Divorce cost · MI
Cost of divorce in Michigan
Michigan sets circuit court fees by statute, so a divorce costs the same to file in Detroit and in the Upper Peninsula, but children change both the price and the calendar.
Rules read on official Michigan pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Filing fee
- $175
- statewide
- Response fee
- None
- Waiting period
- 60 days
- Fees read on
- October 8, 2026
A Michigan divorce costs $175 to file in any circuit court: the $150 civil filing fee of MCL 600.2529 plus the electronic filing system fee. When the court must decide custody or parenting time of a minor child, the filer also pays $80, which brings the bill to $255; if only child support is at issue the add-on is $40. The defendant pays no fee to answer, and each motion later costs $20. Time is set by MCL 552.9f: no testimony for 60 days after filing, and six months when there are dependent minor children, a delay the judge can shorten only for unusual hardship or compelling necessity. One spouse must have lived in Michigan for 180 days and in the county for 10 days before filing. A Fee Waiver Request on SCAO form MC 20 suspends the fees for low-income filers.
Estimated cost of a divorce in Michigan
$175
of which $175 in court fees · earliest final decree after 60 days
| Court filing fee (petition) | $175 |
Low income? Court fees can be waived in Michigan: Fee Waiver Request (MC 20).
Court fees are the official Michigan amounts; attorney, mediation and service costs are the figures you enter. How this is calculated.
Fees fixed in Lansing
Unlike states where each county clerk prices a divorce, Michigan writes its circuit court fees into the Revised Judicature Act, and the State Court Administrative Office publishes them in one circuit court fee table. Circuit court civil filing fee of $150 (MCL 600.2529(1)(a)) plus the $25 electronic filing system fee for civil actions (MCL 600.1986(1)(a)) = $175. When custody or parenting time of a minor child is to be determined, an extra $80 is due at filing (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(i)), or $40 if only child support is to be determined (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(ii)). SCAO Circuit Court Fee and Assessments Table, February 2025.
The children's fees are what make Michigan unusual. They are not charged because there are children, but because the court is asked to decide something about them: custody or parenting time triggers $80, support alone $40. A couple with grown children pays the base $175. The fee table sends these amounts to the Friend of the Court Fund, which pays for the county office that handles custody and support orders.
Sixty days, or six months
No proofs or testimony may be taken until 60 days after the complaint is filed; when there are dependent minor children under 18, not until 6 months after filing, which the court may shorten to no less than 60 days for unusual hardship or compelling necessity (MCL 552.9f). The 60-day floor counts from filing, not from service. With minor children, the default is six months, and shortening it takes a petition and a proper showing of unusual hardship or compelling necessity. For budgeting, the longer window matters only if a lawyer is billing during it, for example on temporary custody or support motions at $20 each.
The plaintiff or defendant must have resided in Michigan for 180 days immediately before filing and, with exceptions in subsection (2), in the county of filing for 10 days (MCL 552.9(1)).
No short form, but a single packet
No summary or simplified divorce procedure in the Michigan statutes. Agreed couples still file a complaint, serve it or obtain an acknowledgment, wait, and present a judgment of divorce. No statewide statutory parenting class requirement was found; some circuit courts require one by local practice.
Two Michigan budgets
A couple without minor children who hire one lawyer at $300 an hour for 10 hours (replace these sample numbers with your quote) pay $175 to the court and about $3,175 in all. The same couple with a young child pays $255 to file and waits the longer period. Fee Waiver Request (MC 20) covers both the filing fee and the electronic filing fee when granted. Michigan child support uses its own formula, shown on the Michigan child support page; across the border, Ohio prices divorce by county deposit.
The Michigan fees and rules this calculator applies
| Court fee | Michigan |
|---|---|
| Petition for divorce | $175 |
| Response or answer | no fee |
| Custody or parenting-time fee when custody of a minor child is to be determined (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(i)) | $80 |
| Child support fee when only support of a minor child is to be determined (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(ii)) | $40 |
| Motion fee (MCL 600.2529(1)(e)) | $20 |
Filing fee. Circuit court civil filing fee of $150 (MCL 600.2529(1)(a)) plus the $25 electronic filing system fee for civil actions (MCL 600.1986(1)(a)) = $175. When custody or parenting time of a minor child is to be determined, an extra $80 is due at filing (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(i)), or $40 if only child support is to be determined (MCL 600.2529(1)(d)(ii)). SCAO Circuit Court Fee and Assessments Table, February 2025. source
Fee waiver. Fee Waiver Request (MC 20). source
Residency. The plaintiff or defendant must have resided in Michigan for 180 days immediately before filing and, with exceptions in subsection (2), in the county of filing for 10 days (MCL 552.9(1)). source
Waiting period. No proofs or testimony may be taken until 60 days after the complaint is filed; when there are dependent minor children under 18, not until 6 months after filing, which the court may shorten to no less than 60 days for unusual hardship or compelling necessity (MCL 552.9f). source
Simplified procedure. No summary or simplified divorce procedure in the Michigan statutes.
Parenting class. No statewide statutory parenting class requirement was found; some circuit courts require one by local practice.