Fees for marriage license could jump 150%

Increase would better fund processing, supplies

Marriage license fees in Michigan would more than double under legislation sent to the state House floor for a vote Tuesday.

The Michigan House Committee on Families, Children and Seniors reported House Bill 4547 to the full chamber to decide whether to increase the state’s marriage license fee from $20 to $50. The legislation would increase the fee from $30 to $75 for two non-Michigan residents applying for a license.

Only Democrats serving on the committee voted to send it on to the full chamber.

“This $20 fee was set in the ’60s and has not been altered since. If the fee kept up with inflation, it would be more than $150 in today’s money,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Will Snyder, D-Muskegon, during a previous committee hearing on his legislation. He noted that his bill would still allow a probate court to order the county clerk to waive the fee if it “would result in undue hardship,” as the law states.

Under current state law, $15 from each marriage license fee goes to the county circuit court for domestic violence and child abuse family counseling services. Snyder’s bill leaves that intact. But by increasing the fee, more money would flow into a county’s general fund to cover the costs of processing a license.

County clerks who testified before lawmakers expressed support for the change, saying that the current fee does not cover the cost of supplies alone, such as the special paper used to print a marriage license.

Michigan’s marriage rate has fallen over time, according to statistics from the state. The marriage rate reached a record high in 1920 with 27.7 people married per 1,000 residents. In 2022, the rate was 10.1 per 1,000 residents.

Even still, increasing marriage fees could mean thousands of dollars for Michigan counties, Snyder said. In 2022, Michigan recorded 50,992 marriages.

Comparing Mich. marriage license fees

Michigan appears to have a lower marriage license fee than its Midwest neighbors.

The proposed increase would put Michigan’s fees above Indiana’s; that state charges $25 for a license for residents and $65 for those out-of-state. But the proposed Michigan fee bump would generally put it roughly on par with other nearby states. In Ohio and Illinois, the cost varies by county. In Ohio’s most populous county, the fee is $65. It’s $60 in Illinois’ most populous county.

Wisconsin’s fees also vary by county. In Milwaukee County, lovebirds pay $110 for a license.