Does Michigan Require CLE? What Michigan Attorneys Need to Know
Michigan does not require CLE.
As of 2026, Michigan has no mandatory continuing legal education for attorneys, so there is no hour total, specialty credit, reporting deadline or penalty to track.
A 2025–26 push for a mandate has not been adopted in the materials our research read: the Michigan Judges Association urged the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Bar of Michigan to adopt MCLE, and the State Bar Board took no action.
Michigan's pre-admission Michigan Law Basics training is not CLE.
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At a glance
None.
Michigan has no mandatory CLE as of 2026; the 2025–26 resolution urged the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Bar of Michigan to adopt one, and the State Bar Board took no action.
None.
Michigan has no mandatory continuing legal education for attorneys as of 2026.
No CLE reporting.
Michigan has no CLE requirement, so there is no Michigan reporting cycle to track.
None required.
Michigan mandates no ethics, bias, wellness or technology credit, because it has no CLE requirement.
No Michigan limits.
With no CLE requirement, the state sets no cap on online or on-demand coursework.
No CLE rule attaches to new attorneys.
The pre-admission Michigan Law Basics online training is required of all bar applicants, but it is an admission requirement, not CLE.
Nothing to miss.
Michigan has no CLE deadline, so the research found no CLE late fee or penalty process.
How many CLE hours does Michigan require?
None.
Michigan has no mandatory CLE for attorneys as of 2026, so a Michigan attorney has no hour total to meet and no credits to earn.
The 2025–26 attempt to change that has not been adopted in the materials our research read: the Michigan Judges Association urged a mandate, and the State Bar Board took no action.
The pre-admission Michigan Law Basics online training that all applicants to the Michigan Bar must complete sits outside CLE entirely — it is an admission requirement, covered below.
What specialty credits are required (ethics, bias, wellness, tech)?
None.
Michigan requires no ethics, bias, wellness or technology credits, because as of 2026 it has no mandatory CLE for attorneys.
A course on any of those topics stays voluntary education: there is no Michigan credit category for it to fill and no Michigan requirement for it to count toward.
When is the deadline and how do you report?
There is no Michigan CLE deadline and nothing to report.
Because the state has no mandatory CLE, there are no Michigan CLE hours or certificates for attorneys to report, and in 2025–26 the State Bar Board took no action toward creating a requirement.
If that ever changes, the deadline and the reporting process will arrive with the rule that creates the requirement; until then, the State Bar of Michigan is the body to confirm with.
What are the rules for newly admitted attorneys?
Newly admitted Michigan attorneys have no CLE requirement either: the state's absence of a mandate covers every Michigan attorney, newly admitted or not.
What a new applicant does complete is different in kind.
The Michigan Law Basics online training is required for all applicants to the Michigan Bar as part of admission — but it is a pre-admission requirement, not CLE, and it does not create or satisfy any CLE obligation, because Michigan has none.
“The Michigan Law Basics online training is required for ALL applicants to the Michigan Bar”
Can you complete CLE online or on demand?
There is no Michigan rule limiting online or on-demand CLE, because there is no Michigan CLE requirement for a format rule to attach to.
A Michigan attorney who takes a course online or on demand does so voluntarily, with no Michigan cap on the format and no Michigan CLE requirement for the course to count toward as of 2026.
Carryover and exemptions
Michigan has no carryover and no exemption categories, because there are no required hours to carry and nothing to be exempt from.
The absence covers every Michigan attorney as of 2026, and our research found no Michigan CLE exemption list.
If Michigan adopts MCLE, carryover and exemptions would be defined by whatever rule adopts it; until this page records such a rule, there is nothing to carry or claim.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
A Michigan attorney cannot miss a CLE deadline, because Michigan has no CLE deadline to miss: no mandatory CLE means no late fee and no penalty process for CLE in the materials our research read.
An attorney licensed in Michigan and in another jurisdiction should confirm any CLE rules in that other jurisdiction directly with its own regulator.
Is Michigan moving toward mandatory CLE?
A mandate has been urged, and has not been adopted.
In 2025–26 the Michigan Judges Association approved a resolution calling on the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court to implement mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) for attorneys, and the State Bar Board took no action in the materials our research read.
The same board minutes record the officers' advice to the Chief Justice: any decisions on MCLE should be data-driven.
Our research cannot say whether Michigan will adopt MCLE in 2026–27; if it does, any change would appear in State Bar of Michigan or Michigan Supreme Court rule materials, and attorneys can confirm the current status with the State Bar of Michigan.
“the Michigan Judges Association approved a resolution calling on the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court to implement mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) for attorneys.”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Michigan court rules, board and bar pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state CLE requirements series, current as of October 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the State Bar of Michigan publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Michigan, see bar admission rules in Michigan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Michigan require CLE for attorneys?
No. As of 2026, Michigan has no mandatory continuing legal education for attorneys: no hour total, no required ethics or specialty credits, no reporting deadline and no penalty.
In 2025–26 the Michigan Judges Association urged the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Bar of Michigan to adopt MCLE, and the State Bar Board took no action in the materials our research read.
Confirm the current status with the State Bar of Michigan.
Is the Michigan Law Basics course the same as CLE?
No. The Michigan Law Basics online training is required for all applicants to the Michigan Bar, but it is a requirement of the admission process, not ongoing CLE — and Michigan has no CLE hours for it to count toward.
Completing it is part of becoming admitted, not part of maintaining a license.
Is Michigan going to adopt mandatory CLE?
A mandate has been urged, but nothing has been adopted.
In 2025–26 the Michigan Judges Association approved a resolution calling on the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court to implement MCLE, and the State Bar's officers told the Chief Justice any decisions on MCLE should be data-driven.
The State Bar Board took no action in the materials our research read, and nothing was adopted as of 2026.
Who regulates CLE in Michigan?
Michigan has no CLE requirement as of 2026, so there is no Michigan CLE scheme to administer.
The bodies the 2025–26 resolution targeted were the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court: the resolution called on them to implement MCLE, and the State Bar Board's minutes record that it took no action.
Confirm the current status with the State Bar of Michigan.
More Michigan Resources
Sources
- State Bar of Michigan: Board of Commissioners agenda materials (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- Michigan Board of Law Examiners: Admission to the bar in Michigan (retrieved 2026-10-02)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified October 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the State Bar of Michigan.