Michigan CPA CPE Requirements: Hours, Subjects, and Carryover

Michigan CPA CPE requirements call for 40 hours of qualifying continuing professional education each year, totaling 80 hours over the two-year renewal cycle, with set minimums in accounting and auditing, ethics, and Michigan-specific rules. The state uses a self-reporting renewal process backed by random audits, and anyone who falls short owes the missing hours plus penalty hours on top.

Annual Hours and the Biennial Total

The continuing education period runs from July 1 through June 30. During that 12-month window, every active licensee must earn at least 40 qualifying hours. Because licenses renew every two years, the full obligation per cycle is 80 hours, reported to the state by July 31 as part of the renewal application.¹

The 40-hour annual minimum is a firm floor. You cannot skip a year and double up in the next one.

Required Subjects Each Year

Not every hour is interchangeable. Each annual 40-hour block must include:

At least 8 hours in accounting and auditing. This applies to every active licensee, not just those who perform audit engagements.¹
At least 2 hours in ethics, which works out to 4 ethics hours over the biennial cycle.
At least 1 of those 4 biennial ethics hours covering Michigan statutes and administrative rules governing the accounting profession.
The remaining 30 hours in any field of study recognized under NASBA guidelines.

The Michigan-specific ethics hour is easy to overlook because it only has to appear once every two years. Missing that single hour creates a deficiency in your renewal just as surely as missing ten hours of general CPE.

How Credit Hours Are Measured

Michigan measures CPE in 50-minute blocks. One credit hour requires 50 minutes of continuous instruction, not 60. After that first block, you earn half a credit for each additional 25 minutes and 0.2 credits for each additional 10 minutes.²

Different delivery methods apply slightly different math:

Group programs and live instruction earn 1 credit per 50 minutes.
Self-study earns 0.5 credits per 25 minutes of continuous instruction, with 0.2 credits for each additional 10 minutes.²
Nano-learning programs run 10 minutes each on a single learning objective and earn 0.2 credits, but you must pass an assessment with a 100% score.
Academic courses taken for credit convert at 15 CPE hours per semester credit hour.
Teaching or lecturing earns 3 CPE hours for every 50 minutes of instruction, reflecting preparation time.²

Acceptable Programs and the Self-Study Cap

Michigan does not pre-approve individual courses. Choosing a provider on the NASBA National Registry of CPE Sponsors is the safest route; NASBA certification means the program qualifies. Providers outside the registry can still be acceptable, but the course has to comply with the group study rules in R 338.5215.

One cap matters for anyone who likes on-demand learning: no more than 50 percent of your total CPE can come from self-study or recorded instruction. If you need 40 hours in a given year, at least 20 must come from live group programs, nano-learning, academic courses, or other non-self-study formats.

Carrying Extra Hours Forward

Earn more than 40 hours in a single year and up to 40 excess hours can roll into the next continuing education period. The carryover has category limits: a maximum of 8 hours in accounting and auditing and 2 hours in ethics can transfer. Hours cannot move backward to fix a prior year’s shortfall.

This is handy if a conference pushes you past 40, but the category caps mean surplus ethics credits will not stack up year after year.

Documentation and Renewal Filing

Keep CPE records for at least four years after the renewal application date.³ For each program, hold onto a certificate or letter of completion showing your name, the sponsor’s name and contact information, the course title and field of study, the date completed, the number of CPE hours earned, and the delivery method.² Academic courses need an official transcript or a letter from the institution confirming course, credit hours, and completion. Teaching credits need a confirmation letter from the program sponsor with presentation dates and hours.

Renewal happens through the Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPLUS). You self-report that you have met the 80-hour biennial requirement. Certificates are not uploaded unless LARA asks for them during an audit.³ The renewal fee is $200.⁴ Submitting the application certifies that you have complied with all CPE requirements; inaccurate attestations or missing records can trigger disciplinary action.

What Happens If You Fall Short

This is where the rules bite. A CPA who does not earn enough qualifying hours by the end of the continuing education period is not simply denied renewal. Under R 338.5211, the licensee owes the full 80 biennial hours plus 4 penalty hours for every month needed to clear the deficiency.⁵ Penalty hours do not count toward the next cycle, so they are pure extra work.

If you are 10 hours short and it takes three months to make them up, you owe the original 10 hours plus 12 penalty hours. The board can waive penalty hours if you show that earning them would cause undue hardship, but that is a high bar.

If Your License Lapses

Miss the renewal deadline and your license lapses the day after it expires. Michigan allows a 60-day grace period during which you can still renew by paying the standard fee plus a late fee, but you cannot legally practice while the license is lapsed.⁶

After 60 days, the process becomes relicensure. Apply within three years of expiration and you can be relicensed without retaking the CPA exam, provided you complete 40 hours of CPE in the 12 months before your application. Those 40 hours must include at least 8 in accounting and auditing, 2 in ethics (1 covering Michigan-specific rules), and no more than half from self-study. The relicensure fee is $300, waived for armed forces veterans.⁷ Past three years, the department may require you to pass all or part of the CPA exam again and meet current education standards.⁶

When CPE Does Not Apply

Newly licensed CPAs get a 12-month grace period. CPE requirements do not apply for the first year from the date the original license was issued.⁸

Michigan also offers a “registered” status for CPAs who hold a certificate but are not actively practicing. Registered CPAs do not need to earn or report CPE to renew. Returning to active status later means satisfying the CPE requirements before making the switch.

The Board of Accountancy can grant waivers for health issues, military service, natural disasters, or other good cause.¹ Requests must reach LARA at least 30 days before the last regularly scheduled board meeting prior to your license expiration date.³ File early if a known condition or deployment will keep you from meeting your hours.

A Separate Track for Tax Practitioners

Michigan’s CPE rules keep your state license current, but CPAs who practice before the IRS face federal oversight on top of state rules. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility enforces Treasury Department Circular 230, with its own competency and ethical standards. Sanctions for Circular 230 violations include censure, suspension from IRS practice, disbarment, and monetary penalties.⁹ A clean state license does not shield you from federal action, and a federal sanction can end a tax practice even if Michigan never touches your license.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 339-729 – License Renewal
2
Legal Information Institute. Michigan Code R 338-5215 – Acceptable Continuing Education
3
Legal Information Institute. Michigan Code R 338-5210 – License Renewals, Continuing Education Requirements, Applicability, Continuing Education Waiver, Reciprocity
4
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Renewing a License
5
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan Administrative Code – Accountancy – General Rules
6
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 339-411
7
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. CPA License, Relicensure, Registration Application
8
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan Licensed Accountant Licensing Guide
9
Internal Revenue Service. Office of Professional Responsibility and Circular 230