Michigan

UCC filings: Strong Land records: Moderate

Secretary of State can refuse false/fraudulent UCC filings under an amended §9-520; real-property damages are civil + exemplary What the badges mean

Last verified: July 27, 2026 — confirm current text on the official site; this date is not a promise the law is unchanged.

General information, not legal advice. Confirm current fees, forms, and deadlines on official government sites, and talk to an attorney about your situation. LienGuardAI does not file anything for you. See Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use.

Relevant case law: A man recorded an “Affidavit of Allodial Title” with the Wayne County Register of Deeds on July 21, 2010, claiming he owned a boarded-up property in Detroit, that a $100-billion bond secured its value, and that he was a secured party — based on his claimed status as a Washitaw Moor. He had never bought the property; he testified he drove by, saw it boarded up, and decided to take it. The true owner could not complete a sale to redeem the property from foreclosure because the affidavit clouded title; when a real-estate agent contacted the man, he asserted “property rights” and warned the agent not to close. After a bench trial he was convicted of forgery, uttering and publishing, and encumbering real property without lawful cause. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the affidavit was a false instrument and that recording it was enough to prove he uttered it and unlawfully clouded title. Verified. (People v. Johnson-El, 299 Mich. App. 648, 831 N.W.2d 478 (2013).)

This is a plain-language summary of a published judicial opinion, not a complete report of the case. Confirm names, holdings, and procedural posture against the opinion itself.

UCC financing statements

Check if one exists

Search Michigan's UCC records

Free basic search. Free Debtor Name Quick Search; detailed/certified records are paid.

Refusal / removal authority

Michigan amended its uniform acceptance statute: MCL §440.9520(5) lets the Secretary of State refuse a financing statement believed to be false/fraudulent, that asserts a claim against a government officer, or that lists the debtor as its own secured party / transmitting-utility problem cases. This is statutory clerk-level authority, not office practice alone.

Citations MI §440.9520 MI §440.9501a

Full citations

Mich. Comp. Laws §440.9520
Mich. Comp. Laws §440.9501a

Refusal under §440.9520(5). A court can compel filing; effectiveness can relate back to the original tender date. Separately, §440.9501a provides an affidavit by which a person named as debtor states that a financing statement is fraudulent, after which the Secretary of State terminates it; it does not apply to filings by a regulated financial institution.

If it's already filed: §440.9501a affidavit termination; §440.9625 remedies.

Real-property liens

Michigan addresses encumbrances recorded without lawful cause / with intent to harass under MCL §565.25 and §600.2907a — post-recording civil (and related criminal) exposure. Damages are actual damages plus costs/attorney fees plus exemplary damages — not treble damages.

Citations MI §565.25 MI §600.2907a

Full citations

Mich. Comp. Laws §565.25
Mich. Comp. Laws §600.2907a

Civil action after recording; felony exposure may also apply depending on facts.

If it's already recorded: Actual damages, costs, attorney fees, and exemplary damages (not a treble-damages statute).

Real-property records are held by the county register of deeds where the property sits.

Get notified before it happens

A free "property fraud alert" service is available in at least part of Michigan — it emails or mails you whenever a document gets recorded against your name, so you find out right away instead of months later. Sign up for Wayne County Property Alert →

Michigan's largest county (Detroit). No statewide mandate.

If you're a government official or employee

SoS may refuse a financing statement that asserts a claim against a government officer among other false/fraudulent triggers.

Citation MI §440.9520

Full citation

Mich. Comp. Laws §440.9520(5)

Official form: Form MIUCC7 — Fraudulent UCC Financing Statement Affidavit

Michigan's Secretary of State publishes form MIUCC7 for MCL §440.9501a, with no filing fee. Only the person named as debtor may file it, and it cannot be used against a filing made by a regulated financial institution or its representative. Filing it terminates the identified financing statement on the date it is filed, with no waiting period. Filing a materially false or fraudulent affidavit is a felony (up to 5 years, a $2,500 fine, or both).

Michigan Secretary of State UCC page (form MIUCC7) →

LienGuardAI does not publish templates or fill-in documents; the official version is the one on the government source, and it can change.

Citation MI §440.9501a

How this usually works in Michigan

A summary of the tools Michigan law and filing offices provide — general information, not instructions for your facts. Confirm current practice with the filing office and talk to an attorney about your situation.

1Michigan's free Debtor Name Quick Search is linked on this page; county registers of deeds hold land records.
2MCL §440.9520(5) is the Secretary of State's authority regarding false or fraudulent UCC filings and filings targeting government officers.
3§440.9501a provides an affidavit that terminates a fraudulent financing statement administratively, without a court case (described in the form section above).
4For a harassing real-property encumbrance, §565.25 and §600.2907a provide civil remedies, including exemplary (not treble) damages.

What to expect

Michigan combines a real statutory UCC refusal amendment with post-recording real-property civil tools. Confirm the current fee on the state's official site — filing and search fees change and are not published here.

Sources: the LienGuardAI fifty-state survey and UCC search portal review (How we verify). No dollar fee amounts are published here — always confirm the current fee on the state's own site.