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The short answer: If you hold an active RN license in another state or Canada, you apply for a Michigan license by endorsement. Michigan isn't in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so a multistate license doesn't cover you. Plan for a background check, license verification from every state you've held a license in, transcripts, and two required trainings: one-time human trafficking training and 2 hours of implicit bias training. Last checked October 2026.
Is Michigan in the Nurse Licensure Compact? No. A bill to join (HB 4246) passed the Michigan House in June 2025 and has been in the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee since June 12, 2025. [1][2]
Michigan's rule (R 338.7004) requires 2 hours of implicit bias training within the 5 years immediately before your license is issued. The training has to include strategies to reduce disparities in access to and delivery of healthcare services, plus a pre-test and post-test implicit bias assessment. Online, on-demand courses are allowed. You'll attest to it on your application. If you're audited, you'll need a certificate showing the date, sponsor, course title and your name. [4]
Common mix-ups
Options include (alphabetical order; make sure any course you pick meets R 338.7004):
Michigan law says the department "shall issue a temporary license within 48 hours on receipt of proof that the applicant's license issued by another state or a province in Canada is currently active and in good standing" (MCL 333.16181(4)). LARA's nursing guide doesn't explain how to request one, so confirm with LARA's Bureau of Professional Licensing before you plan around it. [5]
Michigan RN licenses run on a 2-year cycle. At renewal you'll need 1 hour of implicit bias training for each year of the cycle (2 hours), and they have to be new hours, not the ones you used for your first license. Other Board of Nursing CE rules apply too. [1][4]
Yes. 2 hours, finished within the 5 years before your Michigan license is issued. [1][4]
Not for a first Michigan license. That needs 2 hours. One hour per year of your cycle applies at renewal. [4]
It can, if it was at least 2 hours, you finished it within the 5 years before your Michigan license issues, and it covered what Michigan's rule requires, including the pre-test and post-test. [4]
You attest on the application. Keep the certificate in case you're audited. [4]
Yes, a one-time training. [1][3]
No. Michigan isn't in the Nurse Licensure Compact. [1][2]
LARA doesn't publish a processing time. Start the steps that depend on other people (verifications and transcripts) first. [1]