How to renew your Michigan RN license
Michigan RN licenses renew every two years through LARA's MiPLUS portal. You need 25 contact hours, including at least 2 hours in pain and symptom management, implicit bias training, and a one-time human trafficking course. No more than 12 hours may be earned in any 24-hour period, so cramming does not work here.
- Cycle
- 2 years, license-based renewal date
- CE hours
- 25 contact hours · max 12 hours in any 24-hour period
- Required topics
- 2 hrs pain & symptom management · implicit bias · one-time human trafficking training
- Fee
- Set by rule — confirm the current amount on LARA's nursing fee page
- Late renewal
- Up to 60 days after expiration — you may keep practicing during that window per MCL 333.16201(2)
- Compact
- Not an NLC state
- Complete 25 contact hours with the required topicsMichigan requires 25 hours per two-year cycle, including at least 2 hours in pain and symptom management, implicit bias training, and a one-time human trafficking course.
- Respect the 12-hour daily capNo more than 12 hours may be earned in any 24-hour period. Weekend CE marathons can produce hours LARA will not count.
- Log in to MiPLUSRenew online through LARA's MiPLUS portal using your license number and MiPLUS account.
- Answer the attestationsAttest to CE completion, including the specific topic requirements, and answer the disclosure questions.
- Pay the renewal feePay by card in MiPLUS. Confirm the current amount on LARA's nursing fee page — Michigan fee schedules change by rule.
- Keep certificates and store the confirmation in TrustLARA audits. Retain proof of all 25 hours, including certificates showing the dates that prove you stayed under the daily cap.
Requirements
Michigan requires 25 contact hours per two-year cycle. The number is modest; the structure is where nurses get caught.
No more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period. This cap is unusual and it invalidates the classic strategy of buying an unlimited-CE subscription and finishing everything the weekend before renewal. Hours past 12 in a day simply do not count toward your 25, no matter how the provider's certificate is worded.
Required topics: at least 2 hours in pain and symptom management each cycle, implicit bias training per LARA's rule, and a one-time human trafficking training that carries across renewals once completed. These topic hours count inside the 25-hour total; they are not additional to it.
You attest in MiPLUS. Keep certificates that show dates, not just hours — the dates are what demonstrate compliance with the 12-hour cap if LARA audits you. A certificate that only states "12 contact hours" without a completion date and time window is weak evidence in an audit.
Michigan does not require CE to come from a Michigan-specific provider list the way some states do. National providers accredited by bodies such as ANCC are generally accepted, but LARA's own rule and renewal instructions are the authoritative word on any specific provider — read them before assuming a course qualifies, particularly for the pain management and implicit bias topic requirements, which are narrower than general CE.
Nurses who work in multiple states sometimes assume hours logged for another board automatically satisfy Michigan's topic requirements. They often overlap in subject matter but not in the specific hour minimums or the one-time-vs-recurring structure, so cross-check each course against Michigan's own list rather than relying on another state's approval.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| RN license renewal | Amount: Not published — confirm on LARA's fee page | When: Every 2 years, at renewal in MiPLUS |
| Late renewal (within 60 days of expiration) | Amount: Not published — confirm on LARA's fee page | When: Within 60 days after the expiration date; MCL 333.16201(2) lets you keep practicing during this window |
| Relicensure after a lapse beyond 60 days | Amount: Not published — varies with how long the license has been lapsed | When: Contact LARA for the applicable relicensure pathway and fee |
Michigan's fee schedule is set by administrative rule and can change. Rather than print a number that may go stale, this guide points you to LARA's own fee page and to your MiPLUS account, where the amount due is calculated at the time you renew.
Continuing education, topic by topic
25 contact hours per two-year cycle, with three topic carve-outs that sit inside the total rather than on top of it: at least 2 hours of pain and symptom management, implicit bias training per LARA rule, and a one-time human trafficking course. The remaining hours are general nursing continuing education.
The defining structural rule is the 12-hour daily cap: no more than 12 contact hours may be earned in any 24-hour period, regardless of the provider or format. This makes Michigan unfriendly to last-minute, marathon CE completion and rewards nurses who spread hours across the two-year cycle.
Keep dated certificates for every course. LARA's audit process checks both the total hour count and adherence to the daily cap, so a stack of certificates without visible completion dates and times does not fully protect you.
What changed this cycle
The core structure — 25 contact hours, the 12-hour daily cap, and the pain and symptom management, implicit bias, and human trafficking topic requirements — has been stable and is the version reflected in LARA's current renewal instructions.
Fee amounts and specific rule citations for the CE topic requirements are set by LARA administrative rule and can be updated between guide reviews. Always confirm the live figures in MiPLUS or on LARA's nursing and fee pages before you renew, rather than relying on a number from a prior cycle.
Your first renewal after licensure
Michigan generally reduces or waives the general portion of the 25-hour CE requirement for a nurse's first renewal after initial licensure, since a newly licensed nurse has not yet had a full two-year cycle to accumulate hours.
The one-time requirements are the exception: human trafficking training is not waived by proration because it is designed to be completed once, early, rather than accrued gradually. Confirm your specific first-renewal CE obligation in LARA's renewal instructions inside MiPLUS, since the reduction is calculated against your original licensure date.
There is no published proration of the renewal fee itself for first-time renewers — the flat fee applies regardless of how short your first cycle was.
How to renew, step by step
- 01Complete 25 contact hours with the required topicsMichigan requires 25 hours per two-year cycle, including at least 2 hours in pain and symptom management, implicit bias training, and a one-time human trafficking course.
- 02Respect the 12-hour daily capNo more than 12 hours may be earned in any 24-hour period. Weekend CE marathons can produce hours LARA will not count.
- 03Log in to MiPLUSRenew online through LARA's MiPLUS portal using your license number and MiPLUS account.
- 04Answer the attestationsAttest to CE completion, including the specific topic requirements, and answer the disclosure questions.
- 05Pay the renewal feePay by card in MiPLUS. Confirm the current amount on LARA's nursing fee page — Michigan fee schedules change by rule.
- 06Keep certificates and store the confirmation in TrustLARA audits. Retain proof of all 25 hours, including certificates showing the dates that prove you stayed under the daily cap.
If you're late
An expired Michigan RN license cannot be practiced on once the late window closes. Under Section 333.16201(2) of the Michigan Public Health Code, a license not renewed by its expiration date may be renewed within 60 days of that date upon application, payment of the renewal and late renewal fees, and completion of the continuing education requirements — and the licensee may continue to practice and use the title during that 60-day window.
Miss the 60-day window and the license lapses fully. LARA offers relicensure pathways that scale with how long the license has been lapsed, and longer lapses can require additional CE hours or further documentation before the license is reinstated. There is no guarantee of a temporary permit to keep working while relicensure is pending.
Because Michigan is not a compact state, a multistate license from elsewhere will not cover you during a Michigan lapse — you need an active Michigan license to practice in Michigan. Check current late and relicensure fees on LARA's fee page before assuming a number, since they are set by rule and subject to change.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Michigan's 12-hour rule for RN license renewal?
- No more than 12 contact hours may be earned in any 24-hour period. If you complete 20 hours of online CE in one long day, the hours beyond 12 do not count toward your 25. This is a common trap for nurses who buy an unlimited CE subscription and finish it all the weekend before their license renewal deadline.
- Which topic hours does the Michigan Board of Nursing require?
- At least 2 hours in pain and symptom management each cycle, implicit bias training as required by LARA rule, and a one-time human trafficking training. The rest of the 25 hours are general continuing education and can come from any LARA-recognized activity.
- Do I need CE for my first Michigan RN licensure renewal?
- First-cycle licensees generally have reduced or waived general CE, but one-time requirements like human trafficking training still apply regardless of how recently you were licensed. Confirm your specific proration in LARA's renewal instructions before assuming you owe zero hours.
- Is Michigan in the Nurse Licensure Compact?
- No. Michigan is not an NLC state, so a multistate license issued by another compact state does not authorize practice in Michigan, and a Michigan RN license does not carry multistate privileges elsewhere.
- Do I upload CE certificates when I renew my MI RN license?
- No — you attest in MiPLUS that you completed the required hours and topics, and you retain the documentation yourself. LARA can request the certificates in an audit, so keep them even though the portal does not ask for uploads at renewal.
- What is the human trafficking training requirement, exactly?
- It is a one-time requirement, not a recurring one. Once you complete a LARA-recognized human trafficking awareness course, you do not need to repeat it at future renewals, though you should keep the certificate indefinitely in case an older audit reaches back to it.
- Does implicit bias training count toward the 25 total hours?
- Yes. Implicit bias training hours are part of the 25 contact hours per cycle, not an add-on. The rule specifies a minimum number of hours devoted to the topic; check LARA's current administrative rule for the exact figure before you plan your remaining general CE.
- How do I know my Michigan nursing license renewal due date?
- Your license record in MiPLUS shows your individual expiration date, which is assigned to your license rather than tied to a statewide birth-month or calendar cycle. Log in and check the account directly rather than assuming a date.
- Can I renew my Michigan RN licensure if my continuing education is incomplete?
- No. You attest to completion of all required hours and topics as part of the renewal application. Submitting the attestation without having actually completed the hours is a compliance risk that surfaces in an audit, not a way to buy time.
- What happens if my Michigan RN license lapses?
- An expired license cannot be practiced on. LARA offers relicensure pathways that scale with how long the license has been lapsed, and longer lapses can require additional continuing education or further documentation before the license is restored.
- Does a compact RN license from another state cover me while my Michigan license is lapsed?
- No. Because Michigan is not a compact state, a multistate license from elsewhere does not authorize practice in Michigan during a lapse. You need an active Michigan-issued license to practice in Michigan regardless of what you hold elsewhere.
- Where do I check the current Michigan Board of Nursing renewal fee?
- On LARA's nursing fee schedule page. Michigan fee amounts are set by administrative rule and can change, so this guide does not print a number that could go stale — confirm the live figure in MiPLUS or on LARA's fee page before you pay.
Last verified against Michigan Board of Nursing (LARA) sources:
Changelog
Every revision to this guide, newest first. Last updated .
- Depth pass: added fee table, CE section, first-renewal guidance, what-changed note, and expanded FAQ; clarified the 60-day late-renewal practice window under MCL 333.16201(2).
- Initial publication of the Michigan RN license renewal guide.
Trust tracks this renewal for you.
Michigan's 12-hours-per-day cap punishes last-minute CE. Trust reminds you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days, tracks your topic hours separately, and keeps dated certificates on-device for audits.
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