General Motion Information: A motion is a formal request, made in writing, asking the court for a specific action. The written motion must be filed with the Oakland County Clerk’s Office for Circuit Court matters. Motions are heard on Wednesday mornings by the judge assigned to the case. Motion requirements and basic procedure are governed by MCR 2.119 and LCR 2.119 however, specific motion procedures may vary by judge and case type. Some judges may have information on required procedures listed in their protocol. Please check your judge's posted protocol information. Dependent upon your case type, filing a motion may require payment of a fee at the time of filing as designated by the State Court Administrative Office published Fee Schedule. Procedural information on filing motions for different case types is listed below. The court cannot offer you legal advice on filing your motion.

Motion Procedures on Civil Matters

Civil cases include actions between two or more parties to resolve a disagreement. This includes cases involving appeals, divorce, child support, and custody. There are two different procedures to file a motion on a Civil case dependent on the case type. If you are unsure which process you should use please look up your case type by the two digit letters at the end of the case number (ie. 2015-123456-CZ).

eFiled Cases

The Oakland County Circuit Court has mandatory eFiling on Civil cases and Divorces Without Children (DO). If your case is part of the eFiling pilot governed by Administrative Order 2007-3 and Administrative Order 2010-3 you must file your motion and any supporting documents via MiFile. To serve other parties on the case electronically, in place of paper methods of service, you must choose "eFile and Serve" when submitting your filing. To add your motion to the assigned judges docket you must complete an ePraecipe at least 7 days prior to the hearing . Motions and Notice of Hearing must be served on opposing parties as required by MCR 2.119. If you need assistance the Oakland County Clerks eServices staff can help you with the eFiling system or scanning documents. The eServices Center is located on the ground floor of the courthouse, next to the Clerks Office. The charge for filing most motions is $20 in addition to the eFiling and eService fee. All payments for eFiled cases must be made by either Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. If you do not have a credit card you can purchase a prepaid credit card from anywhere offering them as long as it uses the Visa, MasterCard, American Express or the Discover Card logo. There is no charge to use the ePraecipe system. For more information on the eFiling program, see Oakland County's eFiling page.

Cases Not in the eFiling Pilot

If your case is not part of the eFiling pilot your motion should be filed with the Oakland County Clerk's Office either in person, by mail, or by messenger. Both eFiled and non eFiled cases are governed by MCR 2.119 and LCR 2.119. In addition to filing your motion, to schedule your motion on the assigned judges calendar you must either complete an Electronic Praecipe or complete and file a Praecipe Form as required by LCR 2.119(B). The Electronic Praecipe must be submitted or the Praecipe Form must be filed at least 7 days before the date of the hearing. The charge for filing a motion is $20 in addition to any delivery or service fees with the exception of parenting or custody motions. You may opt to have service of your documents performed by the Oakland County Sheriff Civil Division for $26 plus mileage. To serve this way please check with the Oakland County Sheriff Civil Division located on the 1st floor of the Courthouse at the time of filing. Payment must be made at the time of filing. If filing in person you can pay with cash, money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or the Discover Card. If you are mailing in your motion you must pay by money order. Money orders must be made out to "Oakland County Clerk". If you are filing by messenger they must pay by cash, money order, or a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card issued in their own name.

Motion Procedures on Criminal Matters

Criminal cases are matters where an individual has been charged with or convicted of committing one or more crimes. This would include case types - FC, FH, FJ, and AX. Motions on criminal matters prior to case disposition should be handled by the attorney of record on the case. If you have been charged with a crime where the case has been bound over to the Oakland County Circuit Court and you need an attorney appointed to represent you in that matter contact the chambers of the Circuit Court Judge assigned to your case. If your case has already been decided and you need to file a motion regarding that disposition or some aspect of that case, other than part of an appeal, and you do not have an attorney you may file the motion with the Oakland County Clerk's Office. That motion may be delivered in person, by mail, or by messenger. Generally motions on criminal matters require no fee other than the cost of service, if necessary, and are governed by MCR 2.119 and LCR 2.119 except for motions filed pursuant to MCR 6.500 or if a statute requires a different procedure. The court cannot offer legal advice on which procedure you should follow or how to write your motion.

Motion Forms

The Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) publishes forms, like the General Motion and Notice of Hearing. Please note some requests have specific motion forms. Additional State Court Administrative Office Motion forms can also be accessed through the Michigan State Court's Form Search portal. The court may dismiss your motion for failure to file the correct form or failure to serve the opposing party and file proof of service. The Court cannot offer legal advice on which form you should use or what you should write.