Michigan sweepstakes guidance: genuinely free entry, no purchase advantage and no payment to collect a prize. Telephone promotions need separate review.
Planning a free giveaway or photo/video competition open to Michigan residents? This guide focuses on ordinary commercial promotions with free entry, including random drawings and submission contests using judges or public voting. Paid entries or votes, purchase-linked promotions, charitable raffles and regulated prizes need separate analysis.
Editorial review: . Sources are linked beside the guidance they support. This is an informational overview, not legal advice for a particular campaign.
Free entry and winner messages
Michigan’s Attorney General explains that legitimate sweepstakes do not require a purchase to enter, buying does not improve the chance of winning, and consumers should not pay to collect a prize.
Make those principles visible in the campaign experience. Do not place a shopping step where an entrant would reasonably think it is needed to complete entry, or turn a winner message into an unexpected payment demand.
Sources: Michigan AG sweepstakes guidance.
Use the right disclosures for the right channel
The AG guidance describes additional prize disclosures in the telemarketing context. Those telephone-sales provisions should not be presented as a universal formatting checklist for every online contest.
For a free photo or video competition, clearly describe judging or voting, entry dates, eligibility and ties. If sales calls or a prize-claim presentation are part of the campaign, review those communications separately before launching them.
Sources: Michigan guidance on sweepstakes and telemarketing.
Registration and campaigns open to other states
For ordinary free commercial sweepstakes, the familiar prize-value filing regimes are in New York, Florida and Rhode Island. That does not remove Michigan's disclosure and conduct rules described above, or special rules for a different industry or format. See the registration guide and its sources for that distinction.
The state-law directory links to all 50 states and DC. A “void where prohibited” line does not itself define your eligible audience or complete a required filing.
Before opening entries
Use these practical drafting and administration steps alongside the applicable state rules:
- Identify the sponsor, eligible entrants, entry period and advertised prize.
- Explain the free entry method and how winners are selected. For submissions, describe judging criteria or voting stages and tie handling.
- Make advertisements, the form and full rules agree; do not imply an entrant has already won.
- Plan verification, notification and fulfillment, and retain the rules and selection records.
Federal advertising standards also apply. The FTC warns against misleading purchase prompts and prize claims; see its advertising guidance. Tax reporting and channel-specific rules are covered in the national sweepstakes guide.
Revup
Revup helps you collect entries and manage promotion workflows. Match your campaign settings and official rules to the requirements of your actual promotion.
