Michigan requirements · Implicit bias

Implicit Bias Training Requirements for Michigan Social Workers

Implicit bias training is one of the four required topics inside your LARA license renewal. It is also the one people most often get wrong, mostly about how the hours are spread across the cycle.

The short version

• 3 hours per license cycle: 1 hour for each year of the 3-year cycle, under R 338.7004.
• A single 3-hour class satisfies it. You don't need 1 hour in each year.
• Those hours count toward your 45, not on top of them.
• Keep your proof of implicit bias training for 6 years.

How many hours

The rule sets implicit bias training at 1 hour for each year of your license cycle. Michigan social work licenses run on a 3-year cycle, so that comes to 3 hours per renewal, whether you hold an LMSW or an LBSW.

It sits alongside the other required topics: 5 hours of ethics, 2 of pain and symptom management and 2 of human trafficking. All four are minimums within your 45 total hours.

One class or three?

"1 hour for each year" describes the total, not a schedule. LARA's guidance is that a single 3-hour class meets the requirement for the whole cycle. You don't have to take 1 hour in each of the three years, and taking all 3 hours early in the cycle is fine as long as they fall inside it.

The opposite mistake happens too: taking a 1-hour course and assuming you are covered. One hour meets a third of the requirement.

Does it count toward the 45?

Yes. Since March 23, 2023, implicit bias hours count toward your 45 total CE hours. A 3-hour implicit bias course is 3 of your 45, not 3 extra.

Keeping your proof

Implicit bias training has its own record-keeping rule. Keep proof of it for 6 years, one year longer than the 5 years you keep the rest of your CE records after applying for renewal. If you file your certificates by renewal cycle, keep the implicit bias ones out of the cleanup when the 5 years are up.

Does it count toward your MDE certificate?

Only if the course also carries SCECHs. Your MDE certificate has no implicit bias requirement of its own; it counts professional learning hours. Some implicit bias sessions carry SCECHs and some don't. At MASSW 2026, for example, session B-5 on implicit bias in school social work practice earns LARA CE but no SCECHs. Check the certificate of completion, and see the MDE certificate page for how SCECHs reach MOECS.

How Social Work Hours handles it

When you log a course, you can put its hours in the implicit bias bucket for your license. Social Work Hours shows how many of the 3 hours you have, counts them toward your 45, and keeps the certificate with the course so the proof is in one place when you need it.

Sources

Requirements verified 14 September 2026 against LARA's social work licensing guide and FAQs and the Board of Social Work rules (R 338.2921 to R 338.2965).

Social Work Hours is a personal tracking tool. It is not affiliated with LARA, MDE, or MOECS, and does not submit anything to the state on your behalf. Requirements change; always verify current rules with LARA (Board of Social Work) and MDE, and confirm SCECHs in your MOECS account. Retain your original certificates as required by state rules.