Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.742 — MI Code / Chapter 257 / Act Act-300-of-1949 / Section 257.742
Stopping, detaining, and issuing citation for civil infraction; pursuing, stopping, and detaining person outside village, city, township, or county; purpose; violation as to load, weight, height, length, or width of vehicle or load; powers of police officer; issuing citation to driver of motor vehicle; form of citation; informing person of alleged civil infraction; delivering copy of citation to alleged offender; issuing, serving, and processing citations for parking and standing violations; filing citation with court; camera-based violation citation by mail; “parking violation notice” and "parking violations bureau" defined.
Status: in_force

Sec. 742.

(1) If a police officer witnesses an individual violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act and that violation is a civil infraction, that police officer may stop the individual, detain the individual temporarily for purposes of making a record of vehicle check, and prepare and subscribe, as soon as possible and as completely as possible, an original and 3 copies of a written citation, which must be a notice to appear in court for 1 or more civil infractions. If a police officer of a village, city, township, or county, or a police officer who is an authorized agent of a county road commission, witnesses an individual violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act within that village, city, township, or county and that violation is a civil infraction, that police officer may pursue, stop, and detain the individual outside the village, city, township, or county where the violation occurred for the purpose of exercising the authority and performing the duties prescribed in this section and section 749, as applicable.

(2) If a police officer has reason to believe that the load, weight, height, length, or width of a vehicle or load are in violation of section 717, 719, 719a, 722, 724, 725, or 726 and that violation is a civil infraction, that police officer may require the driver of the vehicle to stop, and the police officer may investigate, weigh, or measure the vehicle or load. If, after personally investigating, weighing, or measuring the vehicle or load, the police officer determines that the load, weight, height, length, or width of the vehicle or load are in violation of section 717, 719, 719a, 722, 724, 725, or 726, the police officer may temporarily detain the driver of the vehicle for purposes of making a record or vehicle check and issue a citation to the driver or owner of the vehicle as provided in those sections.

(3) A police officer may issue a citation to an individual who is a driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident when, based upon personal investigation, the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the individual is responsible for a civil infraction in connection with the accident. A police officer may issue a citation to an individual who is a driver of a motor vehicle when, based upon personal investigation by the police officer of a complaint by someone who witnessed the individual violating this act or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this act and that violation is a civil infraction, the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the individual is responsible for a civil infraction and if the prosecuting attorney or attorney for the political subdivision approves in writing the issuance of the citation.

(4) The form of a citation issued under subsection (1), (2), (3), or (9) shall be as prescribed in sections 727c and 743.

(5) The officer shall inform the individual of the alleged civil infraction or infractions and shall deliver the third copy of the citation to the alleged offender.

(6) In a civil infraction action involving the parking or standing of a motor vehicle, a copy of the citation is not required to be served personally upon the defendant but may be served upon the registered owner by attaching the copy to the vehicle. A city may authorize personnel other than a police officer to issue and serve a citation for a violation of its ordinance involving the parking or standing of a motor vehicle. A city may authorize a person other than personnel or a police officer to issue and serve a citation for parking violations described in section 675d if the city has complied with the requirements of section 675d. State security personnel receiving authorization under section 6c of 1935 PA 59, MCL 28.6c, may issue and serve citations for violations involving the parking or standing of vehicles on land owned by this state or land of which this state is the lessee when authorized to do so by the director of the department of state police.

(7) If a parking violation notice other than a citation is attached to a motor vehicle, and if an admission of responsibility is not made and the civil fine and costs, if any, prescribed by ordinance for the violation are not paid at the parking violations bureau, a citation may be filed with the court described in section 741(4) and a copy of the citation may be served by first-class mail upon the registered owner of the vehicle at the owner's last known address. A parking violation notice may be issued by a police officer, including a limited duty officer, or other personnel duly authorized by the city, village, township, college, or university to issue that parking violation notice under its ordinance. The citation filed with the court pursuant to this subsection need not comply in all particulars with sections 727c and 743 but must consist of a sworn complaint containing the allegations stated in the parking violation notice and must fairly inform the defendant how to respond to the citation.

(8) A citation issued under subsection (6) or (7) for a parking or standing violation must be processed in the same manner as a citation issued personally to a defendant under subsection (1) or (3).

(9) A citation may be issued by mail to the registered owner of a vehicle as provided in section 682 for a camera-based violation as defined in section 682.

(10) As used in subsection (7):

(a) "Parking violation notice" means a notice, other than a citation, directing a person to appear at a parking violations bureau in the city, village, or township in which, or of the college or university for which, the notice is issued and to pay the fine and costs, if any, prescribed by ordinance for the parking or standing of a motor vehicle in violation of the ordinance.

(b) "Parking violations bureau" means a parking violations bureau established pursuant to section 8395 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.8395, or a comparable parking violations bureau established in a city or village served by a municipal court or established pursuant to law by the governing board of a state university or college.

History: Add. 1978, Act 510, Eff. Aug. 1, 1979; Am. 1979, Act 66, Eff. Aug. 1, 1979; Am. 1980, Act 249, Imd. Eff. July 28, 1980; Am. 1980, Act 426, Imd. Eff. Jan. 13, 1981; Am. 1981, Act 104, Eff. Oct. 1, 1981; Am. 1984, Act 74, Imd. Eff. Apr. 18, 1984; Am. 1989, Act 89, Eff. Sept. 19, 1989; Am. 1998, Act 68, Imd. Eff. May 4, 1998; Am. 2000, Act 268, Eff. Oct. 1, 2000; Am. 2008, Act 171, Imd. Eff. July 2, 2008; Am. 2024, Act 161, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025