Points, the abstract, and what an insurer actually sees
A Michigan conviction reaches your driving record as an abstract, the abstract is what carries points under MCL 257.320a, and MCL 257.320d works by keeping a specific entry off it rather than by removing one later.
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People talk about "getting points off" a Michigan record. That is the wrong shape for how the system works, and the wrong shape leads to buying the wrong thing.
How an entry gets there
A court that convicts a driver of a moving violation sends an abstract of the conviction to the Secretary of State. MCL 257.320d(2) describes the state acting "upon receipt of an abstract of a moving violation". The abstract is the record event. Points are attached to it from the schedule in MCL 257.320a, which is the list the Secretary of State publishes as the driver point system: one point at the bottom of the speeding tiers, two, three, four, and six for the most serious offences.
Points sit on the record for two years from the date of the conviction. They are not removed early by a course, an apology, or a payment.
What MCL 257.320d does, precisely
Subsection (1) says the Secretary of State "shall not enter the points corresponding to a moving violation" for an eligible driver who completes the course and whose approved sponsor files the certificate inside the window, and shall not make information about that violation available to any insurance company.
Read that as prevention, not deletion. The points for that one violation are never entered. Nothing already on the record moves. That is also why eligibility is decided when the abstract arrives rather than whenever you feel like asking.
Why the "3 or more points" rule bites
MCL 257.320d(3)(h) makes a driver ineligible who "has 3 or more points on the individual's driving record". Since the programme runs once in a lifetime and the eligibility test is applied at the moment the abstract lands, a driver who has been carrying two points from an earlier ticket can be pushed out of eligibility by a single new one. Knowing what your record says before the next stop is worth more than any course.
What an insurer sees
An insurer reads the record, not the courtroom. A charge that ends as a non-moving violation produces an abstract with no points. A charge that ends as a three-point moving violation produces one with three. That is the practical difference behind a plea negotiation, and it is why the number on the abstract matters more than the label on the original citation.
We do not claim that any particular insurer will price your policy any particular way. Insurers rate on their own filed rules and we have no visibility into them.
Where to check
Order your own driving record from the Secretary of State. It is the only authoritative statement of what is on it, and every decision on this page gets easier once you are holding one.