How Mailing Adds a Day to Michigan Landlord Notice Deadlines
Michigan landlords often ask a deceptively simple question: If I mail a notice today, when does the clock start? For a demand for possession, Michigan law answers that question more clearly than many owners expect—and getting it wrong can mean filing a case a day too early.
This post explains the mailing rule that applies to demands for possession, why it matters for a 7-day nonpayment notice, and how to think cautiously about Notices to Quit. It also explains why this matters if you use Piper Legal’s Notice Generator, which mails your notice for you.
Landlords Are People Too.®
The Core Rule for Demands for Possession
When you serve a demand for possession by first-class mail, Michigan’s Summary Proceedings Act is explicit.
Under MCL 600.5718(1)(c):
If the demand is mailed, the date of service for purposes of this chapter is the next regular day for delivery of mail after the day when it was mailed.
In plain English: mailing day is not the service day. Service is treated as the next regular mail-delivery day after you put the demand in the mail.
That matters because the tenant’s time to pay or move is measured from when the notice was served, not merely from when you signed it or dropped it at the post office.
Why Landlords Call This “Mailing Adds a Day”
Suppose you mail a 7-Day Demand for Possession (SCAO form DC 100a) on a Monday, and the next regular mail-delivery day is Tuesday. Under MCL 600.5718(1)(c), Tuesday is the service date for purposes of the chapter. The tenant’s 7-day response period then runs from that service date.
That is the source of the shorthand “mailing adds a day.” Be careful with the shorthand, though: the statute says “next regular day for delivery of mail,” not “add one day.” If you mail on a day when the next day has no regular mail delivery (for example, before a Sunday or a postal holiday), the gap can be longer.
Practical takeaway for DC 100a
If you plan to rely on first-class mail for a nonpayment demand:
- Mail the tenant’s copy by first-class mail to the person in possession (last known address practices should still be careful and accurate).
- Treat service as the next regular mail-delivery day after mailing—not the mailing day itself.
- Do not file the district-court case until the tenant has held over past the full notice period measured from that service date (see MCL 600.5714(1)(a)).
- Complete and keep the Certificate of Service on your court copy.
Filing one day early because you counted from the postmark date is a classic, avoidable mistake.
What About a 30-Day Notice to Quit (DC 100c)?
Here is where careful landlords slow down.
The clear “next regular day for delivery of mail” language in MCL 600.5718 applies to the demand provided for in section 5716—that is, a demand for possession/payment in the summary-proceedings framework. A Notice to Quit under MCL 554.134 is a different statutory tool. MCL 554.134 does not contain the same mailed-service dating sentence.
So what should you do in practice?
- Document the date and method of delivery carefully.
- Give a move-out date that clearly satisfies the one-month / interval-based notice rules in MCL 554.134(1) for the tenancy you are ending.
- If you mail the notice, build in conservative timing rather than cutting it to the bone.
- Keep proof of mailing and your certificate of service with your records for any later filing under MCR 4.201.
A cautious approach is to allow extra time when you rely on mail for a Notice to Quit, rather than assume the deadline starts on the mailing day.
Other Service Methods Still Matter
Mail is only one option for a demand for possession. MCL 600.5718 also allows personal delivery, delivery on the premises to a suitable family/household member or employee with a request to deliver it, and electronic service when the statutory written-consent process is met.
SCAO’s DC 100a instructions also caution against improper “service” shortcuts—such as slipping papers under a door or using signature-required mail methods that are not the first-class mail method described in the statute.
Choosing a valid method—and recording it correctly—is as important as counting the days.
Where the Notice Generator Fits
Because mailing is part of how Piper Legal’s Notice Generator works, the mailing-date rule is worth understanding before you use it. Piper Legal prepares the Michigan notice and prints and mails it to the tenant for a $50 flat fee (Michigan properties only). Before you calendar a court filing, count from the service date, not the date you placed the order.
Using the Notice Generator creates no attorney-client relationship. It is an administrative, self-directed convenience for Michigan property owners.
Call to Action
Ready to get a notice in the mail? Use the Notice Generator to prepare and mail a Michigan DC 100a or DC 100c for $50 flat.
Landlords Are People Too.®
Disclaimer: This post is general information, not legal advice. Day-counting can depend on the notice type, mailing date, and what counts as a regular mail-delivery day. Using the Notice Generator does not create an attorney-client relationship with Piper Legal (Jeremy R.M. Piper, PLC).