Michigan Medical License

A Michigan medical license costs $375 for the initial application and renews every 3 years for $314. You apply online through MiPLUS, LARA’s licensing portal, and the Bureau of Professional Licensing typically reviews complete files in 4 to 6 weeks. Below: exact fees, renewal and CME rules, step-by-step application instructions, and how to verify any Michigan license.

Key Takeaways

• Initial MD license: $375 (application plus 3-year license fee); renewal: $314 every 3 years, filed through MiPLUS up to 90 days before expiration.
• CME: 150 hours per cycle, at least 75 hours in Category 1, 3 hours in pain and symptom management, and 1 hour in medical ethics.
• Michigan adds its own trainings: one-time human trafficking training, one-time opioid awareness training for prescribers, and 1 hour of implicit bias training for every year of the cycle.
• BPL review runs about 4 to 6 weeks once your complete application arrives; the license PDF is emailed on issuance.
• Michigan remains an IMLC member state: Public Act 6 of 2026, signed March 26, 2026, re-enacted the compact statute just two days before a scheduled withdrawal.

Michigan is a mid-priced, paperwork-heavy state. $375 buys a full 3-year license, about $125 per year, cheaper than most annual-renewal states. But the 150-hour CME load and Michigan-only trainings catch relocating physicians off guard. We’ve seen more renewals stumble on the yearly implicit bias hour than on the CME total itself. Budget 8 to 12 weeks end to end and order verifications on day one.

How to Renew a Michigan Medical License

Renew online through MiPLUS up to 90 days before your license expires. The MD renewal fee is $314 for the 3-year cycle, plus $248.10 if you hold a controlled substance license. Before submitting, you certify 150 CME hours and Michigan’s required trainings.

Miss the deadline? Michigan gives you a statutory cushion. Under MCL 333.16201(2), a license “may be renewed within 60 days of the expiration date” upon application, payment of renewal and late fees, and completion of your continuing education. You can keep practicing during those 60 days. After that window closes, you’re into relicensure territory: a $395 application, and if the license sat lapsed for 3 years or more, additional proof such as an active out-of-state license, the SPEX exam, or a board-approved re-entry program.

Pro tip: MiPLUS opens the renewal window 90 days before expiration, and BPL has partnered with CE Broker for tracking continuing education. Load your CME certificates there as you earn them. Michigan audits a random slice of licensees after every renewal period, and you must keep records for 4 years.

Michigan CME Requirements for Physicians

Michigan requires 150 hours of board-approved CME in the 3 years preceding renewal. At least 75 hours must be Category 1. Within the total, you need a minimum of 3 hours in pain and symptom management, at least 1 of which covers controlled substances prescribing, and 1 hour in medical ethics. The acceptable course rules live in Administrative Rule R 338.2443. Note the ethics hour and the 3-hour pain management floor are current requirements; older guides still floating around the web cite a single pain management hour and a 50-hour Category 1 minimum, both out of date.

Michigan’s One-Time and Recurring Trainings

Three Michigan-specific trainings sit outside the CME count. First, a one-time training in identifying victims of human trafficking (Administrative Rule R 338.2413); it does not count toward your 150 hours unless it independently meets CE standards. Second, prescribers need a one-time opioids and controlled substances awareness training under R 338.3135. Helpfully, LARA confirms that the 8-hour substance use disorder training you already complete for federal DEA registration satisfies Michigan’s one-time opioid requirement. Third, implicit bias training: 2 hours within the 5 years before initial licensure, then 1 hour for each year of your license cycle at every renewal.

Watch out: implicit bias training is not a one-time box to check. A 3-year Michigan cycle means 3 hours of it before every renewal, and LARA states this explicitly in the current MD guide. Physicians who treat it like the human trafficking training (genuinely one-time) get stuck at the renewal attestation.

How to Get a Michigan Medical License: Step by Step

You apply for a Michigan medical license online through MiPLUS, pay $375, complete a fingerprint background check, and route primary-source verifications to the Bureau of Professional Licensing. Both new graduates (by examination) and physicians licensed elsewhere (by endorsement) use the same portal and the same fee.

1. Create a MiPLUS account and file the application. Pay the $375 fee by credit or debit card. If you’ll prescribe, add the controlled substance license fields ($259.10) to the same application; filing it separately later means waiting for the medical license to issue first.
2. Complete the criminal background check. After submission, BPL emails an Application Confirmation letter with fingerprinting instructions.
3. Order primary-source verifications on day one. Your medical school sends the Certification of Medical Education; your program director sends the Certification of Postgraduate Training; the FSMB transmits USMLE scores. Michigan also accepts a voluntary FCVS profile in place of separate documents.
4. Complete Michigan’s trainings. Human trafficking training, 2 hours of implicit bias training within the past 5 years, and the opioid awareness training if you’re seeking a controlled substance license.
5. Send license verifications from every jurisdiction where you hold or ever held a license, directly from that licensing agency to BPL.
6. Wait out BPL review (typically 4 to 6 weeks for a complete file) and respond quickly to any deficiency email.
7. Receive your license. A PDF arrives by email immediately on issuance; a mailed copy, if requested, takes about 7 to 10 business days.

From the applications we file, the two documents that most often stall Michigan files are the postgraduate training certification and out-of-state license verifications. Order everything in parallel, not in sequence.

Real scenario: a hospitalist moving from Chicago to Grand Rapids applies by endorsement in early March. She files MiPLUS the same week she requests her Illinois verification and USMLE transcript, knocks out the implicit bias hours online over a weekend, and holds a Michigan license before her June start date. Her colleague who waited to request verifications until BPL asked started work six weeks late.

Michigan Medical License Requirements

Michigan medical license requirements include graduation from an accredited medical school, at least 1 year of board-approved postgraduate clinical training, passing scores on all USMLE steps (MDs) or all COMLEX-USA levels (DOs), a criminal background check, and Michigan’s implicit bias and human trafficking trainings.

• Education: a board-approved MD or DO program; international graduates additionally need ECFMG certification and must demonstrate English proficiency under R 338.7002b.
• Postgraduate training: minimum 1 year in a board-approved (ACGME-accredited) program, certified directly by your Director of Medical Education.
• Exams: all USMLE steps for MDs, with a hard cap of 4 attempts per step; all COMLEX-USA levels for DOs, verified directly by the NBOME.
• Character and identity: good moral character questions, disciplinary disclosures, SSN, and verification from every jurisdiction where you ever held a license.

Two boards issue physician licenses here, both housed in LARA’s Bureau of Professional Licensing: the Michigan Board of Medicine for MDs and the Michigan Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery for DOs. The DO board’s administrative rules (R 338.111 to R 338.143) were freshly updated effective May 8, 2025, covering licensure pathways, telehealth consent, and prescribing standards.

Michigan gives you 4 attempts to pass each USMLE step, one more than the IMLC’s 3-attempt limit. Pass everything in 3 attempts or fewer and you keep the expedited compact pathway open.

How Much Does a Michigan Medical License Cost?

A Michigan medical license costs $375 upfront, which covers both the application and the first 3-year license term. Renewal runs $314. Prescribers add a controlled substance license: $259.10 initially and $248.10 at each renewal. All fees are card-only through MiPLUS.

By the numbers: spread over the 3-year term, Michigan works out to roughly $125 per year initially and about $105 per year at renewal. States with annual renewals frequently cost more per year of practice, before you even count their CME hours.

Michigan Medical License Processing Time

The Bureau of Professional Licensing reviews Michigan medical license applications in the order received, and its licensing guides cite a typical review of 4 to 6 weeks from the date a complete application arrives. On approval, the license PDF is emailed immediately; a mailed copy takes 7 to 10 business days.

That 4-to-6-week figure measures BPL’s review, not your whole journey. Medical school certifications, training certifications, exam transcripts, and out-of-state verifications all travel on their own schedules. In our experience, complete files with verifications in hand clear in 8 to 12 weeks end to end. If your start date is tight, a physician licensing service can run the verifications and board follow-up in parallel while you finish credentialing paperwork.

How to Verify a Michigan Medical License (MiPLUS Lookup)

All Michigan license verification runs through MiPLUS, the Bureau of Professional Licensing’s free online lookup. Search by name, license number, profession, or location to check the status of any doctor, physician assistant, or nurse licensed in Michigan, including MD and DO licenses issued by the Michigan Board of Medicine and the osteopathic board.

1. Open the MiPLUS verification portal, or start from LARA’s MiPLUS assistant page and choose “Verify a License or Registration.”
2. Search by the licensee’s name or license number; you can narrow by profession (medical doctor, osteopathic physician, physician’s assistant) or city.
3. Open the matching record to confirm license status (active, expired, suspended), issue and expiration dates, and any disciplinary actions or public documents.
4. Need formal written confirmation for credentialing? Contact BPL at 517-241-0199 or [email protected]; the online check is faster and free.

The same search covers every angle people look for: verifying a Michigan doctor’s license before an appointment, checking a physician license status during hospital credentialing, or confirming an MD, DO, or PA license number on a job application. Employers doing a full workup should pair the state check with our free NPI lookup tool to confirm federal identifiers, and PAs who need their own license can start with our physician assistant licensing page. Nursing licenses appear in MiPLUS too, overseen by the Michigan Board of Nursing.

Endorsement, the IMLC, and Moving Your Practice to Michigan

Physicians licensed in another state apply to Michigan by endorsement for the same $375 fee, with slightly different documentation depending on whether you’ve been licensed for more or less than 10 years. Michigan is also a member of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, an interstate agreement now spanning 44 states plus D.C. and Guam, and serves as a state of principal license.

Michigan’s compact membership nearly ended this spring. The state joined via 2018 legislation (MCL 333.16189) that carried a sunset clause; the section was repealed on March 28, 2025, which set withdrawal to take effect March 28, 2026. On March 26, 2026, two days before the deadline, Governor Whitmer signed House Bill 5455 into law as Public Act 6 of 2026, re-enacting the compact provisions without a sunset. LARA confirms membership continues without interruption: existing Michigan compact licenses remain active, and Michigan keeps serving as a state of principal license. If you qualify (the IMLC route requires, among other things, passing each exam step in no more than 3 attempts), the compact remains the fastest path to stacking Michigan alongside other member states.

Michigan law also carves out narrow exceptions for out-of-state physicians providing consultations, and telehealth visits require documented patient consent under MCL 333.16284. If you’re licensing across the region, see how Ohio medical licensing compares on fees and timelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article provides general guidance only. Physician licensing requirements change frequently and vary by state. Always verify current requirements with LARA’s Bureau of Professional Licensing at michigan.gov/lara before submitting your application. Last fact-checked: July 1, 2026.

Written by Medicallicensing Team · Reviewed by David Ivaniuk, CEO Medicallicensing · Last updated: July 1, 2026 · Last fact-checked: July 1, 2026

About the reviewer

David Ivaniuk is the CEO of Medicallicensing, a licensing services firm that has helped physicians, PAs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals navigate state licensing, DEA registration, and payer enrollment across all 50 U.S. states.

References

1. Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). “Michigan Medical Doctor (MD) Licensing Guide,” rev. January 26, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
2. LARA, Michigan Board of Medicine. Board of Medicine homepage, including the March 26, 2026 announcement of House Bill 5455 / Public Act 6 of 2026 (IMLC membership). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
3. LARA. “License Renewal Fees,” quoting MCL 333.16201(2) (60-day late renewal window). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
4. LARA, Bureau of Professional Licensing. Health Professional Licensing (DEA 8-hour training satisfying Michigan’s one-time opioid training). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
5. MiPLUS License Verification portal (Bureau of Professional Licensing). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
6. Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission. Compact State Map / member jurisdictions. Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
7. Michigan House Fiscal Agency. Legislative analysis of Michigan’s IMLC membership history (2018 PA 563, sunset, and re-enactment). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.
8. LARA. Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery General Rules, R 338.111 to R 338.143 (eff. May 8, 2025). Retrieved July 1, 2026. Link.