Rule 3.221.Hearings on Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act Bench Warrants

Subchapter 3.200 — Domestic Relations Actions · Last verified September 5, 2026

In one sentenceMCR 3.221 governs what follows an arrest on a bench warrant issued under the Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, setting a hearing on the merits within 21 days, bond review, conditional release, and the terms for forfeiting a performance bond.

Full Text of Rule 3.221

Text sizeJump to: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G) (H) (I) (J) (K)

(A) Definitions.

(1) Unless the context indicates otherwise, the term "bond" means the performance bond required by MCL 552.631.

(2) The term "cash" means money or the equivalent of money, such as a money order, cashier's check, or negotiable check or a payment by debit or credit card, which equivalent is accepted as cash by the agency accepting the payment.

(3) Unless the context indicates otherwise, the term "person," when used in this rule, means a party who has been arrested on a bench warrant issued pursuant to MCL 552.631.

(B) Hearing on the Merits. The court shall hold a hearing in connection with the matter in which the warrant was issued within 21 days of the date of arrest. Except as provided in this rule, a person who does not post a bond, within 48 hours of arrest excluding weekends and holidays, shall be brought before the court that issued the warrant for further proceedings on the matter in which the warrant was issued. The hearing may be adjourned when necessary to give notice of the proceedings to another party or to receive additional evidence. In the event the hearing is adjourned, the court shall set terms of release under subrule (F). Failure to hold a hearing within 21 days will not deprive the court of jurisdiction to proceed.

(C) Bond Review Hearing. A person who has not posted a bond, and whose case cannot be heard as provided in subrule (B), must without unnecessary delay be brought before a judge, or referee for a review of the bond.

(D) Place of Bond Review Hearing. Except as otherwise provided in this subrule, a bond review hearing under subrule (E) must be held in the circuit court specified in the warrant. If a person is arrested in a circuit other than the one specified in the warrant, the arresting agency must make arrangements to assure that the person is promptly transported to the court specified in the warrant for a hearing in accordance with the provisions of this rule. If prompt transportation cannot be arranged, the bond review hearing must be held in the jurisdiction in which the individual is being held.

(E) Conduct of Bond Review Hearing. At the bond review hearing, the person must be advised of the purpose of the hearing on the merits and a determination must be made of what form of prehearing release is appropriate. A verbatim record must be made of the bond review hearing. Pending the hearing required under subrule (B), the person must be released on conditions under subrule (F).

(F) Conditional Release. The person must be released on condition that the person will appear for a hearing under subrule (B) and any other conditions that are appropriate to ensure that the person will appear as required for a hearing under subrule (B), including requiring the person to:

(1) make reports to a court agency as required by the court or the agency;

(2) comply with restrictions on personal associations, place of residence, place of employment, or travel;

(3) surrender driver's license or passport;

(4) comply with a specified curfew;

(5) continue or seek employment or participate in a work program;

(6) continue or begin an educational program;

(7) remain in the custody of a responsible member of the community who agrees to monitor the person and report any violation of any release condition to the court;

(8) post a bond as described in subrule (G).

In the event the person cannot satisfy a condition of release, the arresting agency must make arrangements with the authorities in the county of the court specified in the warrant to have the person promptly transported to that county for a hearing in accordance with the provisions of this rule.

(G) Performance Bond Modification. If it is determined for reasons stated on the record that the person's appearance cannot otherwise be assured, the person, in addition to any conditions described in subrule (F), may be required to post a bond at the person's option, executed:

(1) by the person, or by another who is not a licensed surety, and secured by a cash deposit for the full bond amount, or

(2) by a surety approved by the court.

(H) Decision; Statement of Reasons.

(1) In deciding what terms and conditions to impose under subrule (F), relevant information, including the following shall be considered:

(a) the person's record for reporting information to the friend of the court and complying with court orders;

(b) the person's record of appearance or nonappearance at court proceedings;

(d) the amount of support owed;

(e) the person's employment status and history and financial history insofar as these factors relate to the ability to post bond;

(f) the availability of responsible members of the community who would vouch for or monitor the person;

(g) facts indicating the person's ties to the community, including family ties and relationships, and length of residence; and

(h) any other facts bearing on the risk of nonappearance.

(2) The reasons for requiring a bond under subrule (F), must be stated on the record. A finding on each of the enumerated factors is not necessary.

(3) Nothing in this rule may be construed to sanction the determination of prehearing release on the basis of race, religion, gender, economic status, or other impermissible criteria.

(I) Review; Modification of Release Decision.

(1) Review. A party seeking review of a release decision may file a motion in the court having appellate jurisdiction over the decision maker. If the decision was made by a referee, a party is entitled to a new hearing. Otherwise, the reviewing court may not stay, vacate, modify, or reverse the release decision except on finding an abuse of discretion.

(2) Emergency Release. If a person is ordered released from custody as a result of a court order or law requiring the release of prisoners to relieve jail conditions, the court ordering the release shall impose conditions of release in accordance with this rule to ensure the appearance of the individual as required. If such conditions of release are imposed, the court must inform the person of the conditions on the record or by furnishing to the person or the person's lawyer a copy of the release order setting forth the conditions.

(J) Termination of Release Order.

(1) After a bond is set pursuant to subrule (G), if the person appears for the hearing in subrule (B) the court must vacate the release order, discharge a third party who has posted the bond, and return the cash posted in the full amount of a bond. At the court's discretion, an arrested person who has deposited money with the court may be required to forfeit all or a portion of the amount to pay support, fines, fees, costs, and sanctions.

(2) If the person fails to comply with any conditions of release, the court that issued the original bench warrant may issue a new bench warrant for the person's arrest and enter an order revoking the release order and declaring the bond, if any, forfeited.

(a) The court must mail notice of any revocation order immediately to the person at the person's last known address and, if forfeiture of bond has been ordered, to anyone who posted bond.

(b) If the person does not appear and surrender to the court within 28 days after the revocation date or does not within the period satisfy the court that there was compliance with the conditions of release or that compliance was impossible through no fault of the person, the court may continue the revocation order and enter judgment forfeiting the bond against the individual and anyone who posted bond for the entire amount of the bond and costs of the court proceedings and costs associated with the arrest.

(K) Plan for Remote Bond Review Hearings. In each county, the court with trial jurisdiction over friend of the court cases must adopt and file with the State Court Administrator a plan for conducting bond review hearings on bench warrants issued as a result of a show cause hearing when the person is arrested in another county and cannot be transported immediately. The plan shall provide for the use of available technology for a person's appearance and the transmission and presentation of evidence in hearings under this rule.

End

Plain-English Summary

An arrest on a support bench warrant can leave a person in custody before anyone has heard the matter behind the warrant. MCR 3.221 moves that person back in front of a judge and sets the terms of release in the meantime. Subrule (A) fixes the vocabulary: bond means the performance bond required by MCL 552.631, cash covers money and its accepted equivalents, and person means a party arrested on such a bench warrant.

The hearing on the merits

The court must hold a hearing on the matter that produced the warrant within 21 days of the date of arrest. A person who does not post a bond within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays, must be brought before the issuing court for further proceedings. The hearing may be adjourned when notice to another party or additional evidence requires it, and an adjournment obliges the court to set terms of release under subrule (F). Missing the 21 days does not deprive the court of jurisdiction to proceed.

Bond review

When the case cannot be heard that quickly, subrule (C) requires a person who has not posted bond to be brought before a judge or referee without unnecessary delay for a bond review. The review belongs in the circuit court named in the warrant. An arrest elsewhere obliges the arresting agency to arrange prompt transportation there, and if that fails the review is held where the person is held. A verbatim record must be made, the person must be advised of the purpose of the hearing on the merits, and released on conditions pending it.

Conditional release and bond

Subrule (F) starts from release. The person is released on condition of appearing for the hearing under subrule (B), plus any other appropriate condition, chosen from a list of eight: reports to a court agency; restrictions on associations, residence, employment, or travel; surrender of a driver's license or passport; a curfew; continuing or seeking employment or joining a work program; continuing or beginning an educational program; custody of a responsible community member who agrees to monitor and report violations; and posting a bond. Bond may be required only if the record states why appearance cannot otherwise be assured, and the person chooses between a cash deposit for the full amount and a surety the court approves.

Reasons, review, and forfeiture

Subrule (H) lists what informs those terms: the person's record of reporting to the friend of the court and complying with orders, appearance history, substance abuse history, support owed, employment and financial history, community ties, and any other facts bearing on the risk of nonappearance. The reasons for requiring a bond must be stated on the record, though a finding on each factor is not necessary, and release may never turn on race, religion, gender, economic status, or other impermissible criteria.

A party seeking review files a motion in the court with appellate jurisdiction over the decision maker; a referee's decision earns a new hearing, and otherwise the reviewing court needs an abuse of discretion. If the person appears, the court vacates the release order, discharges a third party who posted bond, and returns the cash, though it may direct deposited money toward support, fines, fees, costs, and sanctions. Noncompliance can bring a new bench warrant and a revocation order, and if the person does not appear and surrender within 28 days after the revocation date or excuse the failure, the court may enter judgment forfeiting the entire bond plus costs. Subrule (K) requires the court in each county with trial jurisdiction over friend of the court cases to file a plan with the State Court Administrator for holding bond review hearings on warrants issued after a show cause hearing by available technology when the person is arrested in another county and cannot be transported at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can a person be held on a friend of the court bench warrant in Michigan?

Two clocks run. Subrule (B) requires a hearing on the matter in which the warrant was issued within 21 days of the date of arrest, and a person who has not posted a bond within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays, must be brought before the issuing court for further proceedings.

When the case cannot be heard that fast, subrule (C) requires that a person who has not posted bond be brought before a judge or referee without unnecessary delay for a bond review, and subrule (E) requires release on conditions pending the hearing on the merits.

What happens if the hearing is not held within 21 days?

The case does not go away. Subrule (B) states that failure to hold a hearing within 21 days will not deprive the court of jurisdiction to proceed. The hearing may also be adjourned when necessary to give notice to another party or to receive additional evidence, and the court must then set terms of release under subrule (F).

What conditions can a court impose instead of requiring bond?

Subrule (F) lists them: reports to a court agency as required; restrictions on personal associations, place of residence, place of employment, or travel; surrender of a driver's license or passport; a specified curfew; continuing or seeking employment or participating in a work program; continuing or beginning an educational program; remaining in the custody of a responsible member of the community who agrees to monitor the person and report violations; and posting a bond.

Bond is the last of these, and subrule (G) allows it only where the record states why the person's appearance cannot otherwise be assured.

What if the person is arrested in a different county than the one that issued the warrant?

Subrule (D) requires the arresting agency to arrange for prompt transportation to the court specified in the warrant. If prompt transportation cannot be arranged, the bond review hearing is held in the jurisdiction where the person is being held. The same duty to arrange transportation applies under subrule (F) when the person cannot satisfy a condition of release.

Subrule (K) backs this up: every county's trial court with jurisdiction over friend of the court cases must file a plan with the State Court Administrator for conducting bond review hearings on bench warrants issued as a result of a show cause hearing using available technology when immediate transportation is not possible.

Does the person get the bond money back?

Subrule (J)(1) provides that if the person appears for the hearing under subrule (B), the court must vacate the release order, discharge a third party who posted the bond, and return the cash posted in the full amount of the bond. The court retains discretion to require an arrested person who deposited money with the court to forfeit all or part of it to pay support, fines, fees, costs, and sanctions.

The other direction is subrule (J)(2). Noncompliance with a release condition can bring a new bench warrant, a revocation order, and, if the person does not appear and surrender within 28 days after the revocation date or show that compliance was impossible through no fault of the person, a judgment forfeiting the entire bond and costs.

How do I challenge a release or bond decision under MCR 3.221?

Subrule (I)(1) lets a party file a motion for review in the court having appellate jurisdiction over the decision maker. If a referee made the decision, the party is entitled to a new hearing. Otherwise the reviewing court may not stay, vacate, modify, or reverse the decision except on finding an abuse of discretion.

Source & verification. Rule text reproduced verbatim from the Michigan Court Rules, Chapter 3 (Special Proceedings and Actions), as published by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office, current through September 1, 2026. Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Michigan (Mich. Const. 1963, art. VI, § 5). Last verified September 5, 2026. · Official text

Also known as: bench warrantsupport and parenting time enforcement actbond review hearingperformance bondconditional releasechild support bench warrantmcr 3.221