Real Estate Agent License Renewal in Michigan
Michigan salespersons renew every 3 years with 18 hours of CE, and unusually, at least 2 hours every single year. Renewal is $78 through MiPLUS.
| Renewal cycle | Every 3 years |
|---|---|
| CE hours required | 18 hours 18 clock hours per 3-year license cycle, but with a yearly floor that most states don't impose: in EACH year of the cycle you must complete at least 2 hours on laws, rules and court cases and at least 1 hour on fair housing. You cannot leave all 18 to the final year. A license issued mid-cycle has that year's hours prorated. |
| Renewal fee | $78.00 |
| Mandatory CE topics | Laws, rules, and court cases on real estate, at least 2 hours in each year of the cycle, Fair housing compliance, at least 1 hour in each year of the cycle |
| Licensing board | Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) |
Sourced from Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), verified July 24, 2026. Requirements change. Confirm with your board before relying on this.
Michigan puts 18 hours on a three-year cycle, which sounds relaxed until you read the rule closely. Unlike most three-year states, Michigan will not let you save it all for the end. It sets a floor for every single year.
The yearly floor is the trap
Here is the part that catches people who plan around the 18-hour total. In each year of your three-year cycle, you must complete:
- At least 2 hours on laws, rules, and court cases regarding real estate, and
- At least 1 hour on fair housing compliance.
That is 3 required hours a year, 9 across the cycle, and they cannot be bunched. A licensee who does zero CE in years one and two, planning to knock out all 18 hours in year three, has already failed the yearly minimums for the first two years even if they hit 18 total. The remaining hours beyond those yearly minimums can be completed any time in the cycle, but the 2-and-1 floor is annual and non-negotiable.
So the practical rule for Michigan is not “18 hours before renewal.” It is “3 specific hours every year, and 18 total by the end.”
A mid-cycle license gets prorated
If your license is issued partway through a cycle rather than at its start, LARA may prorate the hours required for that partial first year. That is the one built-in relief valve, and it applies to the year of issuance only, not to the whole cycle.
The cycle and MiPLUS
Michigan runs a three-year cycle, and renewals go through the state’s online system, MiPLUS. There is no statewide date, your expiration is personal to your license, so the reminder that matters is your own renewal month plus the three annual CE checkpoints inside it.
The fee
Renewal is $78 for the three-year license, paid by card in MiPLUS. If you let the license expire and have to relicense, that rises to $108. Spread over three years, $78 is one of the lower per-year costs in this reference, around $26 a year.
How this compares
On paper Michigan’s 18 hours over three years is lighter than Ohio’s 30 over the same period and works out to 6 hours a year against Ohio’s 10. But Michigan is stricter in a way a raw total hides: the yearly 2-and-1 floor means you can never take a year completely off, which neither Georgia’s four-year bank nor California’s four-year cycle demands. If you are the kind of licensee who prefers to do CE in one sitting, Michigan is the state that will not let you.
Add your renewal deadline to your calendar
Enter your expiration date and download a calendar file. Your own calendar will remind you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days out. We don't ask for your email, we store nothing, and the date never leaves your device.
Works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook. This is a convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact deadline with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).
How many CE hours do you have left?
Michigan requires 18 CE hours this cycle. Enter what you've completed and see what's left. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
Hours alone aren't the whole requirement. Some must be these specific topics:
- Laws, rules, and court cases on real estate, at least 2 hours in each year of the cycle
- Fair housing compliance, at least 1 hour in each year of the cycle
A convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact requirement with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). This is not legal advice.
Continuing education hours per renewal cycle
Michigan asks for 18 hours. That is exactly the median of 18 across the 51 states that set a flat hour count, which run from 7 to 45. Ranked lowest to highest, Michigan is 25 of 51.
Renewal fee
Michigan charges $78. The median across the 48 states that publish a figure is $115, running from $0 to $578. Ranked cheapest to dearest, Michigan is 16 of 48.
Each mark is one state. The taller line is the median, the filled dot is Michigan. States that set no flat hour count, or publish no fee, are left out of that comparison rather than counted as zero.
What will this renewal cost?
Michigan's renewal fee is filled in from the board below. Add what you expect to spend on CE courses, plus a late fee if you're past due, for a running total. Nothing you type is stored.
The renewal fee is from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and dated on this page; the CE and late-fee figures are your own estimates. A convenience, not a compliance service, and not legal advice. Confirm fees with your board.