Counseling Licensure in Michigan

Michigan has its own special set of laws around the regulation of licensure for its Counselors. There is only one level of licensure in Michigan that of the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). In order to attain the title of the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) you will need to meet a variety of educational, examination and supervised experience requirements. As always a good place to start is the Michigan Board of Counseling website which you can find by clicking here:

In order to fulfill the requirements to attain licensure in Michigan you will need to carefully follow and complete these steps:

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1. You will first need to complete the educational component by earning your Master of Counseling degree from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited university.
2. Pass a criminal background check.
3. Accumulate the necessary hours to complete the supervised experience requirement.
4. Apply to take your National Counselor Examination (NCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).
5. Apply to the Michigan Board of Counseling to receive your Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) title.

Educational Requirements

Michigan law states that prospective Counselors will need to fulfill the following educational steps as part of the licensure process.

• The surest route towards licensure is to earn your Bachelor’s degree in Counseling. This is considered the most desirable option to be accepted into a graduate program. If you do not earn a Bachelor’s of counseling then you will want to earn a Bachelor’s in a highly related Social Science discipline such as Psychology, Social Work or Human Services.
• The next step is to apply to and get accepted into a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited Master of Counseling program.

Supervised Experience

To gain the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) title, you will need to meet the requirements for supervised experience per Michigan Law.

• Pass a criminal background check.
• Apply to the board for limited licensure to begin gaining your experience.
  • You can find the form here:
• For those with a Master’s degree you will need to complete 3000 hours over a two year period.
• If you have 30 semester hours of post-graduate experience, this can be reduced to 1500 hours over a one year period.
• You will need to be supervised by someone who is authorized by the board to supervise.
• You will need one hour of direct supervision for every 30 hours of work experience.
• This equates to 100 hours for those who need 3000 hours of experience and 50 hours of supervision for those who are in need of 1500 hours of experience.

Apply for and Take Your NCE

The next step is to apply for and take your exam:

• Apply to the Michigan Board of Counseling to take your National Counselor Examination (NCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).
• Pass the NCE with a score acceptable under Michigan law.

Apply for Your LPC License

Once you have passed the NCE with a score acceptable to the Michigan Board of Counseling you may apply to the board for your full LPC title.

• Apply to the Michigan Board of Counseling for your LPC title.
• You can find the appropriate form here: https://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-89334_72600_72603_27529_27536—,00.html

Continuing Education and License Renewal

You will need to renew your license after one year for your first certification. The next licensed and everyone one after that will last for three years. There is no requirement for Continuing Education in Michigan.

It is always wise to stay abreast of any potential changes in the laws around licensure. You can do this by taking the time to check out the Michigan Board of Counseling website here: