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​Fines, Fees, Costs, and Rates

 

Filing and Other Fees

The State Court Administrative Office has taken responsibility for updating trial court fee schedules that are issued by the Department of Treasury pursuant to MCL 21.41 et seq. and MCL 141.421 et seq. The latest fee schedules are below. 

 

Other fee schedules issued by the Department of Treasury deal with such matters as mileage rates for service of process, revisions to accounting procedures, and child care fund collection fee, etc. For more information about fee schedules, contact the Department of Treasury at (517) 373 3223 or see their site at www.michigan.gov/treasury.

 

The circuit court fee schedule clarifies that ancillary guardianship and conservatorship filing fees are $150, as is the case with other civil filing fees for cases filed in the family division. There is no filing fee for a petition for subpoena to testify out-of-state. See the June 9, 2011 memo on this.

 
 

Additional Filing Fee in Domestic Relations Cases

What formerly was collected as a "judgment" or "order entry" fee in actions for which custody, parenting time, or child support was ordered or modified is now collected at the time of filing in addition to the filing fee.  See the memo concerning Amendment of MCL 600.2529 [2014 PA 532].
 

Filing Fees

 

Certification of Copies and Exemplifications of Records; Fees

These guidelines provide direction for certifying copies of records and for attestation (exemplification) when records are being sent out-of-state, including collection of associated fees.

 

Crime Victim Rights Fee

The Crime Victims Rights Act prescribes that persons convicted of any felony or misdemeanor pay a fee to the court which is transmitted to the state Crime Victims Rights Fund. The purpose of the fund is to both reimburse victims for expenses they incurred related to the crime which were not already reimbursed through insurance or restitution and fund a statewide trauma system. For an adult felony conviction, the defendant must pay $130. For an adult misdemeanor conviction, the defendant must pay $75. For a juvenile finding or determination, the juvenile must pay $25.
 
 

DNR Penalties

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources maintains a helpful bench guide for courts to use in commonly encountered wildlife conservation law violations.
  

Driver's License Clearance Fee for FOC Suspensions

MCL 257.321c requires that circuit court clerks collect a $45 driver's license clearance fee from licensees seeking to remove friend of the court (FOC)-related driver's license suspensions. From each fee collected, MCL 552.321c(6) requires clerks to transmit $30 to the county treasurer for deposit into the Friend of the Court (215) Fund and $15 to the Secretary of State on a monthly basis. This fee should be remitted to the Department of State through the transmittal process and reported on the State of Michigan Transmittal for Circuit and Probate Courts (form 57).
 

Jury Demand Fees for Juvenile Delinquency Cases

The Revised Judicature Act specifically exempts requiring payment of a jury demand fee by parties demanding a jury trial in the (former) juvenile division of the probate court [MCL 600.857(3)]. Public Act 388 of 1996 indicates that a reference to the former juvenile division of the probate court shall be construed to be a reference to the family division of the circuit court [MCL 600.1009]. Therefore, a jury demand fee should not be charged to a party demanding a jury trial in the family division of the circuit court for a case filed under the provisions of MCL 712A.1 et seq.
 

Late Fees

Under MCL 600.4801 and 600.4803, a 20% late penalty is applied to any total amount of costs, fees, penalty, or civil violation which has not been paid 56 days after the amount is due. See information regarding definitions, procedure for collecting the penalty, and the forms that apply to the procedure.
 

Motion Fees

Under MCL 600.880b, 600.2529, and 600.8371, and MCR 2.119(G), a motion fee must be paid by the party filing the motion under most circumstances. A motion fee shall be paid whether the request is entitled "motion," "petition," "application," or otherwise. See information regarding types of actions which require a motion fee.
 

Process Server fees 

Process server fees are prescribed by MCL 600.2559.  See a schedule of fees.
 

Request Issuance of Foreign Subpoena

Effective April 1, 2013, 2012 PA 362 amends the Revised Judicature Act and incorprates the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act at MCL 600.2201 et seq.  This act establishes the process for requesting issuance of a discovery subpoena in Michigan for a case pending in another state.  The request for a subpoena does not create a new case, so no case-type code should be assigned and no filing fee should be collected.
 
 

Fines and Costs and Distribution

Recommended Ranges of Civil Fines and Costs for First-Time Civil Infractions

This document is published and distributed annually to each district court by the State Court Administrative Office pursuant to MCL 257.907(8). These recommendations are intended to act as a normative guide for judges and district court magistrates and as a basis for public evaluation of disparities in the imposition of civil fines and costs and other statutory assessments throughout the state. Shaded amounts are either statutory minimum or mandatory amounts, and must be imposed. Refer to the footnotes for direction.
 
The law regarding the assessment of costs in civil infraction cases appears to limit costs to expenses, direct and indirect, to which the plaintiff has been put in connection with the civil infraction excluding expenses to support the day-to-day operations of the district court. Therefore, a range of costs has been recommended to allow for variable factors from court to court.
 
Michigan Compiled Law 257.907(4) allows the assessment of costs only if a fine has been ordered. Individual district courts are expected to prepare their own schedule of fines and cost (including other statutory assessments), taking into account the variable factors within their jurisdiction affecting costs. Additional costs resulting from formal or informal hearings, multiple appearances, and enforcement proceedings for non-appearance should be computed and added, as applicable, by the individual court. Also, 56 days after the payment of the amount is due and owing, courts must impose a late penalty equal to 20% of the outstanding amount pursuant to MCL 600.4803.
 
Each court which establishes a schedule of fines and costs must prominently post it and make it readily available for public inspection pursuant to MCL 257.907(7).
 
The State Court Administrative Office has published a distribution table for use by district and municipal courts to aid in distributing fines and costs in accordance with statutory provisions. See the table.
 
 
 

Driver Responsibility Fees

Driver responsibility fees are assessed by the Michigan Secretary of State for drivers who accumulate seven or more ponts on their driving record or who are convicted of specific qualifying offenses.  See more information.
 
 

Rates

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) Rates

The Estate and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) lists specific dollar amounts relevant to various aspects of decedents' estate cases. It also provides for adjustment to those amounts to reflect changes in the cost of living. Statute directs the Department of Treasury to publish annually by February 1 a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) factor which will determine the dollar amounts to be used in decedents' estate cases for decedents who died in that calendar year. For the most recent COLA rates see Department of Treasury publication.
 

Interest Rates for Civil Judgments

When a person receives a money judgment from a Michigan court, they are permitted to add interest to the unpaid balance in accordance with rates determined by the Michigan Legislature and the Department of Treasury. Rates are updated by the Department of Treasury January 1 and July 1 of each year. See more information.
 

Limitation on Recoverable Damages

Cap on Noneconomic Damages: Statute directs the Department of Treasury to annually adjust the limitation on noneconomic damages in order to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in the consumer price index.
 
Product Liability Determination on Economic Damages: Statute provides that if damages for economic loss cannot readily be ascertained by the trier of fact, then the trier of fact shall calculate damages for economic loss based on an amount that is equal to the state average median family income as reported in the immediately preceding federal decennial census and adjusted by the state treasurer.
 
For the most recent adjustments to the cap on noneconomic damages and the state average mediate family income by the Department of Treasury, see this Department of Treasury publication.
 

Mileage Rates

Mileage rates for jurors and witnesses and service of process.  See the current mileage rates.
 

Travel Rates

Annually, in conjunction with the state fiscal year, the State Court Administrator establishes travel reimbursement rates for travel authorized and reimbursed by the State Court Administrative Office. See the current travel rates.