This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for dui / dwi in Michigan, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a dui / dwi in Michigan costs on average $7,950, typically $5,300-$10,600 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. Typical attorney rates run $200 to $370 per hour. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 3-6 months to resolve. Common related costs include court filing fee ($100-$300) and dmv hearing fee ($100-$200).
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $2,150 | $3,750 | $5,300 | 1-3 months |
| Moderate | $5,300 | $7,950 | $10,600 | 3-6 months |
| Complex | $9,000 | $15,250 | $22,500 | 6-12 months |
Last verified: June 2026
$200 – $370/ hour
Median: $270/hr
3-6 months
For moderate complexity cases
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</script>DUI/DWI legal cost has two layers that are easy to underestimate: the attorney fee itself, and the non-attorney costs that follow a conviction or plea. The attorney fee is driven mainly by whether the case goes to trial (far more hours billed) or resolves through a plea agreement, plus complicating factors like BAC level, prior offenses, or an accident with injuries. Many DUI attorneys charge a flat fee for a straightforward first offense and switch to hourly billing once the case becomes contested.
Beyond the attorney, a DUI case typically layers on court fines, a state-mandated alcohol education or treatment program, license reinstatement fees, and — for many drivers — an ignition interlock device with ongoing monthly costs. Insurance premium increases are not a one-time legal cost but often the largest total expense over a 3-5 year period following conviction, which is why the figures on this page reflect legal defense costs specifically, not the lifetime cost of a conviction.
Take a moderate-complexity dui / dwi matter in Michigan. The recorded median total is $7,950, with reported quotes clustering between $5,300 and $10,600. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $1,200–$3,500, which leaves roughly $4,450–$6,750 of the Michigan median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. 2 further recorded fees are not itemised above and are not in that total.
At $7,950, the median dui / dwi cost in Michigan runs 7% above the $7,403 national average across all 50 states and DC.
Michigan carries 3 rows — simple, $2,150–$5,300 at $150–$295/hr over 1-3 months; moderate, $5,300–$10,600 at $200–$370/hr over 3-6 months; complex, $9,000–$22,500 at $250–$445/hr over 6-12 months — on 4 shared citations. They put it above the midpoint, short of the top quarter.
$7,950 is a median, not the middle of the band — $2,650 above the $5,300 floor, $2,650 under the $10,600 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 51.
At 19th of 51, Michigan sits above the midpoint of the dui / dwi table: $500 more than the $7,450 median state, or 7%, with 18 states recording a higher median.
California ($8,000) and Oregon ($7,950) bracket Michigan inside a $50 window — narrow enough that 19th is close to arbitrary.
7 tracked states — Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Oregon among them — record a median within three percent of Michigan's $7,950. The figure sits in the densest part of the dui / dwi distribution, where a rank change of several rows costs only a few hundred dollars.
Hourly rate does not explain this state's position. At $270 an hour Michigan is only 27th of 51 on rate, yet 19th on total dui / dwi cost — the totals reflect billed hours accumulating, not an unusually high rate.
| Rank | State | Median | Against Michigan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Minnesota | $8,300 | +$350 |
| 14 | Arizona | $8,250 | +$300 |
| 15 | Maryland | $8,250 | +$300 |
| 16 | Vermont | $8,150 | +$200 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | $8,050 | +$100 |
| 18 | California | $8,000 | +$50 |
| 19 | Michigan | $7,950 | — |
| 20 | Oregon | $7,950 | −$0 |
| 21 | Illinois | $7,850 | −$100 |
| 22 | Texas | $7,800 | −$150 |
| 23 | Utah | $7,750 | −$200 |
| 24 | Georgia | $7,700 | −$250 |
| 25 | Nevada | $7,450 | −$500 |
The 19th position is not a stable fact about Michigan: $50 up or $0 down moves Michigan a row, and a ten percent revision in either direction would cross 17 rows, 9 above and 8 below in near-equal numbers.
Climbing five places would mean passing Arizona, Maryland, Vermont, Massachusetts, California and adding $300 to the $7,950 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Georgia: $250.
$1,850 short of Washington ($9,800), $2,400 clear of South Carolina ($5,550).
The $7,950 median divided by the $270 median rate implies roughly 29 billable hours. The peer median is 27 hours, so 2 more hours of work sit behind the Michigan figure than behind the typical state's.
The escalation is comparatively shallow on hours. A complex dui / dwi costs 4.1x a simple one in Michigan, but the implied workload only rises 2.6x — 17 hours at $225 becomes 44 hours at $345 — meaning the senior-rate premium of 1.53x carries an unusually large share of the increase.
From $5,300 to $10,600 the moderate band is $5,300 wide, close to the $5,000 peer median. End to end that is 20 hours at $270.
Per month of elapsed time the two tiers are close: about $1,767 a month across the 3-6 months recorded for a moderate matter, and $1,694 a month across the 6-12 months recorded for a complex one.
A third ordering: by implied hours Michigan is 6th of 51 at 29 hours, 13 places above its cost rank of 19th on cost — more work behind the same dui / dwi money.
41% up the $5,300–$10,600 band sits the $7,450 table midpoint, buying 28 hours at $270 against the 29 the local dui / dwi median implies — 1 hour apart.
| Measure | Michigan | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $7,950 | 19th |
| Hourly median | $270 | 27th |
| Implied hours | 29 | 6th |
| Simple median | $3,750 | 18th |
| Complex median | $15,250 | 32nd |
$270 an hour puts Michigan between Maine ($270) and Florida ($265) — not the dui / dwi cost pairing.
Maine records the same $270: rate cannot separate them, totals do.
$7,950 buys 35 hours at $225, 29 at $270, 23 at $345.
| Rank | State | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Nevada | $275 |
| 26 | Maine | $270 |
| 27 | Michigan | $270 |
| 28 | Florida | $265 |
| 29 | Georgia | $260 |
The tiers rank Michigan very differently. It is 18th at the simple tier, 19th at moderate, 32nd at complex of 51 — a fall of 14 places as the matter becomes harder. The state is expensive to start a dui / dwi in and comparatively ordinary to finish one in.
$3,750 is 18th of 51 on a straightforward dui / dwi, under Oregon ($3,800) and over Pennsylvania ($3,700), $350 over the $3,400 tier midpoint.
$15,250 is 32nd of 51 once contested, between Nebraska ($15,300) and North Carolina ($15,250), $1,100 off the $16,350 tier midpoint.
The three bands are continuous in Michigan: the simple tier reaches $5,300 where the moderate tier starts at $5,300, and the moderate tier reaches $10,600 where the complex tier starts at $9,000. A single quoted figure can therefore belong to two different tiers, and the tier label — not the number — is what identifies which.
| Tier | Michigan | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $3,750 | 18th | $3,400 | 17 |
| moderate | $7,950 | 19th | $7,450 | 29 |
| complex | $15,250 | 32nd | $16,350 | 44 |
$3,750 puts Michigan 18th of 51 on straightforward matters, 1 up on its moderate position, and $350 (10%) over the $3,400 tier midpoint.
17 implied hours at $225: 59% of the moderate tier's 29, over 1-3 months.
Oregon ($3,800) and Pennsylvania ($3,700) bracket it — a $100 window.
6 states sit within three percent of the $3,750 here, against 7 at the moderate row.
$15,250 drops Michigan to 32nd of 51 on contested matters, 13 below its moderate position and $1,100 (7%) under the $16,350 tier midpoint.
44 implied hours at $345: 152% of the moderate tier's 29, over 6-12 months.
Nebraska ($15,300) and North Carolina ($15,250) bracket it — a $50 window.
6 states sit within three percent of the $15,250 here, against 7 at the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Delaware | $3,800 |
| 17 | Oregon | $3,800 |
| 18 | Michigan | $3,750 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $3,700 |
| 20 | Florida | $3,650 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Wisconsin | $15,950 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $15,300 |
| 32 | Michigan | $15,250 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $15,250 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $15,250 |
$7,950 ranks a dui / dwi 3rd of 8 in Michigan, under Divorce, over Personal Injury. At 76% of Criminal Defense ($10,400).
The state does not rank uniformly. Michigan is 16th of 51 for Personal Injury but 32nd for Estate Planning / Probate, a 16-place spread across the matter types tracked here, so its 19th on dui / dwi says little about what the other lines cost.
The spread across practice areas is wide. Divorce runs 12% above its own midpoint, while Estate Planning / Probate runs 11% below its own midpoint — 23 percentage points apart. A single "Michigan is expensive" or "Michigan is inexpensive" claim would be wrong for at least one of the matter types tracked here.
Michigan's practice areas fan out more than most: its largest tracked median is 5.6x its smallest, against 5.1x for the typical state. Prices here are set matter by matter rather than by one statewide level.
1 of 7 matter types rank Michigan in the upper third, 0 in the lower, 6 between; dui / dwi is 19th.
In percentile terms it sits at the 64th percentile of the 51 tracked states.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $3,750 | $10,400 | $28,550 | 35 | 24th | +2% | Pennsylvania |
| Divorce | $3,250 | $9,600 | $19,900 | 33 | 18th | +12% | Illinois |
| DUI / DWI | $3,750 | $7,950 | $15,250 | 29 | 19th | +7% | California |
| Personal Injury | $1,600 | $5,100 | $15,200 | — | 16th | −2% | Georgia |
| Immigration | $2,000 | $4,750 | $10,950 | 18 | 25th | level | Arizona |
| Bankruptcy | $1,450 | $3,600 | $4,850 | 14 | 24th | level | Arizona |
| Real Estate Closing | $950 | $2,050 | $4,250 | 8 | — | −8% | — |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $650 | $1,850 | $5,650 | 7 | 32nd | −11% | Florida |
Simple tier. $3,750 ÷ $225 = about 17 hours, spread over 1-3 months at roughly $1,875 a month. The $4,200 step to the moderate tier is 12 more hours at that rate.
Work against price. $7,950 to $15,250 is a $7,300 step weighted toward price: 15 more hours at $270 is $4,050, but $345 across 44 hours adds $3,300 — 45% of it.
Borrowing the wrong row. Oregon ($7,950) is $0 light, California ($8,000) is $50 heavy — but the $7,450 table midpoint is out by $500, 10x the neighbour error.
Both ends, in time. $5,300 is 20 hours at $270; $10,600 is 39. Over the 3-6 months recorded for a moderate dui / dwi, that is 4 to 9 hours a month — the difference between an occasional file review and continuous work.
Contested against simple. At Michigan's own recorded figures, $15,250 buys 4.1 matters at the $3,750 simple median — or, counted in time, 44 implied hours against 17, a factor of 2.6 — the two ratios differing because the rate rises with the tier.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the Michigancourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.