Michigan's Commercial Forest program, explained

Updated September 9, 2026. Sources: MDARD, Michigan DNR, MCL 211.7jj[1] and MCL 324.51101 to 324.51120. Not affiliated with the State of Michigan.

The Commercial Forest program (often called CFA or CF) is Michigan's older forest tax program, run by the Department of Natural Resources under Part 511 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. About 2 million acres of private land are enrolled. It replaces ordinary property tax with a small flat per-acre tax, and in return the land is opened to the public on foot for hunting, fishing, and trapping.

The tax

Commercial Forest land is removed from the regular property tax roll entirely. Instead the owner pays a specific tax per acre, set by statute (MCL 324.51105):

The statute raises the rate 5 cents every five years. The State of Michigan also makes an annual payment to counties with CF land to make up for the lost local revenue. Land under a sustainable forest conservation easement can qualify for Part 512, which knocks a further 15 cents an acre off the rate in exchange for broader public recreational access.

What you give up

• Public access. The land must be open to the public, on foot, for hunting, fishing, and trapping. You may fence or gate it and it is not posted as CF land, but a fence or gate does not cancel the public's right to walk in. You can restrict access during active logging for safety.
• No residence, no development. Commercial use other than forestry, oil and gas, and mineral extraction is not allowed. Structures are not part of the program; building on the land means withdrawing that footprint first, as the DNR requires for wind turbines and similar improvements.
• Notice before cutting. The DNR must be notified in writing 10 days before any removal of forest products, and harvests must follow the management plan.

Requirements

• 40 or more contiguous acres of productive forestland.
• A forest management plan written by a registered forester, with a copy filed with the DNR.
• Application postmarked or delivered by April 1 for listing the following tax year. The DNR charges an application fee; check the current amount on the DNR's Commercial Forest page.

Withdrawal

An owner may apply to withdraw at any time, and processing can take up to 12 weeks. Two payments apply (MCL 324.51108):

• A withdrawal application fee of $1.00 per acre, with a $200 minimum and a $1,000 maximum per application.
• A withdrawal penalty paid to the township treasurer, calculated from the acreage withdrawn, the county's valuation and millage, and the number of years the land was enrolled, up to a set maximum.

Withdrawn land is taxed as CF for the year of withdrawal, then assessed and returned to the regular roll the following year.

When you sell

The listing stays with the land. After a transfer, the DNR contacts the new owner about compliance or withdrawal. A transfer of less than 10,000 acres must be withdrawn if there is no public access for hunting and fishing. Buyers should know before closing whether they are inheriting public access and a withdrawal penalty.

CF and QFP together

A parcel cannot be in both. The calculator checks the DNR's Commercial Forest list by parcel number, and if your parcel is already listed it tells you so. Moving from CF to QFP means paying the CF withdrawal penalty first, which is worth running the numbers on before deciding. See QFP vs Commercial Forest.