Michigan electrical license requirements and insurance
To work for yourself as an electrician in Michigan, you need the Master Electrician License license. Michigan has 5 electrical license types, and which one you need depends on the work you take on. Workers' comp is required once you meet Michigan's employee thresholds. The state does not ask for a bond.
- License you need
- Electrical Apprentice registration Renew Every year
- Workers' comp
- Required as soon as you hire anyone
- Credit score
- None found
- To protect your pay, send notice by
- Send a Notice of Furnishing (the form that tells the owner you are on the job) within 20 days of your first day supplying labor or material (first day on the job on March 1 means notice by March 21). It goes to the designee and the general contractor named in the Notice of Commencement, or to the owner if no designee is named.
1 What stands out in Michigan for an electrician What is this?
The things people get wrong or do not expect about Michigan, in a few sentences.
- There is no exam for the contractor license itself. You pass the master electrician exam, then apply for the contractor license separately, and the state tests you only once.
- An electrical contractor must have a master electrician attached to it. If that person's license lapses, the contractor license goes on hold until they renew and you tell the state.
- A master electrician can be attached to only one electrical contractor at a time. Changing employer means changing that link.
- Michigan has no reciprocity with any state or country. A license from anywhere else does not shorten the path, though you must send in a copy of it and of that place's requirements.
- The licenses renew on different clocks. Journeyman and master renew every year by 31 December. The contractor license runs three years, also to 31 December.
- Continuing education is not yearly. You take a code update course only within a year of a new code being adopted, which does not happen every year.
2 Who issues electrician licenses in Michigan? What is this?
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, Electrical Division (LARA BCC) issues electrical licenses in Michigan.
| Name | Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, Electrical Division (LARA BCC) |
|---|---|
| Website | https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/exam-lic/electrical-examination-licensing-registration-application-information |
| Look up a license | https://aca-prod.accela.com/LARA/GeneralProperty/PropertyLookUp.aspx?isLicensee=Y&TabName=APO |
| The law | Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407, and 1972 PA 230 |
| The rulebook | Michigan Electrical Code Rules, Part 8 |
| Who runs the exam | PSI |
Exams are based on the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8. You apply to LARA first, and once approved you book with PSI and pay PSI directly.
3 Michigan electrician license requirements and fees What is this?
Michigan has 5 license types that matter to an electrician. The Master Electrician License needs 4,000 hours as an electrical journeyman, and you must have held that license for at least two years. In total that means at least 12,000 hours over at least six years. If you already hold a Michigan journey electrician license you do not have to prove anything from before it was issued.
Electrical Apprentice registration
Anyone learning the trade. You cannot be on a job site without an active registration, and the state says working without one is against the law
| What you can work on | Electrical work while employed by a master electrician and an electrical contractor. Sometimes one person holds both licenses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience required | None to register. This is where the hours start counting | ||||
| Training required | You must be enrolled in, or have completed, an approved apprenticeship training program, and you keep taking coursework throughout. The state asks about your coursework and employers at every renewal | ||||
| Exam | No | ||||
| Fees |
| ||||
| Renewal | Every year | ||||
| Training hours each year | 0 | ||||
| About training hours | No code update course is needed to renew an apprentice registration |
Electrical Journeyman License
The working electrician's license, for someone who has finished an apprenticeship
| What you can work on | Electrical work for a licensed electrical contractor | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience required | 8,000 hours and four years as an electrical apprentice, on electrical construction or maintenance of buildings, or on electrical wiring or equipment. It must have been supervised by someone holding a Michigan journeyman or master electrician license | ||||||
| Training required | The apprenticeship coursework | ||||||
| Exam | Yes, the electrical journey exam, run by PSI. You need at least 75 percent | ||||||
| Fees |
| ||||||
| Renewal | Every year, by 31 December. You can start renewing 90 days early | ||||||
| Training hours each year | 0 | ||||||
| About training hours | A code update course only within one year of a new code being adopted, which does not happen every year. Keep the certificate in case you are audited |
Master Electrician License
The license a business needs behind it. You must hold this, or employ someone who does, before you can hold an electrical contractor license
| What you can work on | Electrical work, and being the master electrician of record for one electrical contractor | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience required |
| ||||||
| Exam | Yes, the master electrician exam, run by PSI. You need at least 75 percent | ||||||
| Fees |
| ||||||
| Renewal | Every year, by 31 December | ||||||
| Training hours each year | 0 | ||||||
| About training hours | A code update course only within one year of a new code being adopted |
Electrical Contractor License
The business license. Anyone who contracts for electrical work in their own name
| What you can work on | Taking electrical work and pulling permits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience required | None for the business itself | ||||
| The licensed person behind the business |
| ||||
| Exam | No. There is no test for the contractor license itself, but you still have to apply | ||||
| Fees |
| ||||
| Renewal | Every three years, by 31 December. You can start renewing 90 days early | ||||
| Training hours each year | 0 | ||||
| About training hours | No code update course is needed to renew a contractor license |
Fire Alarm Specialty Technician (FAST)
Anyone installing or repairing fire alarm systems. It is a separate license from the electrical ones
| What you can work on | Fire alarm installation and repair | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience required | A NICET certification in installation and repair at level II or higher, or an ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician certification at level II or higher | ||||
| Exam | Yes, the FAST exam. You need at least 75 percent | ||||
| Fees |
| ||||
| Renewal | Every year, by 31 December |
4 How much insurance does an electrician need in Michigan? What is this?
What Michigan requires you to carry before you work.
| Minimum liability insurance | Not listed yet |
|---|---|
| Type of policy | The state sets none to hold the license |
| Who this applies to | Not applicable at state level. Cities may ask for a certificate before they issue permits, and customers and builders will ask for one |
| Workers' comp required? | Yes, once you meet Michigan's employee thresholds |
5 Does Michigan check your credit for an electrician license? What is this?
Michigan does not check your credit for this license.
| Credit score you need | None found |
|---|
6 Does an electrician need a bond in Michigan? What is this?
Michigan does not require a state bond for this license. Some cities ask for one before they issue permits.
| Does the state require a bond? | No |
|---|---|
| Amount | Not listed yet |
No bond was found on the state licensing pages. Cities may ask for one before they let you pull permits
7 Federal rules that also apply What is this?
Rules from the US government that apply to an electrician in Michigan on top of the state's own.
| Federal license | None. There is no federal license or card for electrical work |
|---|---|
| Lead-safe certification |
|
8 Where must a Michigan electrician show the license number? What is this?
In Michigan: the plumbing side of the same law has a business sign rule. Whether the electrical side carries the same one is not settled, so ask the bureau before you letter a van.
| The rule | The plumbing side of the same law has a business sign rule. Whether the electrical side carries the same one is not settled, so ask the bureau before you letter a van |
|---|
9 Does an electrician charge sales tax on labor in Michigan? What is this?
In Michigan, no sales tax on your labor. The rest of the rules are below.
See how this compares in every state: Sales tax on labor for plumbers and HVAC contractors by state
| Labor on homes (repairs and remodels) | No sales tax on your labor |
|---|---|
| Repairs and remodels on businesses | No sales tax on your labor. Michigan treats a house and a business the same. |
| Labor on new buildings | No sales tax on your labor. Michigan treats new work and repairs the same. |
| Materials, when you quote one total price | You pay 6 percent sales or use tax when you buy pipe, fittings, fixtures, and supplies, and you charge the customer no tax. You are the final consumer of what you install. |
| Materials, when you list them separately |
|
| Sales tax license | Not needed unless you also sell goods over the counter. You register for use tax instead if you buy materials without paying tax. |
| Tax rate | 6 percent state rate |
10 Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for a Michigan electrician What is this?
If you are not paid in Michigan, a lien on the property is your backstop, but only if your notice goes out on time: send a Notice of Furnishing (the form that tells the owner you are on the job) within 20 days of your first day supplying labor or material (first day on the job on March 1 means notice by March 21). It goes to the designee and the general contractor named in the Notice of Commencement, or to the owner if no designee is named.
| Who has to send a notice | A subcontractor or supplier hired by the contractor, not by the property owner. A contractor working straight for the owner does not need to send it. |
|---|---|
| Send your notice by | Send a Notice of Furnishing (the form that tells the owner you are on the job) within 20 days of your first day supplying labor or material (first day on the job on March 1 means notice by March 21). It goes to the designee and the general contractor named in the Notice of Commencement, or to the owner if no designee is named. |
| File your lien by | Record the claim of lien with the register of deeds in the county where the property is within 90 days of your last day supplying labor or material (last day on March 1 means record by May 30). Serve a copy on the designee within 15 days of recording. |
11 How much does it cost to become an electrician in Michigan? What is this?
The government fees on this page add up to about $355 in Michigan. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.
| Government fees, added up | $355 |
|---|
Government fees only, and these are the renewal figures LARA publishes. PSI charges its own exam fee on top. Does not include insurance premiums, tools, a vehicle, or city permits.
12Where these numbers come from
The labels under each table are explained on how to read a page.
- michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/exam-lic/electrical-examination-licensing-registration-application-information
- michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/licensing-section/license-registration-renewals
- epa.gov/lead/renovation-repair-and-painting-program-contractors
- michigan.gov/taxes/business-taxes/sales-use-tax/information/sales-tax-license-faq
- michigan.gov/taxes/-/media/Project/Websites/taxes/Audit/Contractor-Manual.pdf
- legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-570-1109
- legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-570-1111
- codes.findlaw.com/mi/chapter-570-liens/mi-comp-laws-570-1109/