Michigan
Michigan licenses law enforcement officers through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), which must revoke a license for fraud or listed crimes. No law or rule on officer licensing changed from 2023 to 2026. MCOLES started an annual continuing education program in 2024, and a 2025 reorganization order made the Civil Rights director’s seat on the commission ex officio.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), within the Michigan State Police. It licenses law enforcement officers, including sheriffs and tribal officers (MCL 28.603; E.R.O. 2001-2, 2020-2, and 2025-2).
- Statute
- The MCOLES Act, 1965 PA 203, MCL 28.601 to 28.616; licensing is in 28.609 to 28.609e. The Law Enforcement Officer Separation of Employment Record Act, 2017 PA 128, MCL 28.561 et seq. Rules are Mich. Admin. Code R 28.14101 to R 28.14702.
- Minimum standards
- U.S. citizen. A minimum age set by the agency, but not under 18. High school diploma or GED. “No prior felony convictions, or felony expungements and set asides.” Good moral character, shown by a comprehensive background investigation. A valid driver’s license, the MCOLES reading and writing exam, and a negative drug test. An approved academy and the licensing exam (R 28.14203). Medical standards are in R 28.14204.
- Decertification
- MCOLES “shall revoke” a license obtained by a materially false statement or fraud, whether by the officer or another person. It must also revoke after an adjudication of guilt for a felony-level crime (punishable by more than 1 year), or for listed misdemeanors, among them repeat drunk driving, certain drug offenses, domestic assault, and stalking (MCL 28.609(12), (13)). Revocation is a contested case, and summary suspension is available (R 28.14601 to 28.14609). There is no general misconduct ground.
- Public decertification list
- None found. No statute requires a public list, and no list published by MCOLES was found.
- National Decertification Index
- None found. No Michigan statute or rule found names the Index.
- Continuing training
- No statutory annual hours. The statute requires active violence response training for all licensees (MCL 28.609e, since 2020). By rule, MCOLES “may” set in-service standards in its policies and procedures manual (R 28.14210). Under that authority it runs a Continuing Professional Education program: 12 hours in 2024 and 24 hours a year from 2025 through 2027 (see below).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Civil Rights director’s MCOLES seat made ex officio
The order says the commission member who serves under section 1(1), the director of the Department of Civil Rights, “shall serve in an ex officio capacity.” That is the only new element. The order also restates rules that already applied under E.R.O. 2020-2, effective August 12, 2020. The governor’s three public appointees “must not be” law enforcement officers or tribal officers, or be employed by or affiliated with a law enforcement agency or training academy. They serve 4-year terms, and a vacancy is filled for the rest of the term. Licensing standards do not change.
For officers: Nothing changes for your license.
MCOLES continuing education: 12 hours in 2024, then 24 hours a year
2024: 12 hours, with at least 4 on ethics in policing and interpersonal relations. 2025: 24 hours, with at least 8 on mental health crisis. 2026: 24 hours, with at least 8 on tactical operations; officers who have not yet completed the active violence response training must complete it within those hours. 2027: 24 hours, with at least 8 on investigations. Hours an agency picks itself need approval in advance from the agency head and MCOLES. Agencies must request any extensions. MCOLES calls the program a pilot for 2024 to 2026. It rests on the rule that MCOLES “may” set in-service standards (R 28.14210, adopted under MCL 28.611(2)(a)); no statute sets annual hours, and no rule amendment was made. Whether missing the hours affects a license could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
For officers: Plan for 24 hours in 2026, including at least 8 on tactical operations.
Not yet in force and pending
- HB 6421 of 2026 (Harris): would amend MCL 28.609 and 28.609b to 28.609d to change recruit eligibility criteria. Introduced September 29, 2026; referred to House Judiciary. HB 6421
- HB 4760 of 2025 (Coffia): would add MCL 750.396a, limiting officers’ use of face coverings or disguises in some circumstances and requiring identification. Introduced July 29, 2025; referred to House Government Operations. HB 4760
- HB 4680 of 2025: would amend MCL 750.396 so an officer may ask a person wearing a mask for identification. It concerns the public, not officer masks. Last action: reproduced June 25, 2025. HB 4680
Checked and unchanged
- MCL 28.609 to 28.609e (licensing, revocation, active violence training) were last amended by 2016 PA 289, 2017 PA 198, and 2018 PA 552. MCL 28.602 was last amended by 2021 PA 42.
- MCL 28.563 and 28.565 (separation-of-employment records) were last amended by 2017 PA 128 and 2018 PA 522.
- MCOLES rules R 28.14101 to 28.14702 show histories from 2006, 2008, and 2012 only.
- The 2023 to 2026 Public Act tables show no act amending the MCOLES Act or the separation-record act. Not counted: 2023 PA 43 and 44, which amend wage law (MCL 408.478) to allow training-cost repayment agreements.
- No Michigan statute or rule on a duty to intervene, use-of-force standards, Brady or Giglio lists, or officer masks was adopted from 2023 to 2026.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Michigan officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/michigan (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.