Michigan Freelance Contract Review
Michigan has no freelance payment law and, despite several bills, no low-wage non-compete ban. What it does have is a clear statement from its Unemployment Insurance Agency that the IRS 20-factor test decides contractor status for services performed since 2013, and a non-compete statute that lets courts rewrite an unreasonable restriction rather than void it. Both shape how a Michigan client contract should be read.
Non-compete / non-solicit in Michigan
Non-competes generally enforceable if reasonable
Non-competes and non-solicits for freelancers in Michigan
Enforceable if reasonable in duration, geography, and line of business. Courts may limit overbroad agreements.
Client contracts often include a non-solicitation clause, sometimes an overbroad one that tries to bar you from an entire industry. Whatever Michigan allows, narrow it to the client's own staff and named customers, for a short period, before you sign.
Freelancer payment protection in Michigan
Michigan does not yet have a dedicated freelance payment-protection law (New York, Illinois and California have statewide laws), so your contract is your main protection against late or non-payment. Insist on a deposit, milestone payments tied to dates, and a kill fee if the client cancels.
Who owns your work
Under the federal Copyright Act, work is not automatically “work for hire” for an independent contractor, it takes a written assignment. Read whether the contract assigns only the final deliverables or reaches your concepts, drafts, and pre-existing tools, and add a carve-out for the reusable methods you bring to every project.
How does Michigan classify freelancers?
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency says state law requires the IRS 20-factor test from Revenue Ruling 87-41 for services performed on or after January 1, 2013. The factors fall into behavioral control, financial control, and the nature of the relationship, and no single factor is controlling. Before 2013 the agency used the economic reality test, which Michigan courts still use in other settings such as wage disputes. That test asks, among other things, whether the work is integral to the business and whether you advertise to the public.
Can a Michigan client enforce a non-compete against a contractor?
MCL 445.774a lets an employer obtain a covenant from an employee that protects a reasonable competitive business interest and is reasonable in duration, area, and type of work. If a court finds a covenant unreasonable, it may limit it and enforce the narrowed version. Duration, territory, and the type of work covered are all weighed for reasonableness.
The statute is written for employers and employees, so a contractor's covenant is judged under general reasonableness rules. Proposals to limit non-competes for lower-paid workers have not become law.
Michigan freelancers should also check any non-solicit and confidentiality terms, which courts review under the same reasonableness lens. Ask that any restriction name specific customers or competitors and run for a short period.
Michigan sources checked 2026-10-09: Michigan UIA Fact Sheet 155: Independent Contractor or Employee · Michigan UIA: employee misclassification. Laws change; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
What ClauseAudit checks in a Michigan freelance contract
- Non-compete / non-solicit enforceability under Michigan law
- IP assignment and work-for-hire scope, with a pre-existing-tools carve-out
- Payment terms, deposit, milestones, and a kill fee
- Unlimited "reasonable" revisions with no cap
- Payment gated on subjective client approval
- Liability caps and indemnification
Michigan freelance contract FAQ
Can a client make me sign a non-compete in Michigan?
In Michigan, a non-compete or non-solicit can be enforceable if it is reasonable in duration, geography, and scope. Enforceable if reasonable in duration, geography, and line of business. Courts may limit overbroad agreements. For a freelancer whose business spans an industry, a broad restriction is worth narrowing before you sign.
Does Michigan protect freelancers from late or non-payment?
As of October 2026, Michigan does not have a dedicated "Freelance Isn't Free" style payment-protection law (New York, Illinois and California have statewide laws). So your contract's payment terms, milestones, deadlines, a kill fee, are your main protection. Make them specific.
Who owns the work I create for a Michigan client?
Under US copyright law, work is not automatically "work for hire" for an independent contractor, it requires a written assignment. Read whether the contract assigns only the final deliverables or sweeps in your concepts and pre-existing tools, and add a carve-out for your reusable methods. This is federal law and applies in Michigan.
Does a Michigan non-compete apply to an independent contractor?
Michigan is one of 34 jurisdictions where a non-compete is generally enforceable if reasonable in duration, geography and scope. Enforceable if reasonable in duration, geography, and line of business. Courts may limit overbroad agreements. Contractor restraints are often argued differently from employee ones, since the bargain and the bargaining power differ, so how you are actually engaged matters as much as the label on the agreement.
If the restriction in my Michigan agreement is too broad, what happens?
Courts may rewrite an overbroad restriction to something reasonable. That cuts against you: an employer has little to lose by drafting wide, because a court can pare the clause back rather than discard it. Negotiating the wording before signing matters more here than in states where an overbroad clause simply fails.
Does a written contractor agreement settle my status in Michigan?
No. The Unemployment Insurance Agency weighs the IRS factors based on how the work actually happens: who gives instructions, who provides training and tools, how you are paid, and whether you can work for others. A contract that calls you a contractor helps only when your day-to-day matches it. Keep records of your own schedule and equipment.
Will a Michigan court throw out an overbroad non-compete?
Usually it narrows rather than voids. MCL 445.774a(1) lets a court limit an unreasonable covenant and enforce it as limited. For a freelancer, that means a sweeping clause is still a real risk, because you may end up bound by a trimmed version. Negotiate the duration, territory, and covered customers before you sign.
Have a Michigan client contract to sign?
Upload it and get every clause checked against Michigan law in about a minute, with a fix for each problem.
How neighbouring states treat restrictive covenants
Nationally: 4 jurisdictions treat employee non-competes as void, 13 allow them only in limited circumstances, 34 generally enforce them if reasonable.
Michigan rules summarized as of October 2026; laws change and localities may add their own. This is automated educational information, not legal advice. ClauseAudit verifies current Michigan law when you run your contract, and you should confirm anything critical with a qualified attorney.