This section covers Michigan firearm rules that do not fit neatly under permits, places, or use of force, but that come up often enough in CCW classes...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
This section covers Michigan firearm rules that do not fit neatly under permits, places, or use of force, but that come up often enough in CCW classes and in the field that you need to know them. Each topic gives the bottom-line answer first, then the statute, then the nuance.
Pulling a trigger carelessly is a separate crime from any other firearm offense in Michigan, even if no one is hurt.
Under MCL 752.863a, any person who recklessly, heedlessly, willfully, or wantonly uses, carries, handles, or discharges a firearm without due caution and circumspection for the rights, safety, or property of others is guilty of a misdemeanor. The statute does not require an injury or property damage. The conduct itself is the offense. This section is part of the Careless, Reckless, or Negligent Use of Firearms act, 1952 PA 45 (MCL 752.861 to 752.863a), as supplemented by 1955 PA 14 and 1958 PA 15.
On top of any criminal penalty, MCL 752.864 lets the court suspend the convicted person's hunting privileges for up to 3 years from the date of conviction. That suspension power reaches a conviction for violating any provision of that same 1952 PA 45 cluster, which includes reckless discharge under MCL 752.863a, careless use causing injury or death under MCL 752.861, and careless use causing property damage under MCL 752.862. MCL 752.864 was added by 1958 PA 15.
Practical takeaway for instructors and students: a "negligent discharge" on the line, in a parking lot, or while showing off a pistol at home is not just a range-rule problem. If a prosecutor wanted to charge it, MCL 752.863a is the statute they would reach for, and a hunting suspension can ride along on top of the criminal penalty.
If you fire a gun and someone is hurt, Michigan law treats your obligations a lot like a hit-and-run statute. You have to stop, identify yourself, render aid, and report the incident. These duties come from a separate statute, the Death or Injuries From Firearms act, 1952 PA 10 (MCL 752.841 to 752.845). Do not confuse this act with the reckless-use act above. They were both passed in 1952 but they are different statutes with different penalties.
Under MCL 752.842, any person who discharges a firearm and injures or fatally wounds another person, or has reason to believe he has done so, must immediately stop at the scene, give his name and address to the injured person or any member of the injured person's party, and render immediate assistance and reasonable assistance in securing medical and hospital care and transportation.
MCL 752.843 then layers a reporting duty on top of that. If you caused or were involved in an accident in which a human being was killed or injured by a firearm, you must immediately report the injury or death to the nearest state police office, or to the sheriff of the county where it happened. If you are physically unable to make the report, you must designate an agent to file it. The sheriff is required to forward the report to the nearest state police office.
A person who violates any provision of this act is subject to the penalty in MCL 752.845: a fine of not more than $100 and costs, or up to 90 days in the county jail, or both, and the court may also suspend hunting privileges for up to 3 years.
The defined term "firearm" for these duties comes from MCL 752.841 and tracks the standard Michigan definition: any weapon that will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive.
Self-defense does not erase these duties. Even a clean defensive shooting still produces a 911 call, an interview, and a report. The statute does not give you a self-defense exemption from the stop-and-report obligation.
Michigan's concealed-weapons statute is not just about pistols. MCL 750.227(1) sweeps in daggers, dirks, stilettos, double-edged nonfolding stabbing instruments of any length, and any other dangerous weapon, except a hunting knife adapted and carried as such. Carrying any of those concealed on or about your person, or whether concealed or otherwise in any vehicle you operate or occupy, is a felony, except in your dwelling house, place of business, or on other land you possess. Carrying a pistol concealed without a license is the parallel felony in MCL 750.227(2). Either offense is punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $2,500 under MCL 750.227(3).
A separate definition statute, MCL 750.222a, narrows what counts as a "double-edged, nonfolding stabbing instrument." Under MCL 750.222a(1), a knife, tool, implement, arrowhead, or artifact manufactured from stone by means of conchoidal fracturing is not within the term. That carve-out is for flintknappers and primitive-skills practitioners, not for general carry. And per MCL 750.222a(2), the carve-out does not apply to an item being transported in a vehicle unless the item is in a container and inaccessible to the driver.
For CCW students, the practical rule: a Michigan CPL covers a concealed pistol. It does not authorize concealed carry of a fixed double-edged blade. If you carry both a pistol and a knife, the knife has to clear MCL 750.227 on its own terms.
Willfully altering, removing, or obliterating the maker's name, model, manufacturer's number, or any other identifying mark on a pistol or firearm is a felony under MCL 750.230. Penalty: up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to $1,000.
The statute also says that possession of a firearm with an altered, removed, or obliterated number (other than an antique firearm as defined in MCL 750.231a) is presumptive evidence that the possessor altered or removed it. The Michigan Supreme Court held in People v Moore, 402 Mich 538; 266 NW2d 145 (1978), that this statutory presumption is unconstitutional. The underlying offense remains. The presumption shortcut does not.
What about an owner who recovers a stolen pistol whose serial number was scrubbed by the thief? The Michigan Attorney General addressed that in AG Opinion No. 5215 (August 26, 1977). The opinion concludes that the Department of State Police may return the recovered pistol to its rightful owner after restamping the weapon with either its original serial number or a new number issued by the Department, and that the owner cannot be prosecuted under MCL 750.230 for possession of a firearm whose number was altered by another person. The opinion relies on People v Petro, 342 Mich 299; 70 NW2d 69 (1955), which read MCL 750.230 to prohibit the act of altering, not the bare fact of possession.
If you recover a stolen handgun in this posture, the path forward is a State Police restamp before you take it back into normal use. Do not just assume that a pre-Moore presumption will not be tested at the next traffic stop.
The general license-to-purchase requirement in MCL 28.422 does not apply to a signaling device that is approved by the United States Coast Guard. That carve-out is at MCL 28.432b.
In plain terms: a Coast Guard-approved marine flare gun or signaling device is not treated as a "pistol" for license-to-purchase purposes in Michigan. You do not need a Michigan License to Purchase a Pistol to buy one. Storage, transport, and use are still governed by general firearm rules and by Coast Guard regulations.
This is one of the most misunderstood statutes on the list, so read it carefully. MCL 750.237a does not turn every felony near a school into a school-zone crime, and it does not punish a CPL holder who simply carries a pistol lawfully.
MCL 750.237a(1) applies only when the defendant personally engages in conduct already proscribed by one of a fixed list of firearm and weapon offenses, committed in a weapon-free school zone. The enumerated sections are MCL 750.224, 224a, 224b, 224c, 224e, 226, 227, 227a, 227f, 234a, 234b, and 234c, plus a second or subsequent violation of section 223(2). If the defendant's own conduct is one of those offenses and it happens in a weapon-free school zone, the offense is a felony, and the court may impose up to the maximum term authorized for the underlying section, up to 150 hours of community service, and a fine of up to 3 times the maximum fine authorized for the underlying section. MCL 750.237a(2) does the same thing at the misdemeanor level for a different enumerated list of lesser firearm offenses.
That "3 times the fine" multiplier and the "up to the underlying maximum" sentence are MCL 750.237a's own grading mechanics. They are not borrowed from some separate felony that happens to occur in the zone. The statute is an enhancement on enumerated firearm offenses only.
There is also a simple-possession layer. Under MCL 750.237a(4), an individual who merely possesses a weapon in a weapon-free school zone is guilty of a misdemeanor (up to 93 days, up to 100 hours of community service, or a fine of up to $2,000). But MCL 750.237a(5) lists who is exempt from that possession offense, and the list includes a peace officer, a person providing school security, a school's firearms instructor, and, most relevant for this audience, an individual licensed by this state or another state to carry a concealed weapon. A CPL holder's pistol possession is therefore carved out of the MCL 750.237a(4) possession misdemeanor. Note that the separate prohibition on carrying a concealed pistol on school premises lives in MCL 28.425o, not here.
The bottom line for licensees: MCL 750.237a is not a generic add-on that lets a prosecutor stack a charge on a CPL holder just because something bad happened in a school zone. It bites only when the defendant personally commits one of the enumerated weapon offenses, and a person carrying lawfully under a CPL is not committing those offenses by carrying.
When a law enforcement agency seizes or otherwise comes into possession of a firearm or part of a firearm subject to disposal, MCL 750.239a gives the agency some options other than forwarding it to the State Police for destruction. Under MCL 750.239a(1), the agency may retain the firearm for either of two purposes:
Before disposing of any firearm under this section, the agency must do two things under MCL 750.239a(4):
Under MCL 750.239a(3), receipts of any sale or trade must be kept for at least 7 years and must be available for State Police inspection and government audit. MCL 750.239a(5) makes the agency immune from civil liability for disposing of a firearm in compliance with the section.
For an instructor whose student loses a firearm to a police seizure, the practical advice is to monitor the seizing agency's website and keep records that prove ownership and authorization to possess. Both 30-day windows close fast.
Effective April 2, 2025, Michigan law requires destruction of any firearm acquired by a municipality through a gun buyback program once the firearm is turned over to the Department of State Police. MCL 28.5a, added by 2024 PA 265, directs the Department to dispose of those firearms by destroying them, requires that all parts of the firearm be destroyed, and bars resale.
The statute defines "firearm" for its purposes as any weapon that will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive. There is no resale-to-FFL or law-enforcement-retention pathway for buyback guns the way there is under MCL 750.239a for general seized firearms. Buyback firearms turned over to the State Police get destroyed.
Michigan recognizes a doctrine of assumption of risk for sport shooting, codified at MCL 691.1544 (part of the Sport Shooting Ranges Act, 1989 PA 269). Each person who participates in sport shooting at a sport shooting range that conforms to generally accepted operation practices accepts the risks associated with the sport to the extent the risks are obvious and inherent. The statute lists examples: noise, discharge of a projectile or shot, malfunction of sport shooting equipment not owned by the range, natural variations in terrain, surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions, bare spots, rocks, trees, and other forms of natural growth or debris.
For instructors operating at ranges, that means a student who suffers an obvious-and-inherent shooting-sport injury has accepted that risk by participating, provided the range is operating consistent with generally accepted practices. The statute speaks to risks that are obvious and inherent to the sport. It is a backstop for ranges that operate properly, not a blanket immunity for every kind of conduct. Treat it as one defense, not a license.
A federally licensed firearms dealer in Michigan must follow MCL 28.435, which is primarily a firearm-safety-device mandate at the point of sale, not a generic recordkeeping statute. Under MCL 28.435(1), a dealer cannot sell a firearm in this state unless the sale includes either a commercially available trigger lock or other device designed to disable the firearm, or a commercially available gun case or storage container that can be secured to prevent unauthorized access. There are exceptions in MCL 28.435(2), including a sale to a police officer or police agency, a buyer who already presents a qualifying lock or case with a receipt, the sale of an antique firearm, and a transfer by a seller who is not an FFL.
The statute also requires the dealer to include a home-storage safety brochure, a written warning about safe-storage penalties, and lethal-means-counseling literature (MCL 28.435(3)), to obtain signed compliance statements and keep them for at least 6 years (MCL 28.435(4) and (5)), and to post conspicuous safe-storage notices at entrances, exits, and points of sale (MCL 28.435(6)).
A person who violates MCL 28.435 is guilty of a crime under MCL 28.435(14), with the grade increasing on each conviction:
Why this matters for instructors: when you refer a student to a dealer or run a sales clinic in your shop, the dealer's failure to include a lock or case, or to provide the required literature, is not a wrist-slap. The third strike is a felony.
Michigan flips the usual burden in firearm prosecutions when an exception is in play. Under MCL 776.20, in any prosecution for the violation of any acts of the state relative to the use, licensing, and possession of pistols or firearms, the burden of establishing any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained in the statute is on the defendant. The statute is careful to add that this does not shift the burden of proof for the violation itself.
Practical translation: the State still has to prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. But if you want to claim that you fall within a peace-officer exemption, a military-duty exemption, an antique-firearm carve-out, or any other "this rule does not apply to me" provision, the production burden is on you. Bring your CPL, your law enforcement credentials, your DD-214, your dealer's license, or whatever document supports the exemption you are invoking.
Under the William Van Regenmorter Crime Victim's Rights Act, the law enforcement agency investigating a reported crime must promptly return to the victim any property belonging to that victim which was taken in the course of the investigation. That is the rule in MCL 780.754(1) for felony and serious-misdemeanor cases, and it is mirrored at MCL 780.814(1) for the serious-misdemeanor article.
There are exceptions. The agency must not return contraband, must not return property whose ownership is disputed until the dispute is resolved, and (most relevant here) must retain as evidence any weapon used in the commission of the crime. The retain-the-weapon rule is at MCL 780.754(4) for the felony provision and at MCL 780.814(4) for the serious-misdemeanor provision. Other evidence can also be held back if the prosecuting attorney certifies a need to retain it instead of memorializing it through a photograph or other means.
For a victim who used a lawful firearm to defend themselves, that firearm may sit in evidence storage for a long time. The agency is required to keep it as long as the prosecutor certifies a need.
During any war, rebellion, or insurrection against the United States or against this state, willfully and maliciously embezzling, stealing, injuring, destroying, or secreting arms, ammunition, military stores, or military equipment is a felony under MCL 750.406. The statute reaches property of the United States, the state, or any officer, soldier, or soldiers in service. It also reaches buildings, machinery, or material used or intended to be used for the making, repairing, or storing of those arms or stores, whether public or private.
Penalty: up to 5 years in state prison or a fine of up to $2,500. This is an old statute (carried forward from 1931 PA 328 and earlier law), but it is still on the books and worth knowing if you handle armory contracts, work near a National Guard facility, or run a shop that services state or federal arms.
When a juvenile uses a firearm during a criminal violation, MCL 712A.18g adds a mandatory commitment overlay to whatever else the juvenile court does. In addition to any other disposition, a juvenile who is not being sentenced as an adult must be committed for a specified period if all of the following are true:
The commitment period cannot exceed the length of sentence that could have been imposed if the juvenile had been sentenced as an adult for the underlying violation.
Bottom line for a parent: a juvenile firearm offense triggers a commitment in addition to any other juvenile-court disposition. There is no probation-only path that skips it.
Public Act 148 of 2018 amended MCL 767.24 to add armed robbery to the offenses for which an indictment may be filed within 10 years after the offense is committed. According to Michigan State Police Legal Update No. 133, if the offense is reported to a police agency within one year after it is committed and the perpetrator's identity is unknown, an indictment may be filed within 10 years after the perpetrator is identified through knowledge of his or her legal name.
For a victim of an armed robbery in which a CPL holder used or displayed a defensive firearm, that 10-year window is relevant to when investigators can re-charge a suspect who is later identified. It also means cold-case armed-robbery files involving long-unidentified suspects do not automatically time out.
This page covers one part of our Michigan concealed carry guide.
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