Michigan CJIS Sanctions Start Oct. 1: Scanners Go Dark

Michigan police scanners went quiet in waves across 2026, and most coverage blamed local departments. The actual driver is a state audit rule. Michigan State Police CJIS guidance requires that criminal justice information sent over land mobile radio be encrypted to FIPS 140-3 or AES-128 or better, and MSP said it would not impose sanctions for missing that requirement "until October 1, 2026." That date has now passed. Since Oct. 1, 2026, MSP auditors audit to the rule, demand a written corrective action plan from any non-compliant agency, and open the MSP CJIS sanctions process when that plan does not reach compliance within 30 days.

For scanner listeners in Michigan, this changes the shape of the problem. Encryption is no longer only a city council vote you can attend and argue against. It is now an audit calendar item, and the trigger is a document most departments already have on file.

What the Michigan CJIS rule actually requires

The requirement is narrow on paper. Per the MSP CJIS guidance on LMR and encryption of criminal justice information, any agency that transmits criminal justice information (CJI) over land mobile radio must encrypt that traffic to FIPS 140-3, or to AES-128 or stronger. The guidance document itself is dated May 1, 2025, so this is not a new rule. What changed on Oct. 1, 2026 is enforcement.

MSP would not impose sanctions for missing that requirement "until October 1, 2026."

Read plainly, that sentence is a grace period with an end date, and the end date is roughly six weeks behind us.

Why Oct. 1, 2026 is the date that matters

Three things happen after the grace period closes, according to the guidance:

• MSP audit staff audit agencies against the encryption requirement.
• An agency found out of compliance must submit a written corrective action plan.
• If that plan does not reach compliance within 30 days, MSP opens its CJIS sanctions process.

Sanctions attached to CJIS access are the kind of risk a department will not carry. The practical response, for an agency that has not already moved, is to encrypt rather than argue. That is the mechanism behind the Michigan departments that went dark this year, a story we covered in Michigan Police Encryption Wave: MSP & Oakland County Go Dark.

The part the guidance does not order

This deserves care, because the loud version of this story is wrong. The requirement is scoped to traffic that actually carries CJI. An agency can keep a clean routine-dispatch talkgroup open. Nothing in the document orders a department to encrypt every channel it owns.

So full-dispatch encryption in Michigan remains a local choice. It is a choice departments make for simplicity: one encrypted talkgroup, one configuration, one set of radios, no risk of a CJI unit keying up on an open channel. The audit rule does not force the outcome, but it removes the margin for error that kept some dispatch channels open.

Which encryption counts, and which fails

The guidance also settles an argument that comes up in almost every county radio meeting. Older algorithms no longer satisfy the requirement:

• ADP (40-bit) is listed as not CJIS compliant.
• DES-OFB (64-bit) is listed as not CJIS compliant.
• AES is compliant, and is the standard the guidance points to.

For a listener, that matters because it tells you what a department will buy next. A system running ADP or DES-OFB is a system scheduled for replacement, not a system that will stay partly open. When that replacement lands, the new radios arrive with AES and, usually, a fully encrypted dispatch configuration. If you want to understand why this pattern repeats nationally, the CJIS 2027 deadline explainer covers the federal clock that local deadlines descend from.

Why a scanner owner gets no notice

This is the part that stings. Encryption decisions made through a council vote come with an agenda, a meeting, a public comment period and a news story. Encryption decisions made through an audit calendar come with none of that. A listener in a Michigan county can wake up to silence with no hearing to attend and no vote to track.

The tell is in the budget: an encryption-capable radio purchase, a talkgroup template change, a console upgrade. If you see a department buying AES-capable portables on the MPSCS, assume the open talkgroup is on borrowed time. If you are in a county that is still open, the listening window is real today. A scanner pre-programmed to your county's frequencies, like the Baofeng UV-5R Plus, is how you use that window while it exists, and how you will still hear fire, EMS and any unencrypted interoperability channels after dispatch closes.

What is still open in Michigan

Michigan do not have a single statewide switch. Coverage varies by county and by talkgroup:

• Fire and EMS dispatch on MPSCS often remains clear, because the CJIS rule targets criminal justice information, not fireground traffic.
• Public works, road commissions and some county services stay analog or unencrypted.
• Interoperability and mutual-aid channels sometimes stay open even where police dispatch does not.
• Police dispatch on encrypted talkgroups is gone to any consumer scanner, and no firmware update changes that.

Check your own county before you assume. Our guide to what encryption leaves open walks through the categories that survive.

FAQ

Did Michigan pass a new encryption law in 2026?

No. The MSP CJIS guidance on encryption of criminal justice information over land mobile radio is dated May 1, 2025. The change in 2026 is that MSP's grace period ended on Oct. 1 and sanctions now apply.

Does the Michigan CJIS rule force police to encrypt all dispatch?

No. The requirement covers traffic carrying criminal justice information. An agency can keep a routine-dispatch talkgroup open if that talkgroup carries no CJI. Full-dispatch encryption is a local decision.

What encryption does Michigan accept?

FIPS 140-3, or AES-128 or stronger. ADP (40-bit) and DES-OFB (64-bit) are listed as not compliant.

What happens if a Michigan agency misses the deadline?

MSP audit staff require a written corrective action plan. If the agency does not reach compliance within 30 days of that plan, MSP opens its CJIS sanctions process.

Can a scanner hear anything in a Michigan county that has gone dark?

Often yes, just not police dispatch. Fire and EMS dispatch, public works, some county services and mutual-aid channels are frequently still clear. Coverage varies by county and system.

Will a newer scanner decode encrypted Michigan talkgroups?

No. AES-encrypted P25 traffic is not decodable by consumer scanners. No Uniden, Whistler or Baofeng model unlocks it.

Bottom line: Michigan's scanner blackout is being driven by an audit deadline, not a public vote. Since Oct. 1, 2026, MSP audits agencies for AES encryption of criminal justice information and starts sanctions when a 30-day corrective plan fails. Any Michigan county still open is open by local choice, and that choice can change without a hearing. Listen to what is clear now, and expect police dispatch to keep closing county by county.