Michigan Contractor License Requirements
Every figure below was read off the LARA BCC or the statute, and the sentence it came from is listed at the bottom of this page. Where a figure could not be verified this page says so rather than showing a number.
What the state requires
- Licence
- Residential Builder (a Maintenance & Alteration Contractor licence covers repair/alteration work only)
- Issued by
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, Licensing SectionArticle 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980, as amended (Mich. Comp. Laws 339.2401 et seq.)
- Exam
- Residential Builder examination (Maintenance & Alteration Contractor applicants sit the M&A examination instead); both are written by Bureau of Construction Codes staff and delivered by PSI, in English or SpanishPSI
- Exam fee
- No verified figureThe $195 application fee is the only fee paid to the state for an initial individual Residential Builder or M&A licence; the three-year renewal is $150 ($170 late, $185 relicensure). The examination fee is paid directly to PSI when the exam is scheduled and is not published by LARA, so it is recorded as null.
- Application fee
- $195
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredNo licence bond appears among LARA's published requirements for a Residential Builder licence.
- General liability
- Not requiredLARA's published prelicensure requirements are the 60 hours of education, a completed application and fee, good moral character and the examination. No liability insurance filing is listed as a condition of licensure. Workers' compensation obligations, if any, arise under separate Michigan law and were not verified here.
- Workers compensation
- No verified rule
- Experience
- None requiredNo trade-experience requirement. Michigan substitutes 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, with at least 6 hours in each of seven named subjects and 18 free hours.
- Continuing education
- 21 hours every three years21 hours of continuing education per three-year licence cycle for the first and second renewal cycles; from the third renewal cycle onward only 3 hours per cycle (1 hour codes, 1 hour safety, 1 hour legal issues). Proof is not filed with the renewal but must be kept in case of audit. This CE requirement applies to licensees first licensed on or after January 1, 2009.
- Renewal
- Every 3 years
- NASCLA exam
- Not acceptedMichigan does not appear on NASCLA's list of state agencies accepting the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors.
What people get wrong
Michigan's state licence is residential only: there is no state commercial general contractor licence. The CE and renewal figures come from LARA's own Individual Residential Builder / M&A renewal panel: 21 hours per three-year cycle for the first two cycles, 3 hours thereafter, renewing every three years by May 31. The individual licence must be maintained separately from any builder company or branch licence, and a company licence goes into Section 2405 suspension if the qualifying officer lets the individual licence lapse. LARA's PDF forms (the continuing-competency flyer and the licence application) return HTTP 403 to non-browser clients; the figures above were read from the michigan.gov HTML pages instead.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Michigan?
- Yes. Michigan issues a state general contractor licence — Residential Builder (a Maintenance & Alteration Contractor licence covers repair/alteration work only) — through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, Licensing Section. Michigan's state licence is residential only: there is no state commercial general contractor licence. The CE and renewal figures come from LARA's own Individual Residential Builder / M&A renewal panel: 21 hours per three-year cycle for the first two cycles, 3 hours thereafter, renewing every three years by May 31. The individual licence must be maintained separately from any builder company or branch licence, and a company licence goes into Section 2405 suspension if the qualifying officer lets the individual licence lapse. LARA's PDF forms (the continuing-competency flyer and the licence application) return HTTP 403 to non-browser clients; the figures above were read from the michigan.gov HTML pages instead.
- How much continuing education does Michigan require?
- 21 hours every three years. 21 hours of continuing education per three-year licence cycle for the first and second renewal cycles; from the third renewal cycle onward only 3 hours per cycle (1 hour codes, 1 hour safety, 1 hour legal issues). Proof is not filed with the renewal but must be kept in case of audit. This CE requirement applies to licensees first licensed on or after January 1, 2009.
- Does Michigan accept the NASCLA exam?
- No. Michigan does not appear on NASCLA's list of state agencies accepting the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors.
Sources
“Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980, as amended was created to license and regulate persons engaged in the construction of a residential structure or combination residential and commercial structure, or persons who undertake the repair, alteration, addition, subtraction or improvement of a residential structure or combination residential and commercial structure for compensation other than wages for personal labor.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/residential-builders“Beginning June 1, 2008, an applicant for a Residential Builder or Maintenance & Alteration Contractor license must complete 60 hours of approved prelicensure education prior to taking the examination or submitting a license application to the Department.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/residential-builders/forms/prelicensure-education-requirements-for-residential-builder-and-maintenance-alteration-contractor-a“Examinations are conducted by PSI. Approved applicants will be contacted by PSI to schedule their examination at one (1) of five (5) PSI testing centers throughout the state and are available to test six (6) days a week. All examination fees are required to be paid to PSI at the time an examination is scheduled.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/residential-builders/forms/prelicensure-education-requirements-for-residential-builder-and-maintenance-alteration-contractor-a“Application for residential builders or maintenance and alteration contractors license $ 195.00 ... Renewal (builder, M&A/sales, branch office) 150.00 ... Late Renewal (builder, M&A/sales, branch office) 170.00 ... Relicensure (builder, M&A/sales, branch office) 185.00”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/forms/licensing/builders/license-fees“You must renew every three (3) years by 5/31. You can start renewing your license 90 days prior to the expiration date. Not all residential builder licenses renew the same year.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/license-registration-renewals“If this is your first or second renewal cycle, you are required to complete 21 hours of continuing education. If this is your third or higher renewal cycle, you are required to complete 3 hours of continuing education.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/license-registration-renewals“It is $150.00 to renew your license. If you do not renew before your license expires, you have to pay an additional $20.00 late fee. If you do not renew within 60 days of your license expiration date, the late fee increases to $35.00.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/license-registration-renewals“The State of Michigan has contracted with PSI Services LLC (PSI) to conduct the Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC) examination program. While PSI schedules and proctors the exams, the exams are created by the professional staff of the Bureau of Construction Codes and are based on the appropriate code, law, and rules governing the trade.”
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/psi-examinations
Then there is the exam
Practise Michigan exam questions free, with explanations that cite the reference book and section.