Judgment Lien Duration & Renewal Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

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, "A person shall not bring or maintain an action to enforce a noncontractual money obligation unless ... the person commences the action within the applicable period of time prescribed by this section. ... 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 2026-08-23)
• 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 2026-08-23)
• 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 2026-08-23)
• 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 2026-08-23)
• 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 2026-08-23)
• MI HB 4628 (2025-2026), pending gender-neutral-language cleanup of MCL 600.2807 that does not alter the surveyed timing rules. https://legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2025-HB-4628 (checked 2026-09-19)