You must serve (send) a copy of the motion on your creditor. If the creditor has an attorney, serve the attorney instead.
You must serve these documents electronically if you can and if your creditor or your creditor's attorney has access to e-mail. If you or your creditor/creditor’s attorney can't do this electronically, or if you are not sure, you can serve it by regular mail.
If you are using MiFILE to file documents electronically, your documents will be served (sent to the other party) electronically as long as the other party is also using MiFILE. If the other party is not using MiFILE, you will need to serve the documents by e-mail, if possible, or by regular mail if electronic options are not available.
MiFILE is only available for some courts. Even in courts where it is available, you can only use it for some case types. The State Court Administrative Office keeps a chart of courts that use e-filing. To learn more, read What Is E-Filing?.
If you are serving documents by e-mail, keep the following rules in mind:
- All documents must be in PDF format;
- The e-mail subject line must include the name of the court, case name, case number, and the title of each document being sent;
- If you e-mail a document at or before 11:59 p.m., it is considered served on that day. If you send the e-mail on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it is considered served on the next business day;
- Do not delete any e-mails you send to the other party, especially e-mails that served court documents. You must keep a record of sent items until a judgment or final order is entered and all appeals have been completed.
Service must be completed at least 9 days before the hearing date if you mail it or at least 7 days before the hearing date if it is personally delivered or served through MiFILE. If you are serving through e-mail, the court rule is not clear about the timeline. To be on the safe side, complete service at least 9 days before the hearing date.
After you serve the document, you must complete the Certificate of Mailing on the bottom of one copy of the motion if you will be filing it electronically. If you will be filing in person or by mail, complete the Certificate of Mailing on your remaining copies. If you only have one copy of the motion left because you left an extra copy with the court clerk for the judge, make a copy of the motion with the completed Certificate of Mailing. File one copy of the motion with the court and keep one for your records.
File the Certificate of Mailing the same way you filed your other documents.
If you served the motion electronically, cross out the part of the Certificate of Mailing section that says “first-class mail addressed to their last-known address as defined in MCR 2.107(C)(3)” and write how you served your documents. If it is by e-mail, include the e-mail address you used. For example, you could write “I served this document by e-mail to emailaddress@email.com.”
If you served the other party using MiFILE, you will not need to file a Proof of Service. MiFILE will create and file a Proof of Service for you.