How to become a vet tech in Michigan

Last checked October 25, 2026 against the sources listed below. Information, not legal advice: confirm with the board before you apply or take on a task.

Michigan vet techs hold a state veterinary technician license, which state associations call the Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT). The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) issues it for the Michigan Board of Veterinary Medicine. State law says no one may practice as a veterinary technician without a license, though veterinarians may still delegate tasks to qualified unlicensed assistants under close supervision. To get licensed, you complete an AVMA-accredited vet tech program, pass the VTNE and apply to LARA. There is no separate state exam.

Michigan vet tech credential at a glance

Item	Michigan
Title	Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT), the name state associations use. State law and LARA call it a veterinary technician license.
Issued by	Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Professional Licensing, for the Michigan Board of Veterinary Medicine. A state agency, not a private association.
Type	State license
Required to work as a tech	Yes State law bars practicing as a veterinary technician without a license. Veterinarians may still delegate selected tasks to qualified unlicensed assistants under close supervision.
Education	Completion of a veterinary technician program meeting AVMA CVTEA accreditation standards. The rules give no on-the-job route to licensure by exam.
Exams	VTNE only, at the passing score set by AAVSB, which reviews eligibility for Michigan candidates. No state jurisprudence or practical exam in the current rules.
Renewal and CE	Every three years. 15 CE hours per cycle: at least 10 scientific, at least 5 in person or live online, and no more than 12 in one 24-hour period.
Moving from another state	Licensure by endorsement if you hold an active license in good standing in another state: VTNE passing score sent through AAVSB, fingerprints, and verification from every licensing state.

How to get your LVT in Michigan

Complete a veterinary technician program that meets the standards of the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA). The board adopts those standards in its rules.
Apply for the VTNE through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). AAVSB reviews eligibility for all Michigan candidates. Send your official transcript, showing the degree and the date it was conferred, to AAVSB, which forwards a verified copy to Michigan. The VTNE is given in set testing windows each year, and LARA's exam page lists the deadlines.
Pass the VTNE. Michigan uses the passing score set by AAVSB and has no state exam of its own. If you choose Michigan on your VTNE application, the state receives your score automatically. Otherwise, use the AAVSB VAULT transfer service.
Apply online to LARA through MiPLUS. You must be at least 18, answer the good moral character questions, give your Social Security number, and show working knowledge of English. If you hold or held a license in any other state or country, that agency must send a verification to LARA.
Complete the criminal background check. LARA emails the instructions after you submit the application.
Pay the application and three-year license fee by card. LARA's Veterinary Technician Licensing Guide lists the current amount.

What a credentialed tech can do, and what an assistant can do

Michigan's statute and board rules do not list specific tasks that only a licensed tech may do, and they do not use immediate, direct or indirect supervision levels. The law sets three limits on licensed techs and one supervision standard:

Task	Credentialed tech	Veterinary assistant
Diagnose animal diseases	No: barred by MCL 333.18811(3).	Not addressed by name. A vet may not delegate tasks that need a veterinarian's own education, skill and judgment.
Prescribe medical or surgical treatment	No: barred by MCL 333.18811(3).	Not addressed by name. Same limit on delegation as above.
Perform as a surgeon	No: barred by MCL 333.18811(3).	Not addressed by name. Same limit on delegation as above.
Other tasks within veterinary practice	Yes, with conditions: under supervision, meaning the vet is close enough to directly observe and monitor the work.	Yes, with conditions: only tasks a vet delegates to a qualified assistant, after the vet first examines the animal, with the vet close enough to directly observe.

Both standards require the supervising veterinarian to be physically close enough to watch the work. The rules do not provide for a licensed tech or an assistant working without a veterinarian nearby. Michigan's general delegation law covers licensees other than subfield licensees, and the vet tech license is a subfield license, so that law does not give licensed techs the power to delegate tasks to assistants.

Veterinary assistants in Michigan

No state permit, registration or license for veterinary assistants was found. The board's rules mention assistants only as people a veterinarian may delegate to. The veterinarian must judge that the assistant is qualified, examine the animal first, decide on the treatment, and stay close enough to directly observe and monitor the work. A veterinarian may not delegate a task that, under accepted practice, needs a veterinarian's level of education, skill and judgment. State law restricts the word "veterinary" and the titles "animal technician" and "animal technologist" to people authorized under the veterinary part of the Public Health Code. The law does not say how this applies to the term "veterinary assistant," which the board's own rules use.

Renewal and continuing education

A Michigan vet tech license runs for three years from the date it is first issued and renews online through MiPLUS. LARA sends a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration. The licensing guide lists the renewal fee.

15 hours of board-approved CE in the three years before renewal.
At least 10 hours must be scientific: diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, or public veterinary topics such as epidemiology, food safety, animal welfare or antimicrobial stewardship.
At least 5 hours must be in person or through live, synchronous contact.
No more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period, and no credit for repeating the same program in one cycle.
Approved sponsors include AAVSB RACE, the AVMA, the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, the Michigan Association of Veterinary Technicians, other state veterinary boards and AVMA-accredited vet tech programs. Up to 5 hours may come from presenting, publishing, clinical teaching and committee service combined.
Keep proof of your CE for four years after you apply to renew. A waiver request must reach LARA before the license expires.

Michigan's implicit bias training rule for health professionals does not apply to veterinary licenses. If a license has lapsed more than three years and the person is not licensed in another state, relicensure also requires fingerprints and a VTNE pass within the three years before applying.

Recent changes

No licensing change found in 2024 to 2026. The vet tech rules were last revised effective December 16, 2021, and the supervision and delegation rule effective March 22, 2023. The statute text reviewed was dated January 2026.
Telehealth bills (proposed, not law). House Bill 4220 of 2025 would set rules for forming a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, including an exam by real-time audio and video telehealth for companion animals. House Bill 4221 restates the tech license rule in section 18811 without changing it. Both passed the House on November 13, 2025 and went to the Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs on December 2, 2025, the latest action shown in January 2026.
Scope of practice review (2026). In January 2026, the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and the Michigan Association of Veterinary Technicians announced a joint task force to recommend a modern LVT scope of practice, and later held member listening sessions. No bill or proposed rule from that work was found.

FAQ

Can someone work in a Michigan clinic without a vet tech license?

Michigan's rules let a veterinarian delegate tasks to a qualified veterinary assistant, with the veterinarian close enough to directly observe. State law says no one may practice as a veterinary technician without a license, so an unlicensed assistant does not hold that role.

Does Michigan have a state exam for vet techs?

No. The board's rules adopt only the VTNE, at the passing score set by AAVSB. There is no Michigan jurisprudence or practical exam in the current rules.

I am licensed in another state. Can I transfer to Michigan?

Michigan offers licensure by endorsement to people who hold an active license in good standing in another state. You need a passing VTNE score sent through AAVSB, fingerprints, and a verification from every state or country where you have held a license.

Can a Michigan LVT work at a mobile or satellite clinic without a veterinarian there?

The statute and rules do not provide for it. Michigan defines supervision as the veterinarian being in close enough physical proximity to directly observe and monitor the technician's work.

Can I call myself a veterinary nurse in Michigan?

Michigan law does not mention a "veterinary nurse" title. It restricts the word "veterinary," and the titles "animal technician" and "animal technologist," to people authorized under the veterinary part of the Public Health Code. No bill on a nurse title was found in this review.

Sources

Rules change and boards apply them case by case. If your situation is unusual, ask the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs directly.

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