Michigan Architect CE Requirements (2026): 24 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Michigan Board of Architects (LARA) requires 24 continuing education hours per two-year renewal cycle under Mich. Admin. Code R 339.15501, and effectively all 24 must be health, safety, and welfare (HSW) — every acceptable activity type in the rule requires HSW content, so there is no elective portion.

HSW subjects span six categories (practice management, project management, programming and analysis, project planning and design, project development and documentation, and construction and evaluation), and any qualifying topic counts with no mandatory distribution across them. Certain activity types are capped within the 24: postgraduate courses up to 15 hours, peer-reviewed publication up to 12 hours, and committee service up to 3 hours.

Michigan consolidated its rules effective February 20, 2020, removing older provisions such as a per-day hour cap and first-renewal proration — so today's rule is simply 24 HSW hours over two years. Keep records four years; a discretionary board waiver is available on request.

Mandatory Topics

Exemptions

• ✓
  Board Waiver — A licensee may request a waiver of the continuing education requirements; the request must be received not less than 30 days before the last regularly scheduled board meeting before the license expiration date. Waivers are granted at the board's discretion.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Michigan CE Rules & Limits

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

• Michigan requires 24 continuing education hours per two-year renewal cycle, and all 24 must be health, safety, and welfare (HSW) subjects — every acceptable activity type under the rule requires HSW content, so there is no non-HSW allowance.
• HSW subjects span six categories (practice management, project management, programming and analysis, project planning and design, project development and documentation, construction and evaluation); any qualifying topic counts, with no required split across categories.
• Michigan consolidated its CE rules effective February 20, 2020. Earlier provisions such as a per-calendar-day hour cap and a first-renewal proration were rescinded and are not part of the current requirement — the rule is simply 24 HSW hours over the two years.
• Activity-type caps apply within the 24: postgraduate courses up to 15 hours, peer-reviewed publication up to 12 hours, and committee service up to 3 hours per cycle.
• Submitting the renewal application certifies compliance. There is no fixed exemption schedule, only a discretionary board waiver that must be requested at least 30 days before the board's last meeting before expiration.
• Licensees must keep documentation for four years after applying for renewal and are subject to audit. LARA tracks continuing education through CE Broker.

Tips for Michigan Architects

• Plan all 24 hours as HSW — Michigan grants CE credit only for HSW activities, so a non-HSW course will not count toward renewal.
• Ignore older 'maximum 12 hours per day' or first-renewal-proration claims from course vendors; those rules were rescinded in the 2020 consolidation and no longer apply.
• Watch the activity-type caps: postgraduate courses top out at 15 hours, publications at 12, and committee service at 3 hours per two-year cycle.
• Keep your certificates for four years after you apply for renewal — submitting the renewal certifies compliance, but LARA can audit you and tracks CE through CE Broker.
• If illness or another circumstance will keep you from finishing, request a board waiver at least 30 days before the board's last meeting before your license expires — it is discretionary, so apply early.

Sources

Architect Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Michigan

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