Michigan Concealed Pistol License (CPL): Fees and Costs

Every dollar charged for a Michigan CPL is fixed by statute under 1927 PA 372 (the Firearms Act). A county clerk cannot add local charges, fees, costs, or assessments beyond what the act specifically authorizes. The fees below come directly from the controlling Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) sections.

New CPL Application Fee

• $100.00 nonrefundable application and licensing fee, set by MCL 28.425b(5).
  • The statute reads: "Each applicant shall pay a nonrefundable application and licensing fee of $100.00."
  • This fee applies to all new applications and is paid to the county where the applicant resides.
  • Of each $100.00 fee, the county treasurer deposits $26.00 in that county's concealed pistol licensing fund (created under section 5x), and forwards the balance to the state treasurer for the credit of the Michigan State Police (MCL 28.425b(5)).
  • Except as provided for fingerprinting in subsection (9), no other charge, fee, cost, or assessment, including any local charge, is allowed (MCL 28.425b(5)).

Fingerprinting Fee

• $15.00, set by MCL 28.425b(9).
  • After applying and paying the $100.00 fee, the applicant must have classifiable fingerprints taken by a county clerk, the Michigan State Police, a county sheriff, a local police agency, or another authorized entity. The statute states the individual "shall also pay a fee of $15.00."
  • The fingerprinting entity must take the prints within 5 business days of the request and must issue a receipt at that time (MCL 28.425b(9)).
  • A county clerk who accepts this fee deposits it in the county concealed pistol licensing fund (MCL 28.425b(9)).
  • An applicant who already had classifiable fingerprints taken for an emergency license under section 5a(4) does not need to be fingerprinted again (MCL 28.425b(9)).

CPL Renewal Fee

• $115.00 application and licensing fee for renewal, set by MCL 28.425l(1).
  • The fee is the same whether the applicant renews in person with the county clerk or renews by mail or online through the Michigan State Police (MCL 28.425l(1) and 28.425l(2)).
  • Of each $115.00 renewal fee, $36.00 is deposited in the county's concealed pistol licensing fund and the balance goes to the general fund to the credit of the Michigan State Police (MCL 28.425l(1) and 28.425l(2)). Note this $36.00 county split applies to renewals; the new-application split under MCL 28.425b(5) is $26.00.
  • The Michigan State Police has been required to provide an online and first-class-mail renewal option, accepted on behalf of the county clerk at no additional charge, since no later than December 1, 2018 (MCL 28.425l(2)).
  • No other charge, fee, cost, or assessment is required of a renewal applicant except as specifically authorized in the act (MCL 28.425l(1)).

Renewal Eligibility and Timing

• A renewal application may be submitted not more than 6 months before the current license expires (MCL 28.425l(2)).
• An applicant is eligible to renew if the license is not expired, or expired within a 1-year period before the date of application (MCL 28.425l(1)). A license expired more than one year cannot be renewed, so the holder must apply for a new CPL and pay the new-application fees.
• A CPL, including a renewal, is valid until the applicant's date of birth that falls not less than 4 years or more than 5 years after the license is issued or renewed (MCL 28.425l(1)).
• The county clerk must notify the licensee of an approaching expiration not less than 3 months or more than 6 months before the expiration date, by first-class mail in a sealed envelope (MCL 28.425l(1)).
• If a renewal is filed before the current license expires, the expiration date of the current license is extended until the renewal license or a notice of statutory disqualification is issued (MCL 28.425l(6)). The receipt plus the expired license must be carried during that extension (MCL 28.425l(7)).

Replacement License Fee

• $10.00 replacement fee, set by MCL 28.425b(15).
  • A license that is lost, stolen, defaced, or replaced for any other reason may be replaced by the issuing county clerk for $10.00. The clerk deposits the fee in the county concealed pistol licensing fund (MCL 28.425b(15)).
  • On payment of the $10.00 fee, the county clerk issues a replacement license in person at the time of application, or by first-class mail if the individual submits a written request with a copy of the individual's state-issued driver license or personal identification card (MCL 28.425b(19)).

Copy of Application Fee

• Up to $1.00, set by MCL 28.425b(17).
  • An applicant or licensee may be furnished a copy of the individual's application "upon request and the payment of a reasonable fee not to exceed $1.00." The county clerk deposits the fee in the county concealed pistol licensing fund (MCL 28.425b(17)).

Emergency License Fees and Conditions

• A county clerk must issue an emergency CPL to an individual who has obtained a personal protection order, or where a county sheriff finds clear and convincing evidence that the individual's safety (or a family or household member's safety) is endangered by the inability to immediately obtain a CPL (MCL 28.425a(4)).
• Fees for an emergency license (MCL 28.425a(4)):
  • A county sheriff who makes the determination, performs the criminal record check, and takes the applicant's fingerprints may charge a fee not to exceed $15.00.
  • A county clerk may charge a fee not to exceed $10.00 for printing the emergency license.
• Validity and the 10-business-day condition (MCL 28.425a(4)):
  • An emergency license is valid for 45 days or until the county clerk issues a notice of statutory disqualification, whichever occurs first.
  • The applicant must, within 10 business days after applying for the emergency license, complete a pistol training course under section 5j and apply for a regular CPL under section 5b. If the applicant does not do both within those 10 business days, the emergency license is no longer valid.
  • An individual may not obtain more than one emergency license in any 5-year period.

Training Course Cost

• A pistol safety training certificate that meets the requirements of MCL 28.425b(7)(c) and section 5j is required for a new CPL.
• The cost of the training course is set by the provider, not by statute. The act does not fix a training price, so it is a separate, market-rate expense paid to the instructor.

Fee Summary Table

Costs of Noncompliance: Civil Infractions and Penalties

These are not application costs, but they are the financial consequences of carrying a CPL incorrectly, and the statutes assign them specific amounts. The penalty tiers are described exactly as written, because secondary summaries often mislabel them.

Failure to possess or show the license (MCL 28.425f)

• A CPL holder must have the CPL and a state-issued driver license or personal identification card in possession at all times while carrying, and must show both to a peace officer on request (MCL 28.425f(1) and 28.425f(2)).
• A violation of subsection (1) or (2) is a state civil infraction with a $100.00 fine (MCL 28.425f(4)).

Failure to immediately disclose to a peace officer (MCL 28.425f)

• A CPL holder who is carrying and is stopped by a peace officer must immediately disclose that he or she is carrying a concealed pistol (MCL 28.425f(3)).
• A violation is a state civil infraction (not a misdemeanor) for both first and subsequent offenses, with these penalties (MCL 28.425f(5)):
  • First offense: civil infraction, $500.00 fine, and CPL suspended for 6 months.
  • Subsequent offense within 3 years: civil infraction, $1,000.00 fine, and CPL revoked.

Carrying under the influence (MCL 28.425k)

A CPL holder may not carry a concealed pistol while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, or with a prohibited bodily alcohol content. The statute sets three distinct tiers, which should not be collapsed (MCL 28.425k(2)):

• (a) Under the influence, or bodily alcohol content of .10 or more: misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or $100.00, or both, and the court orders the CPL revoked.
• (b) Bodily alcohol content of .08 or more but less than .10: misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or $100.00, or both, and the court orders the CPL suspended for 3 years.
• (c) Bodily alcohol content of .02 or more but less than .08: state civil infraction, $100.00 fine, and the CPL is suspended for 1 year.

Refusing a lawful chemical test is a separate state civil infraction with a $100.00 fine and a 6-month CPL suspension (MCL 28.425k(7)).

Failure to return a suspended or revoked license (MCL 28.425b)

• An individual who fails to return a suspended or revoked license after being notified is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both (MCL 28.425b(16)).

Denial, Disqualification, and the Right to Appeal

• If the county clerk issues a notice of statutory disqualification, the clerk must, not later than 5 business days after that notice, inform the individual in writing of the reasons for the denial or disqualification, including each statutory disqualification identified and the source and contact information for each record (MCL 28.425b(13)(a)).
• The clerk must also inform the individual in writing of the right to appeal the denial or notice of statutory disqualification to the circuit court as provided in section 5d (MCL 28.425b(13)(b); appeal procedure under MCL 28.425d).
• These appeal forms are provided at no charge: the Michigan State Police supplies forms to appeal any notice of statutory disqualification, suspension, or revocation, and the county clerk distributes them to applicants free of charge (MCL 28.425a(5)).

Additional Notes

• The county clerk mails the initial or renewal license to the licensee by first-class mail in a sealed envelope (MCL 28.425b(19)).
• The county clerk distributes a copy of the compiled Michigan firearms laws and the appeal forms to each applicant at no charge at the time of application (MCL 28.425a(5)).
• Payment methods are limited to those the county or the Michigan State Police accepts for other fees and penalties; a third-party processing surcharge, if any, depends on the accepting entity, not on the act (MCL 28.425b(5), 28.425b(9), 28.425l(1)).

Statutory References

• MCL 28.425a (1927 PA 372, section 5a): emergency license, including the up-to-$15.00 sheriff fee and up-to-$10.00 clerk printing fee, the 45-day validity, the 10-business-day training-and-application condition, and free distribution of compiled laws and appeal forms.
• MCL 28.425b (section 5b): the CPL application process; $100.00 application fee at subsection (5) with the $26.00 county split; $15.00 fingerprinting fee at subsection (9); denial notification and right to appeal at subsection (13)(a) and (b); 45-day receipt-as-license rule at subsection (14); $10.00 replacement fee at subsection (15); misdemeanor for failing to return a suspended or revoked license at subsection (16); up-to-$1.00 copy-of-application fee at subsection (17); first-class mailing and in-person replacement at subsection (19).
• MCL 28.425d (section 5d): appeal of a denial, suspension, or revocation to the circuit court.
• MCL 28.425f (section 5f): possession and disclosure duties; $100.00 civil infraction for failing to possess or show (subsection (4)); $500.00 first-offense and $1,000.00 subsequent-offense civil infractions for failing to immediately disclose (subsection (5)).
• MCL 28.425k (section 5k): carrying under the influence; three penalty tiers at subsection (2); $100.00 civil infraction for refusing a chemical test at subsection (7).
• MCL 28.425l (section 5l): CPL renewal; $115.00 renewal fee with the $36.00 county split at subsections (1) and (2); validity period; renewal eligibility and notification timing.