Michigan: Judgment Lien Duration & Renewal Requirements
The short answer
Michigan runs two completely separate clocks. The judgment itself can be enforced for 10 years from entry, and a creditor can keep it alive indefinitely by filing a new lawsuit on it before each 10-year period runs out. The real-property lien is a different animal entirely: it isn't automatic, a creditor has to file a specific 'notice of judgment lien' with the court and record it with the county register of deeds, and once recorded, that lien lasts only 5 years (or less, if the judgment itself expires first), can be rerecorded to extend it just ONE time, and dies for good after that even if the judgment is still alive.
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This is the general rule in Michigan. Ezel applies current Michigan law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Two separate statutes: MCL 600.5809(3) governs how long the underlying judgment or decree itself remains enforceable; the freestanding Judgment Lien Act, MCL 600.2801-600.2819 (added 2004 PA 136, eff. 2004-09-01), creates and governs a distinct recorded lien on real property that has nothing to do with the judgment's own separate enforceability period unless and until the judgment itself expires |
|---|---|
| How long the judgment itself lasts | 10 years from the date of entry, and a party 'shall not bring or maintain an action to enforce' the judgment after that unless a new action is timely filed (MCL 600.5809(3)). Within that same 10-year window, 'an action may be brought upon the judgment or decree for a new judgment or decree,' and 'the new judgment or decree is subject to this subsection' too: meaning a Michigan judgment can in principle be kept alive indefinitely through successive 10-year lawsuits, unlike the one-time-only cap some neighboring states impose |
| How long a recorded lien lasts | A judgment lien is NOT automatic and is a wholly separate mechanism from the judgment's own life: it 'expires 5 years after the date it is recorded' (MCL 600.2809(1)), UNLESS the underlying judgment itself expires sooner, in which case 'the judgment lien expires on the date that the judgment expires' (MCL 600.2809(3)): the lien can never outlive the judgment, but it can easily die years before the judgment does if it isn't rerecorded |
| How to renew | Two different actions for two different clocks. To extend the judgment itself, the creditor files a new lawsuit 'upon the judgment or decree for a new judgment or decree' before the 10-year period runs (MCL 600.5809(3)), a court action. To extend the judgment LIEN specifically, no lawsuit is needed: the creditor records 'a second notice of judgment lien that has been certified by the clerk of the court that entered the judgment' with the register of deeds (MCL 600.2809(4)), a pure recording act. The lien can be rerecorded 'only once' |
| Renewal window | For the judgment itself, a new lawsuit must be filed before the 10-year period runs out (MCL 600.5809(3)), with no stated earliest-filing restriction. For the judgment lien specifically, rerecording must happen 'not less than 120 days before the initial expiration date' (MCL 600.2809(4)), an early window, not an anytime-before-expiration rule, and can be done only that one time; there is no third recording |
| Recent changes or debt-type limits | No debt-type-specific renewal cap was found in the current statute text. A pending 2025-2026 bill, MI HB 4628, would amend several sections of the Revised Judicature Act, including MCL 600.2807, part of the Judgment Lien Act, but only to make existing pronoun references gender-neutral; it does not change any duration, renewal, or debt-type rule |
| What ends the lien early | Six specific recorded documents extinguish a judgment lien under MCL 600.2809(6): a signed discharge of judgment lien, a certified copy of a filed satisfaction of judgment, a certified court order discharging the lien, or a copy of the debtor's bankruptcy discharge together with the bankruptcy schedule listing the debt (unless a nondischargeability order is separately recorded). On payment in full, the creditor 'shall record a discharge of judgment lien' within 28 days (MCL 600.2811); simple non-rerecording also ends the lien on its own once the 5-year (or rerecorded 5-year) period runs |
| Recording in more than one county | Yes. A judgment lien 'attaches to a judgment debtor's interest in real property if a notice of judgment lien is recorded ... in the land title records of the register of deeds for the county where the property is located' (MCL 600.2803): a creditor tracking a debtor's property in more than one Michigan county must record (and later separately rerecord) a notice of judgment lien in each county |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Two statutes do different jobs. MCL 600.5809(3) sets the 10-year limitations
period for enforcing the judgment itself. The freestanding Judgment Lien
Act, MCL 600.2801 through 600.2819 (added by 2004 PA 136), creates and
governs the separate recorded real-property lien, a mechanism that simply
doesn't exist unless a creditor opts into it.
How long the judgment itself lasts
10 years from entry. A creditor "shall not bring or maintain an action to
enforce" a judgment after that window closes (MCL 600.5809(3)). But within
those 10 years, the creditor can file a brand-new lawsuit "upon the
judgment or decree for a new judgment or decree," and that new judgment "is
subject to this subsection" too, so, unlike some states that cap this at
one renewal, Michigan's statute doesn't say a judgment can only be renewed
this way once.
How long a recorded lien lasts
A judgment lien "expires 5 years after the date it is recorded" (MCL
600.2809(1)), a much shorter clock than the judgment's own 10 years, and
one that starts over from the recording date, not the judgment's entry
date. There's a ceiling on the other end too: "if the judgment expires
before the judgment lien expires, the judgment lien expires on the date
that the judgment expires" (MCL 600.2809(3)). The lien can never outlive
its underlying judgment, but it very often dies well before the judgment
does if the creditor doesn't keep recording it.
How to renew
Renewing the judgment and renewing the lien are two unrelated actions.
Extending the judgment means filing a new lawsuit before the 10-year period
runs (MCL 600.5809(3)), an actual court case. Extending the lien is
purely a paperwork act: recording "a second notice of judgment lien that
has been certified by the clerk of the court that entered the judgment"
with the register of deeds (MCL 600.2809(4)). No new lawsuit and no court
order are required for the lien rerecording, but it can be done only
once.
Renewal window
For the judgment, there's no fixed early-filing window, the new lawsuit
just has to happen before the current 10-year period runs out. For the
lien, the window is specific and earlier than you might expect: rerecording
must occur "not less than 120 days before the initial expiration date"
(MCL 600.2809(4)), and waiting past that point means the lien simply
lapses with no fix available.
Recent changes or debt-type limits
No debt-type-specific renewal cap exists in the current statute text. A
pending 2025-2026 bill, HB 4628, touches MCL 600.2807 (one of the Judgment
Lien Act's sections) but only to convert gendered pronouns to gender-neutral
language, it doesn't change any duration, renewal, or priority rule.
What ends the lien early
Recording any of four specific documents with the same register of deeds
office ends the lien immediately: a signed discharge of judgment lien, a
certified copy of a filed satisfaction of judgment, a certified court order
discharging the lien, or (with an exception for a recorded
nondischargeability order) a copy of the debtor's bankruptcy discharge
together with the bankruptcy schedule listing the debt (MCL 600.2809(6)).
Once a judgment is paid in full, the creditor "shall record a discharge of
judgment lien" within 28 days (MCL 600.2811). Short of any of that, the
lien also simply expires on its own at the end of its 5-year (or
one-time-rerecorded 5-year) term.
Recording in more than one county
Yes, separately in each county. A judgment lien "attaches to a judgment
debtor's interest in real property if a notice of judgment lien is
recorded ... in the land title records of the register of deeds for the
county where the property is located" (MCL 600.2803). A creditor chasing a
debtor's property across county lines has to record, and later, within
the 120-day rerecording window, separately rerecord, a notice of judgment
lien in every county involved.
What trips people up
The single biggest trap is assuming that winning a Michigan judgment
automatically creates a lien on the debtor's real estate. It doesn't, the
Judgment Lien Act is an opt-in mechanism requiring its own notice, court
certification, and county recording. A second trap is treating the
judgment's 10-year life and the lien's 5-year life as the same clock:
renewing the judgment by filing a new lawsuit does nothing for a lien that
was never rerecorded, and rerecording the lien does nothing to extend the
underlying judgment's own enforceability.
Common questions
I won a Michigan judgment. Does it automatically become a lien on the
debtor's house? No. You have to separately file a notice of judgment lien
with the court and record it with the register of deeds in the county
where the property sits.
My judgment lien is about to hit its 5-year mark. Can I renew it again
later if I miss this one? No. A judgment lien can be rerecorded only
once, and the rerecording has to happen at least 120 days before the
original expiration date. Miss that window and the lien is gone, even if
the underlying judgment still has years left.
If I get a whole new judgment on my old one, does my existing recorded
lien automatically extend too? No. The lien and the judgment are
independent. You'd still need to record a new (or rerecorded) notice of
judgment lien to keep the real-property lien alive.
Statutes and sources
- MCL 600.5809, "The period of limitations is 10 years for an action founded upon a judgment or decree ... Within the applicable period of limitations prescribed by this subsection, an action may be brought upon the judgment or decree for a new judgment or decree. The new judgment or decree is subject to this subsection." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-600-5809 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- MCL 600.2803, "A judgment lien attaches to a judgment debtor's interest in real property if a notice of judgment lien is recorded ... in the land title records of the register of deeds for the county where the property is located." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2803 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- MCL 600.2805, "The clerk of a court that entered a judgment shall certify a notice of judgment lien that has been filed with the court and that includes ... the date the judgment was entered, the expiration date of the judgment, and the expiration date of the judgment lien." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2805 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- MCL 600.2809, "(1) ... a judgment lien expires 5 years after the date it is recorded. ... (3) If the judgment expires before the judgment lien expires, the judgment lien expires on the date that the judgment expires. (4) A judgment lien may be rerecorded only once. ... not less than 120 days before the initial expiration date .... (6) A judgment lien is extinguished when 1 or more of the following are recorded ...." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2809 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- MCL 600.2811, "Within 28 days after payment in full of the amount due on a judgment that is the basis for a judgment lien, the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor's attorney shall record a discharge of judgment lien with the office of the register of deeds where the judgment lien is recorded." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2811 (accessed 2026-07-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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