsel for defendant moved "for the return of the property seized pursuant to the statute MCLA 600.4706 [M.S.A. *784 § 27A.4706]." [5] The prosecutor replied that "[a]ny property that is not clearly contraband or…”

20230221_C358981_45_358981.Opn.Pdf (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 6× “Plaintiff then filed a complaint in the Court of Claims, asserting that defendants had improperly retained his property beyond what was allowed under MCL 600.4706, and had violated his civil rights under 42 USC 1983.”

People v. Mierzejewski, 528 N.W.2d 852 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 2× “Bates: Your Honor, with regard to the dismissal we would like to make a motion for the return of the property seized pursuant to the statute MCLA 600.4706. Mr. Morris: Any property that is not clearly contraband or drug paraphernalia will be returned.”

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.