Michigan No-Fault Law, section by section › MCL 500.3151
Submission to mental or physical examination; physician requirements.
In plain terms
When a person's mental or physical condition is material to a PIP claim, the insurer may require an examination by a physician. Since 2019 the examiner must be licensed, must match the treating specialist's specialty and board certification where applicable, and must have spent most of the preceding year in active clinical practice or teaching.
How this section works in practice
When an injured person's condition is material to a PIP claim, the insurer may require a mental or physical examination by a physician of its choosing, and policies routinely include such a clause. These insurer medical examinations, often called IMEs, are a common turning point in a claim: a report finding that treatment is no longer reasonably necessary is the usual prelude to a cutoff.
The 2019 amendment imposed qualifications the examiner must meet. The physician must be licensed in Michigan or another state; if the injured person is being treated by a specialist, the examiner must practice the same specialty and, where the treating doctor is board certified, be board certified in it; and the examiner must have spent most of the preceding year in active clinical practice or teaching, which was aimed at doctors who did nothing but examinations for insurers. An examination by a physician who does not meet these requirements is a ground to challenge the report and any cutoff based on it. Attend every scheduled examination unless your attorney has objected in writing; refusal exposes you to the sanctions in section 3153.
Text of MCL 500.3151
Sec. 3151.
(1) If the mental or physical condition of a person is material to a claim that has been or may be made for past or future personal protection insurance benefits, at the request of an insurer the person shall submit to mental or physical examination by physicians. A personal protection insurer may include reasonable provisions that are in accord with this section in a personal protection insurance policy for mental and physical examination of persons claiming personal protection insurance benefits.
(2) A physician who conducts a mental or physical examination under this section must be licensed as a physician in this state or another state and meet the following criteria, as applicable:
(a) If care is being provided to the person to be examined by a specialist, the examining physician must specialize in the same specialty as the physician providing the care, and if the physician providing the care is board certified in the specialty, the examining physician must be board certified in that specialty.
(b) During the year immediately preceding the examination, the examining physician must have devoted a majority of his or her professional time to either or both of the following:
(i) The active clinical practice of medicine and, if subdivision (a) applies, the active clinical practice relevant to the specialty.
(ii) The instruction of students in an accredited medical school or in an accredited residency or clinical research program for physicians and, if subdivision (a) applies, the instruction of students is in the specialty.
History: Add. 1972, Act 294, Eff. Mar. 30, 1973 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 21, Imd. Eff. June 11, 2019 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 22, Imd. Eff. June 11, 2019
Source: MCL 500.3151 at legislature.mi.gov (official text). Text as published in the 2025 Michigan Compiled Laws; reviewed by Koussan Law on September 15, 2026.
Sections that refer to this one
- MCL 500.3153: Orders for Refusing an Examination
- MCL 500.3173a: MAIPF Eligibility, Cooperation and Fraud
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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