Michigan requirements
Michigan Social Work Renewal Requirements
Most Michigan school social workers renew two credentials with two agencies that don't share anything: a social work license from LARA and a school social worker certificate from MDE. Here is what each one asks for, side by side, with the rule behind every number.
Two credentials, two regulators
Your social work license (LMSW or LBSW) is issued by LARA's Board of Social Work. Your school social worker certificate is issued by MDE, and your professional learning for it is recorded in MOECS. Neither one substitutes for the other, and they don't renew on the same clock.
| LARA license | MDE Professional certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours per cycle | 45 CE hours | 75 professional learning hours |
| Cycle | 3 years | 5 years |
| Expires | April 30 | June 30 |
| Required topics | Ethics, pain and symptom management, human trafficking and implicit bias, all inside the 45 | None: a single professional learning total |
| Earned as | CE hours, with at most 50% as non-interactive online self-study | SCECHs, college credit or DPPD |
| Who keeps the record | You do: LARA doesn't track your hours, so you keep the proof in case of audit | MOECS is the system of record |
If you hold the Preliminary School Social Worker Certificate instead of the Professional one, its renewal works differently: it isn't based on hours at all. The MDE certificate page explains both.
The rules that trip people up
- The LARA minimums are inside the 45, not on top of it. 5 hours of ethics, 2 of pain and symptom management, 2 of human trafficking and 3 of implicit bias all count toward the total.
- Hours don't carry over. Both regulators want the hours earned inside the cycle they are asking about. Extra hours from one cycle don't roll into the next.
- One course can count twice, but credit mostly runs one way. Social work CE often carries SCECHs too, so it can count toward both. SCECH-only courses, such as district PD, usually don't count toward your LARA license. Go by what the certificate of completion lists.
- "Pending" in MOECS isn't the same as earned. A SCECH shows up in MOECS once the sponsor uploads it and you complete the evaluation. Until then, count it as pending.
- The 150-hour figure isn't yours. You may see 150 hours quoted for MDE renewal. That number is for teaching certificates. The Professional School Social Worker Certificate requires 75.
Read the details
- Michigan Social Work License CE Requirements (LARA)The 45 hours, the four required topics, the online self-study cap and how long to keep your proof.
- MDE School Social Worker Certificate Renewal and SCECHsThe 75 hours for the Professional certificate, how SCECHs land in MOECS, and how the Preliminary certificate renews.
- Implicit Bias Training Requirements for Michigan Social WorkersHow many hours, whether one class covers it, and why you keep this proof a year longer.
Why we put this together
Social Work Hours started as a way to stop tracking both credentials in a notebook. Every number on these pages is the same number the app uses to track your hours, checked against the state sources listed below, so the pages and the tracker can't disagree.
Sources
Requirements verified 14 September 2026 against LARA's social work licensing guide and FAQs, the Board of Social Work rules (R 338.2921 to R 338.2965), MDE's school social worker certification guidance and MDE's SCECH overview.
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.
Track this automatically in Social Work Hours
Log a course once and Social Work Hours counts it toward your LARA license and your MDE certificate, tracks every minimum and deadline above, and keeps the record ready in case you are audited. Free during the pilot.