Health Professionals Must Self-Report Criminal Convictions to Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Michigan licensed healthcare professionals are required to self-report any criminal conviction to LARA within thirty days of the date of conviction. Failure to self-report is not simply an oversight that can be corrected later. It is an independent licensing violation carrying its own sanctions, separate from and in addition to whatever discipline the underlying conviction itself produces.

When Must a Michigan Health Professional Report a Criminal Conviction?

In a criminal case, a conviction occurs when a person accused of a crime pleads guilty or is found guilty by a judge or jury at trial. This is the conviction date even if sentencing takes place days, weeks, or months later. The clock starts ticking as soon as the court acknowledges the conviction in a written order or judgment.

Will LARA Learn About My Conviction Even If I Don’t Report It?

All healthcare professionals should know that it is exceedingly unlikely that LARA will fail to learn of their conviction. In part this is because the courts in Michigan are required to independently report the conviction to LARA.

Under Michigan law, within twenty-one days of a licensed healthcare professional’s conviction for a misdemeanor involving the illegal delivery, possession, or use of alcohol or a controlled substance, or any felony, the clerk of the court is required to report that conviction to LARA. For those categories of conviction, LARA has typically already received the court’s report before the professional’s own thirty-day window has expired.

This duty applies even to out-of-state convictions, which creates a particular trap: the lawyer in the other state may have no idea that their client holds a Michigan healthcare license and has a Michigan reporting obligation running from the date of conviction.

What Healthcare Professionals Face If They Fail to Self-Report

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who are convicted of crimes are understandably embarrassed or ashamed. Consequently, they may fail to report the conviction with the hope that it will somehow be missed or simply go away. This sort of denial is even more common when the conviction involves drunk driving or any crime involving the wrongful use or possession of drugs, because in those cases denial is often part of the addiction process itself.

Failure to self-report is an independent licensing violation. It carries its own sanctions under the Public Health Code, including reprimand, probation, limitation, suspension, and revocation, in addition to whatever discipline follows from the underlying conviction. The licensing board does not treat the failure to report as a minor procedural lapse. It treats it as information bearing on the professional’s honesty and fitness.

Does the Obligation Apply to Out-of-State Convictions?

Yes. Michigan’s self-reporting obligation applies to any criminal conviction regardless of where it was entered. A Michigan licensed healthcare professional convicted in another state must report that conviction to LARA within thirty days, even if their out-of-state defense attorney was unaware of the obligation.

This scenario is among the most common sources of unreported convictions and the compounding licensing problems that follow. A healthcare professional who has practiced in Michigan for years, is convicted of a DUI in another state while traveling, and assumes their Michigan license is unaffected has made a dangerous assumption.

Why the Self-Report Letter Is Not a Neutral Form

The self-report petition is not a compliance form. It is the opening document of a licensing proceeding, and how it is drafted, what context it provides about the conviction, and what remediation steps it documents can significantly affect how the licensing board opens its inquiry.

The self-report petition is something we refer to healthcare licensing specialists, as its preparation is their domain of expertise. What we know from that collaboration is that, like everything else in law, a professionally prepared petition can be very consequential. It is an advocacy document, not an administrative checkbox.

What Most Michigan Health Professionals Miss About Reporting a Conviction

Most discussions of the self-reporting obligation address the deadline and the list of covered professions. What they do not address is the compounding effect of prior unreported convictions.

In more than three decades of representing licensed healthcare professionals in Michigan, the single most consistent pattern I see is that clients simply did not know they had a duty to report. That ignorance is not a defense, and when a professional has had prior arrests they never reported, the burden at the licensing board becomes substantially larger. The board is not just evaluating the current charge. It is evaluating a pattern of non-compliance, and that is a materially harder record to manage.

It is also worth noting that courts have a duty to report convictions to LARA, but that obligation is frequently missed. Patrick Barone’s article The Court’s Obligation to Squeal on Your Client, published through the State Appellate Defender Office, addresses this directly. A professional who relies on the court to trigger LARA’s process, and assumes no licensing action is necessary because they have heard nothing, is taking a serious risk.

Which Michigan Healthcare Professionals Are Covered?

The self-reporting obligation applies to every profession licensed under Article 15 of Michigan’s Public Health Code, including: Acupuncturist, Allopathic Physician (MD), Athletic Trainer, Audiologist, Chiropractor, Counselor, Dentist, Dental Hygienist, RDA, Marriage and Family Therapist, Massage Therapist, Nurse (RN or LPN), Nursing Home Administrator, Occupational Therapist, OTA, Optometrist, Osteopathic Physician (DO), Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician, Physical Therapist, PTA, Physician’s Assistant, Podiatrist, Psychologist, Respiratory Therapist, Sanitarian, Social Worker, Speech/Language Pathologist, and Veterinarian.

Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Reporting Criminal Convictions in Michigan

How long does a Michigan licensed healthcare professional have to self-report a criminal conviction to LARA?

Thirty days from the date of conviction. The conviction date is the date the court enters its written order or judgment, not the date of sentencing. The clock begins running immediately.

Will LARA find out about my criminal conviction even if I don’t self-report?

In most cases, yes. The clerk of the court is required to report qualifying convictions to LARA within twenty-one days. LARA frequently receives the court’s report before the professional’s thirty-day window has expired.

What happens if a Michigan healthcare professional fails to self-report a conviction?

Failure to self-report is an independent licensing violation carrying its own sanctions, including reprimand, probation, limitation, suspension, and revocation, in addition to whatever discipline flows from the underlying conviction. Prior unreported convictions compound the problem significantly at any subsequent licensing proceeding.

Does the self-reporting obligation apply to out-of-state convictions?

Yes. Michigan’s reporting obligation applies to any criminal conviction regardless of where it was entered. Out-of-state defense counsel may be entirely unaware of this Michigan-specific obligation.

Should I draft the self-report letter on my own?

No. The self-report is an advocacy document, not an administrative form. It should be prepared by healthcare licensing counsel who understands how LARA uses the submission in its disciplinary analysis and how it will interact with any compliance conference that follows.

Next Steps for Michigan Healthcare Professionals Facing a Criminal Conviction

If you are a licensed healthcare professional in Michigan who has been convicted of a crime, the thirty-day reporting clock is already running. At Barone Defense Firm, we coordinate your criminal defense with the referral to healthcare licensing specialists who prepare the self-report petition strategically, not simply as a compliance exercise.

To schedule a confidential consultation, call 1-877-ALL-MICH (877-255-6424), or contact us online.

The full consequence framework governing criminal charges and licensed healthcare professionals in Michigan, including how the self-report initiates a licensing proceeding that must be managed strategically from the first day, is addressed in the firm’s analysis of criminal charges and licensed healthcare professionals in Michigan.

This post was written by Patrick Barone, founding attorney of Barone Defense Firm in Birmingham, Michigan. Patrick has represented licensed healthcare professionals facing criminal charges and LARA licensing proceedings for more than three decades.

His published analyses include The Court’s Obligation to Squeal on Your Client: The Duty to Report a Doctor’s DUI, published through the State Appellate Defender Office, and Representing Licensed Health Care Professionals Accused of Alcohol- or Drug-Related Crimes, published in the Michigan Bar Journal in October 2013. His analysis of Criminal Accusations Cause Health Care Professionals to Face Potentially Debilitating Collateral Consequences, also published through the State Appellate Defender Office, addresses the statutory framework governing LARA proceedings and the three-category consequence model used throughout this firm’s healthcare professional practice.

Patrick is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, a Board Certified TEP (the highest level of certification) in psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy through the American Board of Examiners, and the only such credential holder in Michigan. He has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer continuously since 2007 and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.