Michigan licenses Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC). New graduates first hold a Limited Licensed Counselor license (LLPC) and practice under an LPC's supervision while they collect their hours. Everything below comes from the board's own pages and rules, checked October 18, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
Check with your board. Counselor Ticket is a study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE), the American Counseling Association (ACA), CACREP or any state counseling board; NCE and NCMHCE are NBCC's marks, used here only to name the exams. Laws on confidentiality, duty to warn, reporting and licensing differ by state; follow your state's law, your agency and your supervisor.
Michigan at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LLPC (Limited Licensed Counselor)
None
A master's or doctorate in counseling from a qualified program, a professional disclosure statement. $88.10 for the first year; renewable yearly for up to 10 years.
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
NCE, NCMHCE or CRC
3,000 hours of post-degree counseling over at least two years with 100 hours of supervision. $259.05.
Michigan, step by step
Michigan Board of Counseling (LARA Bureau of Professional Licensing)
Limited license: with a master's or doctoral degree in counseling from a qualified program (or one the department finds substantially equivalent), apply on MiPLUS for the Limited Licensed Counselor license: $88.10 for the application and first year, renewed yearly ($27.50) for no more than 10 years. A criminal background check follows the application, and you need 2 hours of implicit bias training and a human trafficking training.
Supervised experience: all Michigan experience must come after the limited license is issued. With a master's: 3,000 hours of post-degree counseling over at least two years, with at least 100 hours of supervision in the supervisor's physical presence or by live two-way video. With a counseling doctorate: 1,500 hours over at least a year with 50 supervision hours. Supervisors are LPCs who meet R 338.1781 and complete the Counseling Work Experience form.
The exam: one of the NCE, the NCMHCE or the CRCC's rehabilitation counselor exam; scores from one testing organization are enough, sent directly to LARA.
LPC: the Professional Counselor license by exam costs $259.05. Requirements must be finished within 2 years of applying.
The steps that hold nearly everywhere: a counseling master's degree (usually 60 semester hours, often CACREP-accredited), your board's approval, an NBCC exam, about two years of supervised experience, then the full license. The NCE has 200 questions (160 scored) in 3 hours 45 minutes; the NCMHCE is 11 clinical case studies in the same time; either can be retaken after 30 days (NBCC/CCE candidate handbooks). The full walk-through: How to get your counseling license.