Current through May 1, 2026 · Last verified July 6, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2.612 lets a Michigan court fix clerical mistakes in a judgment at any time, gives a defendant who never knew about a lawsuit up to a year to appear and seek relief, and lists the substantive grounds -- mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, a void judgment, and more -- on which a party can move to be relieved from a final judgment or order.
(1)Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders, or other parts of the record and errors arising from oversight or omission may be corrected by the court at any time on its own initiative or on motion of a party and after notice, if the court orders it.
(2)If a claim of appeal is filed or an appellate court grants leave to appeal, the trial court may correct errors as provided in MCR 7.208(A) and (C).
(B)Defendant Not Personally Notified. A defendant over whom personal jurisdiction was necessary and acquired, but who did not in fact have knowledge of the pendency of the action, may enter an appearance within 1 year after final judgment, and if the defendant shows reason justifying relief from the judgment and innocent third persons will not be prejudiced, the court may relieve the defendant from the judgment, order, or proceedings for which personal jurisdiction was necessary, on payment of costs or on conditions the court deems just.
(1)On motion and on just terms, the court may relieve a party or the legal representative of a party from a final judgment, order, or proceeding on the following grounds:
(a)Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
(b)Newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under MCR 2.611(B).
(c)Fraud (intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party.
(d)The judgment is void.
(e)The judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; a prior judgment on which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated; or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application.
(f)Any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.
(2)The motion must be made within a reasonable time, and, for the grounds stated in subrules (C)(1)(a), (b), and (c), within one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken. Except as provided in MCR 2.614(A)(1), a motion under this subrule does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation.
(3)This subrule does not limit the power of a court to entertain an independent action to relieve a party from a judgment, order, or proceeding; to grant relief to a defendant not actually personally notified as provided in subrule (B); or to set aside a judgment for fraud on the court.
(4)The procedure for obtaining relief from a judgment shall be by motion as prescribed in these rules or by an independent action. Relief may not be sought or obtained by the writs of coram vobis, audita querela, bills of review, or bills in the nature of a bill of review.
Amendment History
Michigan tracks the orders that adopt and amend its Court Rules in a separate administrative record rather than printing a history note beneath each rule in the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own May 1, 2026 update; for the full order-by-order history of this rule, see the Michigan Supreme Court’s rules and orders page.
Plain-English Summary
Clerical mistakes in a judgment, order, or other part of the record, and errors from oversight or omission, can be corrected by the court at any time, on its own initiative or a party's motion, with notice if the court orders it; once an appeal is pending, the trial court's power to fix these errors runs through the appellate rules instead. A defendant over whom personal jurisdiction was properly acquired, but who never knew the case was pending, gets a full year after final judgment to enter an appearance and ask for relief, and the court can grant it, on payment of costs or other just conditions, so long as innocent third parties won't be prejudiced.
Beyond those two situations, a party can move for relief from a final judgment, order, or proceeding on a defined list of grounds: mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; newly discovered evidence that diligence couldn't have turned up in time for a new-trial motion; fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct by an adverse party; a judgment that is void; a judgment already satisfied, released, discharged, or based on a since-reversed prior judgment, or one that's no longer equitable to keep enforcing prospectively; or any other reason justifying relief. The first three grounds carry a hard one-year deadline from the judgment, order, or proceeding; the rest just need to be raised within a reasonable time, and none of this generally pauses the judgment's finality while the motion is pending. The rule doesn't cut off a court's power to hear an independent action attacking a judgment for fraud on the court, and it retires the old common-law writs — coram vobis, audita querela, bills of review — in favor of a motion or an independent action as the only paths to this kind of relief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a clerical error in a judgment be fixed after the fact?
Yes, at any time, on the court's own initiative or a party's motion, whether the mistake is in the judgment, an order, or another part of the record.
What if I never knew a lawsuit against me was pending?
If personal jurisdiction was validly acquired but you didn't know about the case, you have up to a year after final judgment to appear and seek relief, and the court can grant it on just terms so long as innocent third parties aren't prejudiced.
What are the grounds for getting relief from a judgment under Rule 2.612?
Mistake or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, fraud or misconduct by the other side, a void judgment, a judgment already satisfied or based on a reversed prior judgment, or any other reason justifying relief.
Is there a deadline to ask for relief from judgment?
For mistake, newly discovered evidence, and fraud, the motion must come within one year of the judgment. The other grounds just require the motion to be made within a reasonable time.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Michigan Court Rules (MCR 2.612). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Michigan (Mich. Const. 1963, art. VI, § 5). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:relief from judgment Michiganmotion to set aside judgment Michiganvoid judgment Michigan