Fines, Costs and Fees in a Michigan Domestic Violence Case

The fine printed in the domestic assault statute, up to $500 for a first offense, is only one line of what a court can order.^[1] Michigan law adds a crime victim rights assessment, state minimum costs, court costs, restitution and, depending on the case, supervision and program fees.^{[6][8][10][12][13]}

This page lists each charge, the statute behind it and the amount where the law sets one. Several items have no statewide figure because the amount is left to the court or the provider; the page says so where that is the case.

The bill at a glance

Item	Amount	Source
Fine	Up to $500 for a first-offense domestic assault; up to $1,000 for a second offense or aggravated domestic assault; up to $5,000 for the felony versions and for strangulation	Offense statutes[1][2][3][4][5][14]
Crime victim rights assessment	$75 for a misdemeanor; $130 for a felony; once per case	MCL 780.905[6][7]
State minimum costs	$50 for a misdemeanor; $68 for a felony	MCL 769.1j(1)[8]
Court costs	No fixed amount; reasonably related to the trial court's actual costs	MCL 769.1k(1)(b)(iii)[10]
Probation supervision fee	In circuit court, $30 per month of probation ($60 with an electronic monitoring device), up to 60 months; no statewide figure for district court in the sources used here	MCL 771.3c(1)[13][15]
Restitution	Full restitution to any victim of the course of conduct	MCL 780.826(2); MCL 780.766(2)[12][16]
Counseling or intervention program	Set by the program, which is expected to have a written payment policy	Michigan Batterer Intervention Standards[17]

The fine

Each offense statute sets its own maximum fine, which the court may impose instead of or along with incarceration:

• Domestic assault, first offense: not more than $500.^[1]
• Domestic assault with 1 prior, and aggravated domestic assault: not more than $1,000.^[2][4]
• Domestic assault with 2 or more priors, and aggravated domestic assault with a prior: not more than $5,000.^[3][5]
• Felonious assault: not more than $2,000.^[18]
• Assault with intent to do great bodily harm, or assault by strangulation or suffocation: not more than $5,000.^[14]
• Aggravated stalking: not more than $10,000, or $15,000 if the victim was under 18 and the offender is 5 or more years older.^[19]

The incarceration side of these statutes is in Jail and prison: what sentences are possible and the penalties chart.

The crime victim rights assessment

In every case that ends in something other than an acquittal or an unconditional dismissal, the court must order the defendant to pay an assessment of $130 if the offense is a felony or $75 if it is a misdemeanor or ordinance violation.^[6] That includes cases resolved by a deferred judgment, youthful trainee status or a delayed sentence.^[6]

The court orders only 1 assessment per criminal case, even when there are several counts.^[7] Paying it is a required condition of probation.^[20]

State minimum costs

If the court orders any combination of a fine, costs or assessments, it must also order state minimum costs of $68 if the defendant is convicted of a felony or $50 if convicted of a misdemeanor or ordinance violation.^[8] MCL 769.1k separately says the court shall impose the minimum state costs at sentencing, and that requirement applies even if the defendant is placed on probation, probation is revoked, or the defendant is discharged from probation.^[9] Paying the minimum state cost is a condition of probation.^[21]

The statutes that set the assessment and the state minimum costs were each last amended effective April 1, 2012, and those are the amounts in the statute text in force in October 2026.^[6][8]

Court costs, and the December 31, 2026 expiration date

Separately from the state minimum, MCL 769.1k(1)(b)(iii) allows a court to impose "any cost reasonably related to the actual costs incurred by the trial court without separately calculating those costs involved in the particular case."^[10] The statute describes those costs as including salaries and benefits for court personnel, goods and services, and necessary expenses for the operation and maintenance of court buildings and facilities.^[10] No dollar figure is set; the amount varies by court.

This authority is temporary. The provision begins with the words "Until December 31, 2026."^[10] That is the text in force as of October 2026, and the section has been amended several times since 2014, most recently in 2024.^[10] Anyone sentenced near or after that date should check whether the Legislature has extended it. Only subparagraph (iii) carries the date; the state minimum costs in subsection (1)(a) do not.^[9][10]

The same section lets a court impose the expenses of providing legal assistance to the defendant and any additional costs incurred in compelling the defendant's appearance, and lets it require payment by wage assignment.^[22] No amount is stated for those items.^[22]

Probation and supervision fees

The circuit court has jurisdiction over felonies after bindover.^[23] In circuit court, the probation order must include a supervision fee of $30 multiplied by the number of months of probation ordered, but not more than 60 months.^[13] With an electronic monitoring device the fee is $60 per month, the fee may be paid in monthly installments if the court approves, and the court may waive it if it determines the person is indigent.^[15] A circuit court that delays sentence under MCL 771.1 includes a supervision fee of $30 per month of delay, for not more than 12 months, or $60 per month with electronic monitoring.^[24]

For district court probation, the sources used for this guide contain no statewide dollar figure.^[13] What the statute does provide are two limits on costs ordered as a probation condition:

• They must be limited to expenses specifically incurred in prosecuting the defendant, providing legal assistance to the defendant, and supervising the probationer.^[25]
• The court shall not require a probationer to pay them unless the probationer is or will be able to pay them during the term of probation.^[26]

Probation terms are explained in Probation in a domestic violence case.

Restitution

Restitution is not a fine. It is money paid to the victim for losses, and it is mandatory: when sentencing a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor, the court must order full restitution to any victim of the defendant's course of conduct, and the same rule applies in felony cases.^[12][16] Crime victims have a state constitutional right to restitution.^[27] A probationer must pay it as a condition of probation.^[28]

What restitution covers and how it is collected are in Restitution: who pays for medical bills and damage.

Program, counseling and monitoring costs

Counseling and intervention programs. On a deferral, the court may order the accused to pay the reasonable costs of a mandatory counseling program.^[29] Michigan's Batterer Intervention Standards say participants are expected to contribute to the payment of the program, and that each program must have a written payment policy with provisions for indigent participants.^[17] See Batterer intervention programs.

Stalking cases. A court may order a person on probation for stalking to be evaluated for counseling and to receive it at his or her own expense.^[30]

Electronic monitoring before trial. A defendant ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device as a release condition is released only if he or she agrees to pay the cost of the device and monitoring or to perform community service work in lieu of paying.^[31] See GPS tether and alcohol monitoring on bond.

Costs in a deferred or delayed case

A dismissal earned through a deferral is not free. If entry of judgment is deferred in district court, the court must require the individual to pay the minimum state costs.^[32] The crime victim rights assessment and restitution apply as well.^[6][12] The same three items apply when sentence is delayed, and the assessment and restitution apply to youthful trainee status.^[9][6][12] See The first-offender deferral (MCL 769.4a).

What the court cannot bill for

People are sometimes told the defendant will have to repay the cost of the police response. MCL 769.1f allows a court to order reimbursement of government expenses for emergency response and prosecution only for the offenses that section lists. The list does not include domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault, felonious assault or strangulation.^[33] It does include criminal contempt for violating a personal protection order, and false reports under MCL 750.411a.^[33]

If you cannot pay

Under MCR 6.425(D)(3), before sentencing a defendant to a term of incarceration, or revoking probation, for failure to comply with an order to pay money, the court must make a finding that the defendant is able to comply with the order without manifest hardship and has not made a good-faith effort to comply.^[11] The costs statute has its own version: a defendant must not be imprisoned, jailed or incarcerated for nonpayment of costs ordered under MCL 769.1k unless the court determines that the defendant has the resources to pay and has not made a good-faith effort to do so.^[34]

Practical steps help. Ask the court clerk or probation officer about a payment plan before a due date passes, keep receipts for every payment, and tell the probation officer promptly about a job loss or other change.

Why unpaid money matters later

Two later consequences are tied to payment. Michigan's 8-year firearm restriction after a misdemeanor involving domestic violence does not begin to run until the person has paid all fines imposed for the violation, served all terms of imprisonment and completed all conditions of probation.^[35][36] And setting aside a conviction does not return fines or costs already paid or cancel restitution still owed.^[37][38]