You can get a free divorce in Michigan by filing a fee waiver request (Form MC 20) along with your divorce paperwork under Michigan Court Rule 2.002. Filing a divorce complaint normally costs around $175 without minor children and roughly $255 with children, but the circuit court must waive those fees, plus the cost of serving your spouse, if you receive certain public benefits or your household income sits below 125 percent of the federal poverty level. Even above that line, a judge can still waive your fees if paying them would mean going without rent, utilities, or food.
Who Qualifies to Have Fees Waived
Michigan Court Rule 2.002 gives you three ways in.1Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules Chapter 2 – Section: Rule 2.002 Waiver of Fees for Indigent Persons
The first is automatic. If you currently receive a means-tested public benefit, the clerk waives your fees on the spot without sending you to a judge. Qualifying programs include Food Assistance (Michigan’s SNAP), Medicaid, the Family Independence Program, WIC, and Supplemental Security Income. Any other federal, state, or local means-tested benefit works too.
The second path is income. If your gross household income is below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, the court must waive the fees. For 2026, those thresholds are:
- 1 person: $19,950
- 2 people: $27,050
- 3 people: $34,150
- 4 people: $41,250
Add $7,100 for each additional household member. The figures update every year with the federal poverty guidelines.
The third path is hardship. If your income is higher than the chart but paying the fee would genuinely force you to skip rent, utilities, or groceries, you can describe your situation on the form and ask the judge to waive fees anyway. This is where detail matters, because the judge is making a judgment call rather than checking a box.
Filling Out Form MC 20
The form is called “Fee Waiver Request,” most recently revised January 2026. You can download it from the Michigan Courts website or pick up a paper copy at your circuit court clerk’s office.2Michigan Courts. Form MC 20, Fee Waiver Request Michigan Legal Help’s do-it-yourself divorce tool also produces the MC 20 along with the rest of your divorce paperwork.3Michigan Legal Help. Do-It-Yourself Divorce
The form asks for your gross household income by source (wages, Social Security, pension, disability) and frequency. You list your assets and their approximate value: bank balances, vehicles, real estate, anything else of note. Then you list your monthly obligations: rent or mortgage, utilities, loan payments, court-ordered support, medical costs, and similar recurring bills.
Fill every field. If something does not apply, write zero rather than leaving the line blank. A judge reviewing an income-based or hardship request must decide within three business days, and missing information is grounds for denial.1Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules Chapter 2 – Section: Rule 2.002 Waiver of Fees for Indigent Persons The point is to show the court that after basic living expenses, there is nothing left over. Specificity speeds approval.
Filing and Serving Your Spouse at No Cost
You file the completed MC 20 together with your divorce complaint at the circuit court in the county where you or your spouse has lived for the past 10 days. You will also need a summons (Form MC 01), which notifies your spouse of the case and sets their response deadline.
Many Michigan courts accept electronic filing through MiFILE, the state judiciary’s online system, which lets you upload documents from home.4Michigan Courts. MiFILE Electronic Filing System Not every court participates, so check the available courts list before relying on it. Otherwise, bring your paperwork to the clerk’s office in person.
Once the court grants the waiver, you still have to serve your spouse with the complaint and summons. Serving papers normally costs money for a process server or sheriff’s deputy, but the MC 20 order covers service fees too. Keep a copy of the signed order with you throughout the case. Different court offices and the sheriff may want to see it before giving you a service at no charge.
Residency and Waiting Periods Still Apply
A waiver removes the cost, not the clock. You or your spouse must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days immediately before you file, and in the county of filing for at least 10 days.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 552.9 – Residency Requirement for Divorce A narrow exception exists for cases with minor children where the other spouse is a citizen of another country and there is a risk of the children being taken abroad.
Michigan also imposes mandatory waiting periods after filing. With no minor children, the court cannot hold a final hearing until at least 60 days after you file. With children under 18, the wait stretches to six months.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 552.9f – Waiting Period for Divorce Those are minimums. Contested cases usually run longer; a straightforward uncontested case with no children can realistically finish two to three months after filing.
Extra Steps If You Have Minor Children
Divorces involving children require additional forms and additional fees, all of which the waiver covers. You will need a Domestic Relations Judgment Information form (FOC 100), a Verified Statement (FOC 23), and a domestic violence screening form (MC 282a). The waiver also absorbs the custody and parenting time fee and the child support fee that are normally added on top of the base filing fee.
Your case will involve the Friend of the Court, the office attached to each circuit court’s family division that investigates and recommends custody, parenting time, and support arrangements to the judge.7Michigan Legislature. A Guide to Custody, Parenting Time and Support The Friend of the Court does not act as your attorney, file motions for you, or give you legal advice. It investigates and recommends; the judge decides.
Getting to the Final Judgment
In an uncontested divorce, where both spouses agree on property, support, and custody, the process after filing is manageable without a lawyer. Your spouse has a set number of days (stated on the summons) to answer. If they do not, you can request a default through the clerk at no additional cost. You then schedule a final hearing for after the 60-day or six-month waiting period, whichever applies.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 552.9f – Waiting Period for Divorce
You must appear at the final hearing even if the case is uncontested. Bring all your paperwork, including a proposed Judgment of Divorce. The judge will ask about residency, the breakdown of the marriage, and the terms you are proposing. If everything is in order, the judge signs that day.8Michigan Legal Help. Divorce without Minor Children – Default Judgment You then file the signed judgment with the clerk and serve a copy on your spouse within seven days.
A contested case, where you and your spouse disagree over property, custody, or support, is a different animal. Discovery, motions, and trial preparation take legal knowledge that is hard to improvise. If your case is contested and you qualified for a waiver, finding free legal help should be the first thing you do, not the last.
Free Legal Help to Go With Your Free Filing
The waiver gets you through the courthouse door. It does not replace legal advice.
Two legal aid organizations handle family law for people who meet income guidelines. Lakeshore Legal Aid covers Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties in southeast Michigan, with attorneys who handle mediation and courtroom representation.9Michigan Legal Help. Lakeshore Legal Aid Legal Aid of Western Michigan serves western counties including Kent, Kalamazoo, Berrien, and Muskegon.10Legal Aid of Western Michigan. Legal Aid of Western Michigan
If you do not qualify for full representation or live outside those service areas, the Michigan Legal Help do-it-yourself divorce tool generates completed forms based on a guided questionnaire and produces filing instructions keyed to your county.3Michigan Legal Help. Do-It-Yourself Divorce For an uncontested divorce without a lawyer, it is probably the most useful single resource in the state. Local pro bono programs and county bar associations can also point you to volunteer attorneys for limited-scope help.
What the Waiver Does Not Cover
A free filing is not a free pass on the financial side of divorce. Dividing a 401(k) or pension requires a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), and drafting one incorrectly is a common and expensive mistake for self-represented filers.11U.S. Department of Labor. QDROs Qualified Domestic Relations Orders – An Overview If retirement accounts are in play, that alone is reason to pursue free legal representation. Child support and spousal support cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy either, so any assumptions about using bankruptcy to clear post-divorce obligations are wrong.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge