Michigan Nursing License Renewal: MiPLUS Steps, Fees, and CE

Michigan nursing license renewal happens every two years through the state’s online MiPLUS portal. Most nurses finish in about 15 minutes once their continuing education is done. You’ll need 25 CE contact hours, a couple of specific trainings, and $131 for a standard RN or LPN renewal. LARA mails and emails renewal notices roughly 90 business days before your license expires, so plan to have your CE wrapped up before that window opens.¹

Continuing Education You Need Before You Log In

The core requirement is 25 contact hours of continuing education completed in the two years before your renewal date. At least two of those hours must cover pain and symptom management, and no more than 12 hours can be earned in any 24-hour period. A single weekend of coursework won’t cover the full cycle.¹

Two additional trainings sit alongside the 25 hours. You need one hour of implicit bias training for each year of your license cycle, so two hours total per renewal. It can be live, webinar-based, or recorded asynchronous.² You also need a one-time training on identifying human trafficking victims. That one doesn’t count toward the 25 CE hours, though a qualifying CE course can satisfy it. Once you’ve completed the human trafficking training, you don’t repeat it at future renewals.¹

How to Renew in MiPLUS

Before you sign in, have your license number, current contact information, and a credit or debit card ready. If you’ve had any criminal charges or disciplinary actions since your last renewal, pull those documents together too, because you’ll upload them during the application.

The renewal itself moves through these steps:³

Sign in at michigan.gov/miplus (or create an account), open the Licenses tab, and click Renew License.
Verify your name, address, and contact information. If anything is wrong, go back to the homepage and submit a modification request before continuing.
Answer the renewal questions covering good moral character, disciplinary history, specialty certifications, and participation in a health professional recovery program. A “yes” answer on the good moral character section triggers a prompt to upload supporting documents.⁴
Review your answers and check the box certifying that you’ve met the CE and training requirements. Michigan does not require you to upload CE certificates at renewal, but the board can audit you afterward.
Pay the fee. The billing address must match what’s on file with your card, and don’t click the payment button more than once, since duplicate charges can occur.

You’ll get an email confirmation after payment processes, and your MiPLUS record should show the new expiration date almost immediately.

Renewal Fees

The two-year renewal fee is $131 for both Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses. If you hold an RN specialty certification as a nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, or nurse anesthetist, add a $30.40 specialty renewal fee for a total of $161.40.⁵

Confirmation, Audits, and Recordkeeping

Once your renewal is approved, LARA emails your license as an electronic attachment, and a printed copy follows by mail in 7 to 10 business days. You can verify the renewal by checking your record in MiPLUS.³

After each renewal period, the Board of Nursing runs random CE audits. If you’re selected, you’ll get a letter asking for copies of your CE certificates.¹ Keep your CE documentation for at least four years from the date you apply for renewal, which is the window during which the board can request proof.⁶ Send copies if audited, hold onto originals, and treat compliance seriously; failing to demonstrate it is treated as a violation of the Public Health Code.

If You Miss the Deadline

Michigan gives you a 60-day grace period after your expiration date. During those 60 days you can still renew without going through relicensure, though you’ll owe a $20 late fee on top of the standard amount.¹ The Public Health Code also allows you to keep practicing and using your professional title during that window: “the licensee or registrant may continue to practice and use the title during the 60-day time period.”⁷ Once the 60 days pass without renewal, practice must stop.

After that, your license is lapsed and you’re looking at relicensure through MiPLUS rather than a simple renewal. Every relicensure applicant submits fingerprints for a criminal background check, completes the standard 25 CE hours, and meets any implicit bias and human trafficking training requirements that applied during the inactive period.⁸ If your license has been lapsed for three years or more and you don’t hold a current license in another state or Canadian province, additional CE in specific practice areas is required, including safe documentation, critical thinking, pharmacology, preventing medication errors, professional and legal accountability, and delegation. To start, log into MiPLUS, click Modification next to the lapsed license, and choose Health License Reinstatement Reclassification. Paper applications are no longer accepted.⁹

Practicing in Other States

Michigan is not currently a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Michigan license authorizes practice in Michigan only. If you need to work in another state, you’ll need a separate license there. Legislation to join the compact has been introduced, and if enacted it would take effect 90 days after the governor signs it; nurses meeting the uniform requirements and declaring Michigan as their primary residence would then become eligible for a multistate license at their next renewal.¹⁰

1
State of Michigan. Nursing FAQs
2
State of Michigan. FAQs for Implicit Bias Training
3
State of Michigan. How to Renew Your License in MiPLUS
4
State of Michigan. Health Professional Recovery Program
5
State of Michigan. License Renewal Fees
6
Michigan Legislature. Board of Nursing – General Rules
7
Michigan Legislature. MCL 333.16201
8
State of Michigan. Nursing – General Rules 5-8-2024
9
State of Michigan. Reinstatement Instructions
10
Michigan Legislature. Legislative Analysis – House Bill 4246