Michigan No-Fault Law, section by section › MCL 500.3101d
Qualification as self-insurer; certificate; issuance; cancellation.
In plain terms
A person with more than 25 registered motor vehicles may qualify as a self-insurer by obtaining a certificate from the commissioner, who must be satisfied that the applicant can pay judgments against it. The certificate can be cancelled after notice and a hearing, including for failure to pay a judgment within 30 days after it becomes final.
How this section works in practice
Large fleets do not always buy insurance in the ordinary way. A person or company with more than 25 registered motor vehicles may apply to the commissioner for a certificate of self-insurance, which the commissioner may issue on being satisfied that the applicant can pay judgments against it. A self-insurer then carries every obligation an insurer would carry under the act: it pays PIP to the people its vehicles injure in the same order of priority as an insurance company would, it participates in the assigned claims plan, and its refusal to pay overdue benefits carries the same penalty interest and attorney-fee exposure.
The certificate can be cancelled after notice and a hearing, and failing to pay a judgment within 30 days after it becomes final is expressly a ground for cancellation. When a bus company, rental fleet, delivery operator or municipality is involved in a crash, the first question is often whether it is self-insured, because that changes who you write to, who adjusts the claim and how quickly it moves.
Text of MCL 500.3101d
Sec. 3101d.
(1) A person in whose name more than 25 motor vehicles are registered may qualify as a self-insurer by obtaining a certificate of self-insurance issued by the commissioner under subsection (2).
(2) The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, on the application of a person who wishes to qualify under subsection (1), issue a certificate of self-insurance to the person if the commissioner is satisfied that the person has and will continue to have the ability to pay judgments obtained against the person.
(3) On not less than 5 days' notice and a hearing in accordance with the notice, the commissioner may on reasonable grounds cancel a certificate of self-insurance issued under this section. Failure to pay a judgment within 30 days after the judgment becomes final is a reasonable ground for the cancellation of a certificate of self-insurance.
History: Add. 2012, Act 204, Eff. Jan. 1, 2013
Source: MCL 500.3101d at legislature.mi.gov (official text). Text as published in the 2025 Michigan Compiled Laws; reviewed by Koussan Law on September 15, 2026.
Practice pages
Important: This is not legal advice
This article is general information about Michigan personal injury law. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for consultation with a licensed Michigan attorney about your specific situation. The laws, deadlines, procedures, and frameworks here are general guidelines that may or may not apply to your case.
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