Updated 05/29/24
Resident producers and solicitors must earn 24 credits of State-approved education credit every two years. Of the 24 credits, a minimum of 3 credits must be in "ethics" coursework. The "other" 21 credits may be in accident & health, life, property, casualty, etc. If a licensee completes more than 3 credits in ethics, the additional credits beyond the 3 required ethics credits will count toward the "general" 21 credits needed.
Yes. There are some exceptions: (1) Limited Life, (2) Turkey, Crop and Hail, (3) Travel, Accident and Baggage, (4) Title, (5) Credit Products and (6) Limited Lines Property and Casualty. These license types / lines of authority do not require completion of CE credits.
Yes, in cases of severe hardship, our office may consider granting a waiver from CE requirements. “Severe hardship" has been defined as
To apply for a continuing education waiver or extension, a licensee must submit a letter of request PRIOR to the expiration date of their license. The letter should be sent to our office via mail or fax:
DIFS Insurance Licensing Section
Continuing Education Waiver Request
PO Box 30220
Lansing, MI 48909
Fax: 517-284-8836
The request must include the following information:
Current doctor's statement supporting the disability/illness or copies of the deployment orders.
Description, in producer’s own words, of the situation that has prevented licensee from completing CE requirements.
Explanation of what functions the producer performs.
Impact the disability/illness has had on ability to function as an active producer.
Reason producer believes the disability/illness prevented them from attending classroom courses or completing on-line/self-study courses.
Specific length of time for which the waiver or extension is being requested.
Yes. Please review the information in the answer to the previous question regarding waivers of CE requirements.
Your CE review date is determined by the month and year of your birth. Your first CE review date must allow you at least 12 months to complete 24 CE credits after your license is first approved. For example:
| Date License Approved | Date of Birth | 1st CE Review Date |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6/2023 | 9/10/1971 | 9/1/2025 |
| 6/22/2023 | 6/14/1988 | 6/1/2026 |
| 1/13/2024 | 3/16/1984 | 3/1/2026 |
| 5/9/2024 | 6/23/1969 | 6/1/2025 |
| 3/24/2025 | 12/15/1987 | 12/1/2027 |
| 7/16/2025 | 1/26/1990 | 1/1/2028 |
In the last example, the first CE review date is not January 1, 2026 because the new license would have less than 12 months to complete the CE credits. Therefore the review date is January 1, 2028.
Successive Review Dates are every two years thereafter.
Your first CE review date is printed on your license document in the lower left-hand corner. Check the online Insurance Agent Locator to verify your review date.
Before you can earn CE credits, the effective date of your license must be determined. As soon as you receive your license, you may begin to sign up for CE classes using your 7-digit System ID (License) number.
Michigan is reciprocal with all other states. By meeting your home state CE requirements, you will automatically comply with Michigan's requirements. You are not required to submit proof of CE compliance to our office.
No. The CE review date (month, day, year) is established when you are first licensed.
The list of Insurance Education - Search for Providers, Courses, Offerings, and Instructors is available on our website.
No. Contact the individual providers to determine when the specific course will be held and the registration procedures.
No. Course work has been approved for classroom, web-based, or self-study formats (which include online courses).
Yes. It is the provider's responsibility to assure licensees complete exams without assistance. Providers must use a disinterested third party to certify this action or schedule separate testing sessions at a specified location.
A person who has no financial interest in the success or failure of a licensee maintaining an insurance license. The disinterested third party must also certify the exam was closed-book and no other assistance was used to obtain a passing score on the exam.
The course completion date reported by the provider will determine where the credit hours will apply.
Yes. After the minimum CE requirements are met of 24 credit hours including 3 Ethics credits, up to 12 additional credit hours may be carried over to the next CE review period. Additional credits, including Ethics coursework, will count as “general” hours. Further information is available on the DIFS web page Insurance Licensee Continuing Education (CE) Carryover FAQ.
No. Duplicate completions will not be counted and will appear on your record with zero (0) credit. A duplicate course is one with the same course name or one that contains the same course material as a course already completed.
No.
CE providers (schools) are required to:
Report CE credits for you after successful completion of coursework
Submit credits electronically to DIFS within 30 days of course completion
Pay the $1.00 per credit hour reporting fee when submitting credits to DIFS
You are responsible for:
Providing your 7-digit System ID (License) number during registration
Successfully completing the coursework
You are NOT in compliance until all necessary credit hours are posted. Failure to supply correct license information to the CE provider may result in you not receiving credit.
NOTE: Many national designation program providers do not report your hours automatically. Many require a nominal fee to report the hours on your behalf. Check the provider's reporting procedure at the time of registration. It is your responsibility to determine how the provider will collect this fee, report the hours and pay the $1.00 per credit fee.
Yes. The updated records will be available on the DIFS website using the Insurance Agent Locator.
Yes. Providers are required to issue a Certificate of Completion within 30 days of completing a course. This Certificate of Completion is for your own records. You should not send fees or CE certificates to our office.
CE credits can be verified using the online Insurance Agent Locator.
You must resolve discrepancies directly with the CE provider regarding the course in question. After you have unsuccessfully attempted to resolve these discrepancies with the provider, contact our office. Have your certificate of completion from the provider before you contact our office.
Your license will be suspended for a period of 90 days or until your 24-hour requirement is met. During suspension, the law allows you to service your existing book of business, BUT you may NOT transact any new insurance business. All carriers for which you are appointed will be notified that you are suspended and that they may NOT accept any new business from you as of the date they are notified. Note: The Insurance Agent Locator will display Suspended for Education if the license is suspended.
Your suspension will be effective as of the first day of the month of your CE review date. You will receive notification by email or US mail of your license suspension. The State mails notification to Companies that have appointed you, but we allow a grace period before these are mailed. The Companies are then instructed to accept any business you submit up until the date they are notified. This allows adequate time to clear up any errors on your CE credit posting, as well as getting any business you produced to the Company before the notice of suspension arrives.
Your license qualifications will be terminated for education; all appointments as well as your license status will be inactive. All Companies with which you are appointed will be notified of your termination/inactivation. To be considered for reinstatement of your license, within one (1) year of your CE review date, you must:
You must maintain current email and mailing addresses with our office. Information about maintaining and updating your addresses is available on the DIFS Address Changes web page.
If your email and/or mailing addresses are not current in our database, we are unable to provide you with notification of your license status. It is your responsibility to update this information in a timely manner. Failure to maintain a current email or mailing address with our office will result in fines and/or action against your license per Section 1238 of the Michigan Insurance Code, MCL 500.1238.
You will need to start the licensure process over as a new applicant in Michigan.
To obtain a Resident Producer license in Michigan:
File an Electronic Resident Licensing (ERL) application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) website. The license application fee is $10.00 plus a $5.00 transaction fee. An application is valid for 180 days from entry into our database.
Complete the required Pre-licensing Education (PE) coursework from a Michigan-approved PE provider prior to taking an examination.
Successfully complete a Michigan licensing examination. If an examination is not passed within 180 days, the applicant must submit a new license application and fee on the NIPR website and reschedule their examination.
