Counseling License Requirements in Michigan

Michigan offers professional licensing for counselors, marriage and family therapists, and school counselors. Professional counseling organizations in Michigan advocate for professional development for counselors across the state. Learn more about Michigan licensure requirements, renewal information, and salaries.

Michigan counseling licensure requirements vary depending on the career path you plan to pursue. Michigan’s Bureau of Professional Licensing oversees professional licensing for professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. The Michigan Department of Education handles licensing for school counselors.

For all counseling professionals, several licensure levels are available to reflect the level of training completed and eligibility to work independently.

Here is an overview of Michigan counseling licensure requirements:

After completing your bachelor’s degree, satisfying Michigan counseling licensure requirements will typically take between two to five years. A master’s degree in counseling, marriage and family therapy, or school counseling typically takes 2-3 years to complete. Depending on your career path, you will need to complete up to two years of supervised experience after graduation.

If you decide to pursue a doctoral degree, your timeline to licensure will increase by several years. Ph.D. programs commonly take 4-6 years to complete.

While Michigan does not offer out-of-state licensing reciprocity, if you hold a current counseling license in another state, you may be eligible for licensure in Michigan by endorsement. Endorsement candidates with fewer than five years of professional experience must provide official transcripts and examination scores.

A temporary school counselor license (TSCL) is available for out-of-state school counselors. This allows new school counselors to be hired in a Michigan school while preparing to pass the required MTTC. The TSCL is only valid for one year and cannot be renewed.

Counselors and marriage and family therapists in Michigan must renew their licenses every three years. This involves paying a renewal fee, completing a good moral character questionnaire, disciplinary question, renewal attestation, and one hour of implicit bias training for each license cycle year.

School counselors in Michigan must renew their licenses every five years. At least 150 hours of education-related professional learning is required during each renewal cycle. Fifty professional development hours must cover college preparation and selection and career consultation.

Salary expectations vary for counselors in Michigan depending on a professional’s degree, work setting, and experience level. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), school counselors earn the most, while rehabilitation counselors earn the lowest salary of counselors in Michigan.

Counselors in Michigan earn less than the national average. The most significant difference impacts marriage and family therapists, who make an average of $72,720 nationally compared to a $59,210 average in Michigan.