Michigan PE CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

Michigan's LARA Bureau of Professional Licensing, through the Board of Professional Engineers, requires 30 hours of CE relevant to the profession during each biennial renewal cycle ending October 31, under the Michigan Occupational Code (Public Act 299 of 1980). The official LARA brochure states no subject-specific mandatory topic and imposes no ethics-hours requirement; hours need only be relevant to the occupation.

A first-renewal licensee who has held the license more than 12 but less than 24 months owes only 15 hours, while those licensed 24 months or more owe the full 30. No one is exempt from CE whether or not actively practicing, though the Board may grant case-by-case waivers on written request. Distance-learning and other listed activity types qualify with no stated cap, and the Board maintains no pre-approved provider list.

First Renewal vs. Standard Renewal

Exemptions

• ✓
  No General Exemption — No general exemption; CE applies whether or not the PE is actively practicing engineering.

  Waiver may be granted by the Board on written request (see waiver type).
• ✓
  Waiver — The Board may waive CE for a renewal applicant upon written request for disability, military service, absence from the continental United States, or other circumstance beyond the licensee's control deemed good and sufficient.

  Cannot be requested after the renewal has been submitted

  Cannot be requested after selection for a CE audit

  Board cannot prospectively waive CE requirements

  Written request required (mail to Bureau of Professional Licensing, Attn: Board of Professional Engineers, or email [email protected]) with supporting documentation

How You Can Complete Your CE

Michigan CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to Michigan that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Carry-over — The official LARA CE brochure does not mention carry-over of continuing education hours to the next renewal period.
• The official LARA brochure (August 2017) specifies NO subject-specific mandatory topic. It does not impose an ethics-hours requirement; hours need only be 'relevant to the occupation.' (Some third-party CE vendors claim a 2-hour ethics requirement, which is not stated in this official source.)
• Records documenting CE completion must be retained for 4 years from the date of applying for license renewal.
• Do not submit CE documents at renewal; submitting the online renewal certifies the requirement is met. LARA audits by automated random selection at the end of the renewal period.
• CE applies whether or not the PE is actively practicing; no one is exempt (only case-by-case Board waivers are available).
• Relicensure (license lapsed >60 days past expiration) requires 15 CE hours completed during the 12 months immediately preceding the relicensure application.
• Failure to provide CE evidence when requested violates the Michigan Occupational Code and may result in reprimand, probation, denial, suspension, revocation, limitation, restitution, and/or fine.
• Authority: Public Act 299 of 1980 (Michigan Occupational Code), as amended.

Provider Requirements

LARA/the Board does not maintain a pre-approved provider list. Any CE relevant to the occupation earned through the acceptable activity types qualifies: (A) college course, (B) continuing education course, (C) distance learning course, (D) presenting/attending a seminar, in-house course, workshop, or professional/technical presentation at a meeting/convention/conference, (E) teaching/instructing/presenting an acceptable course, (F) publishing a peer-reviewed paper, article, or book, (G) serving on or attending a state board of professional engineers meeting, (H) company-sponsored seminar/training enhancing professional development, (I) serving as a mentor to an engineering student in a school-sponsored program, (J) obtaining engineering-related patents.

Tips for Michigan PEs

• First-renewal proration applies: if you have held the license more than 12 but less than 24 months, you owe 15 hours, not 30.
• The official LARA brochure names no ethics-hours mandate; some third-party vendors claim a 2-hour ethics rule that is not in the official source.
• No one is exempt whether or not you actively practice engineering; only case-by-case Board waivers (disability, military, out-of-country) are available on written request.
• Do not submit CE documents at renewal; certifying the online renewal attests compliance, and LARA audits by random selection.
• Retain CE completion records for 4 years from the date you apply for renewal, and note that a license lapsed over 60 days requires 15 hours in the prior 12 months to relicense.

Sources

Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Michigan Board of Professional Engineers (LARA, Bureau of Professional Licensing)'s official rules and continuing-education sources and recorded with the exact source excerpt. Last verified Jul 2026. Read how we compile and verify this data.

PE Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Michigan