Michigan PE and architect license renewal: what firms need to track

Last checked Sep 28, 2026. Not yet confirmed with the Michigan boards. Confirm anything you act on with the board. Not legal advice.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Michigan, you track three kinds of dates: each person’s license expiration, the end of each person’s CE period, and the firm’s own registration. Engineers answer to the Michigan Board of Professional Engineers (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing). Architects answer to the Michigan Board of Architects (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing).

PE license renewal in Michigan

PE licenses renew every 2 years and expire October 31; whether all licenses share an odd or even year is not confirmed (not yet confirmed).

The board: Michigan Board of Professional Engineers (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing). Look up each engineer’s current expiration date on the board’s license lookup rather than trusting the date on an old spreadsheet.

License numbers: LARA license type code "6201" + 6 digits (10 digits). Firms often write only the last 5-6 digits. This is how SealBench reads the numbers on an imported roster; it isn’t a board rule.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 30 PDH every two years. Hours must be earned during the 2-year period immediately before each license's expiration date (R 339.16040(1)).
• Ethics: Two hours in professional ethics related to engineering. The ethics hours need not focus on Michigan rules or statutes.
• Limits on some activities: teaching (at most 12), papers and publications (at most 18), committee and task-force service (at most 6), educational outreach (at most 8) and self-directed study (at most 4) hours.
• Carryover: No carryover. The rules contain no carryover provision, and hours must be earned in the 2-year period immediately before the license expires (R 339.16040(1)).
• New licensees: No explicit first-renewal exemption in the rules. R 339.16040(1) applies the 30 hours to an applicant "who was licensed during the 2-year period immediately before the expiration date". Whether a licensee first licensed partway through that period owes the full 30 hours is not stated. Treat new licensees as owing the full requirement unless LARA confirms otherwise (not yet confirmed).
• Records: Keep documentation for 4 years after the date the renewal application is filed (R 339.16040(3)).
• Reporting: Filing the renewal application is the licensee's certification of compliance (R 339.16040(2)). Licensees are subject to audit and must provide documentation on request (R 339.16040(4)). LARA offers CE Broker for tracking; renewal is through MiPLUS.

Architect license renewal and CE in Michigan

The architect rules on this page come from our rule tables and haven’t been checked against the architecture board’s rules yet. Check with the board before you rely on them.

Individual license renews every 2 years, expiring October 31 (per NCARB tool); renew in MiPLUS no sooner than 90 days before expiry; 60-day grace period. The board: Michigan Board of Architects (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing); each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours every two years, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. The 2-year period immediately before the license expiration date (October 31).
• Also required: 15 hours per semester credit; max 15 per renewal period.
• Limits on some activities: papers and publications (at most 12) and professional service (at most 3) hours.
• Carryover: No carryover provision found; hours must be earned in the 2-year period before expiry (R 339.15501).
• New licensees: Rule applies to an applicant 'licensed during the 2-year period immediately before the expiration date'. No explicit first-renewal exemption or proration found.
• Records: 4 years after the date of filing the renewal application (R 339.15501(3)).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

Our data shows no separate firm authorization from the Michigan engineering board. Michigan does not issue a firm license. Under MCL 339.2010 a firm may practice only if at least 2/3 of its principals are licensees, a firm with a nonlicensed principal must get department approval, and the firm must employ a person in responsible charge in the field of services offered at each place of business in Michigan (field offices that only review construction are excepted). No full-time, residency or replacement-deadline rule was found in the statute (not yet confirmed).

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Firm approval (LARA, MCL 339.2010; no firm license). Firms get a LARA 'firm approval' through MiPLUS, not a firm license. MCL 339.2010 lets a firm practice if at least 2/3 of its principals are licensees under Article 20 (architects, professional engineers or professional surveyors). LARA will not approve a firm unless 2/3 of principals hold Michigan Article 20 licenses. A firm must employ a person in responsible charge in the field offered at each Michigan place of business (field offices doing only construction review are excepted). On request the firm reports its principals and persons in responsible charge. Detached 1- and 2-family homes up to 3,500 sq ft of calculated floor area are exempt.

Ownership: At least 2/3 of the firm's principals must be Michigan licensees under Article 20 (architects, professional engineers or professional surveyors). A nonlicensed principal and the firm must obtain department approval.

Architect in charge: A firm must employ a person in responsible charge in the field of services offered at each place of business in Michigan where services are offered, except a field office that only reviews construction (MCL 339.2010(4)).

Firm renewal: No firm renewal cycle found; firm approval is not a license.

Firms that offer both

Architects, engineers and surveyors are separate boards under one statute (Occupational Code Article 20). MCL 339.2010 is a single firm rule for architecture, professional engineering or professional surveying, and the 2/3 count uses all Article 20 licensees. So one firm approval appears to cover an A/E firm, with a person in responsible charge per field at each office. Not confirmed on a LARA page for combined firms.

Who can seal drawings in Michigan

Michigan issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. Michigan has no separate structural engineer license; the rules only let the NCEES SE exam stand in for the PE exam.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. MCL 339.2008(2): where architecture and engineering overlap on a project, a licensed architect or PE who seals the documents may perform services in the other field if incidental to the project as a whole. MCL 339.2012 exempts owners building for own use without public/employee access, and unlicensed persons designing detached 1- and 2-family homes up to 3,500 sq ft calculated floor area.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Michigan license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Michigan with other states on who can seal drawings, by state.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Michigan doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. PE licenses renew every 2 years and expire October 31; whether all licenses share an odd or even year is not confirmed (not yet confirmed). Read each person’s date from the board’s lookup.
• Having enough hours but not the required topic. A Michigan PE needs at least 2 hours in ethics. Extra general hours don’t make up for a missing topic.
• Banking extra PDH for next time. No carryover. The rules contain no carryover provision, and hours must be earned in the 2-year period immediately before the license expires (R 339.16040(1)).

Where to file

SealBench never files anything with a board for you. Renewals, CE reports and firm registrations go to the board directly:

• Michigan Board of Professional Engineers (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) (engineers and engineering firms)
• Michigan engineer license lookup
• Michigan Board of Architects (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) (architects and architecture firms)

How SealBench helps

SealBench keeps every PE and architect license and every firm registration on your roster in one list, soonest expiration first. Reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days before each date are coming soon. It counts each person’s CE hours and required topics against Michigan’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Michigan permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.