The Michigan first-90-days sheet

Michigan Porch · michiganporch.com/handouts/new-resident/ · reviewed 2026-07-09. Free to print and copy; please keep this line.

The first week

Get a Michigan no-fault policy first. You cannot register a vehicle without Michigan no-fault insurance. Every policy carries a personal injury protection (PIP) choice, and Michigan is one of the pricier states to insure a car.
Make one Secretary of State stop. It covers the Michigan license, title, registration, and voter registration in the same visit. There is no grace period in Michigan law — once you are a resident, the license swap is due immediately.
Expect sticker-price tabs. Michigan plate fees are based on the vehicle's original MSRP — not what you paid. Tabs on a used luxury car can surprise people who bought it cheap.

File the PRE (Form 2368). It removes up to 18 mills of school tax from your primary home — but only if you file. June 1 is the deadline for that summer's bill; movers from other states miss this one constantly.
Budget for the pop-up. Michigan resets a home's taxable value when it sells. The seller's low bill in the listing can jump thousands in your first full year, and it usually shows up through your escrow payment.
Watch for the assessment notice. It arrives in late winter. The March Board of Review is the window to challenge it.

Check for a city income tax. Twenty-four Michigan cities charge one — Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, East Lansing, and more. Living or working in one means a city return on top of the state's flat 4.25%.
Check the Homestead credit at tax time. Renters and modest-income homeowners: it is real money people skip.

Equip before the first snow. Real winter tires or good all-weathers, a scraper with a brush, and a blanket and jumper cables in the trunk. Lake-effect snow is geography — the west coast and the U.P. get buried while the southeast mostly gets gray — so drive like the first snowfall is slippery, because it is.