Updated for 2026

Michigan Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements

Michigan psychologists must complete 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their Psychologist license, including 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of pain and symptom management, and 2 hours of implicit bias.

30hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 30
3ethics
2pain and symptom management
2implicit bias

The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

What the board saysMichigan board rule
(2) An applicant for license renewal who has been licensed in the 2-year period immediately before the application for renewal shall accumulate not less than 30 hours1 of continuing education in activities approved under these rules during the 2 years immediately before the application for renewal1. … (d) Under section 18233(2) of the code, MCL 333.18233, not less than 2 hours2 of continuing education must be earned in pain and symptom management2. … (e) Not less than 3 hours of continuing education must be earned in ethics3.
What it means
  1. 30 hours every 2 years
  2. 2 hours of pain and symptom management
  3. 3 hours of ethics
Mich. Admin. Code R 338.2581 and R 338.2583Last verified August 2026Ruleset 2026.1How we verify
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Requirements

Michigan Psychologist requirements

Total

30 hoursYou need 30 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

Topic minimums, counted within the 30

The remaining 23 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Ethics
3
You need 3 hours each cycle.
Pain and Symptom Management
2
You need 2 hours each cycle.
Implicit Bias
2
You need 2 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Single activity
max 12 hrs per activity
Academic coursework
max 20 hrs
CE program presentation
max 20 hrs
Scientific exhibit presentation
max 20 hrs
Peer reviewed article
max 20 hrs
Non peer reviewed article
max 3 hrs
Textbook chapter
max 20 hrs
Book publication
max 20 hrs
Clinical issue resolution
max 5 hrs
Committee service
max 20 hrs
Postdoctoral training student
max 10 hrs
Surveyor service
max 10 hrs
Peer review committee
max 10 hrs
First time instructor
max 10 hrs
Clinical supervision provided
max 10 hrs
Peer supervision consultation
max 10 hrs
Case conferences
max 5 hrs
Llp supervision provided
max 10 hrs
Supervision received
max 10 hrs
Panel discussion
max 5 hrs
Specialty certification
max 20 hrs
National exam development
max 5 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
New licensees
The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.
Approved providers
Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, regional professional association, state professional association, international professional association, accredited university, hospital, mental health agency, state licensing board, licensing board other jurisdiction, apa approved provider, and board approved sponsor.
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each renewal.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.

To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Your hours

Check where you stand

Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before your renewal.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full Psychologist CE hours calculator

Also hold a Michigan LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Michigan LPC requirements.

Michigan Psychologist required trainings and mandates

Beyond the 30-hour CE total, Michigan requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.

Recurring mandates outside the 2-year cycle

  • One-time training in identifying victims of human trafficking meeting R. 338.2525 standards (MCL 333.16148), required prior to obtaining any psychology license. Beginning January 6, 2022. Not part of the CE count but may be satisfied via a qualifying CE activity. The board may select and audit for this training.
Full board policy details
  • TOTAL: 30 hours of CE required per 2-year (biennial) renewal, accumulated during the 2 years immediately preceding the application for renewal (R. 338.2581(2), R. 338.2583). Applies to licensees who have held the license for the full 2-year period; the requirement does not fully attach during the initial licensure cycle.
  • FORMAT CAPS: No self-study/online cap, there is no limitation to the number of CE hours that may be earned online (R. 338.2583(1)(b)). No minimum live/in-person hours. No live vs. self-study split for psychology. Per-day cap: no more than 12 hours of CE may be earned during one 24-hour period (R. 338.2583(1)(a)). NOTE: a pending amendment (MOAHR #2025-46 LR; hearing 2026-06-03) proposes to REMOVE the 12-hours-per-24-hour cap and trim the named-organization list; monitor ARS TransactionID=1619.
  • ACCEPTABILITY STANDARDS: Activity must fit one of the enumerated activity types in R. 338.2583(2). Attendance/participation must be in a program related to the practice of psychology or a non-clinical subject relevant to psychological practice, education, administration, management, or science. Programs must be approved or offered by a listed organization (APA, ASPPB, Michigan Psychological Association, National Register, other state/provincial boards, ~30 named associations), a nationally/regionally accredited academic institution, a hospital/mental-health center, or a board-approved provider. Providers not on the pre-approved list may apply for board approval, application must be filed no later than 120 days before the program date (R. 338.2585). Presentation and supervision credit is disallowed when the activity is part of the licensee's regular job description or normal course of employment (R. 338.2583(2)(c),(d),(o)). No 'minimum percentage from approved providers' rule, every activity must fit R. 338.2583(2).
  • COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: Credit for a CE program or activity equivalent or substantially equivalent to one the licensee already earned credit for during the renewal period must not be granted (R. 338.2583(1)(c)). Teaching/presentation credit is limited to the INITIAL/first-time occurrence (R. 338.2583(2)(c),(d),(n)); publications credited only on INITIAL publication. No separate single-instructor/single-course numeric cap beyond the per-activity maximums.
  • LICENSE STATUS RULES: The Board of Psychology general rules do NOT establish a distinct 'inactive' or 'retired' license class for psychologists with its own CE exemption (not stated). Reactivation/relicensure after lapse: a lapsed license relicensed within 3 years requires not less than 30 hours of CE satisfying R. 338.2581 and R. 338.2583 during the 2 years immediately before the relicensure application (R. 338.2555(1)(c)). A lapse of more than 3 years requires passing the exam within the prior 2 years or showing independent-practice licensure elsewhere (R. 338.2555(2)). Hardship/illness/military/disability: the board may consider a CE waiver; a waiver request must be received not less than 30 days before the last regularly scheduled board meeting before license expiration (R. 338.2581(4); MCL 333.16205). Specific qualifying conditions, maximum duration, and fixed grounds are not stated.
  • CARRYOVER: No carryover permitted. The psychology CE rules are silent on carrying excess hours forward, so excess hours are not bankable. Implicit-bias hours in particular may NOT be carried forward between renewal cycles (R. 338.7004(3)).
  • PSYPACT OVERLAY: Michigan participates in PSYPACT (as of 2023-03-29). Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT/TAP) via ASPPB E.Passport or IPC carries its own annual ASPPB renewal with 3 hours of CE relevant to the use of technology in psychology, a separate ASPPB obligation, NOT part of Michigan's 30-hour board CE.
  • RxP: Michigan does NOT grant prescriptive authority to psychologists (MCL definition excludes the practice of medicine); no RxP certificate or associated CE obligation exists.
  • PROVIDER-LIST SCOPE: The named organizations are illustrative of automatically acceptable program sponsors, not an exclusive psychology-discipline gate. Michigan separately credits the enumerated publication, presentation, committee, supervision, research, and other activities in R. 338.2583(2); those activities are governed by their activity-specific conditions rather than an organization-name whitelist.

Michigan Psychologist CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Michigan Psychologist licensees need?

Michigan requires 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a Psychologist license. The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

How many ethics hours are required for Michigan Psychologist licensees?

Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.

How often do Michigan Psychologist licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Michigan Psychologist licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, Michigan requires 2 hours of pain and symptom management, 2 hours of implicit bias.

Is the first renewal different for new Michigan Psychologist licensees?

The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.

Sources and verification

State source
Michigan board rule
Last verified
August 2026
Ruleset version
2026.1

We reviewed this page against the Michigan board source, and we refresh it from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it

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Michigan guides & data

What to keep for a CE audit →Learn what boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and what the notice looks like, then use the printable checklist.Michigan mental health workforce data →51,204 active providers, or 505.6 per 100,000 residents, ranked 18 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Michigan CE requirement pages

Michigan LPCMichigan LMFTMichigan LCSWMichigan PMHNP

Psychologist CE requirements in other states