Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

Twenty questions, twenty citations

Michigan Electrician License Questions: Answered and Cited

The wording follows what people actually type. The answers are ours, each tied to the LARA page, the application form, the PSI bulletin or the section of the Occupational Code that settles it. Where LARA does not publish an answer, we say so instead of filling the gap.

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Do I need a license to do electrical work in Michigan?

Yes, and the requirement runs in two places at once. MCL 339.5731 requires a license to install electrical wiring and to erect, install, alter, repair, service or maintain a fire alarm system or electric signs, and MCL 339.5711 puts a separate contractor license on the business doing the contracting.

That is why a one person shop normally holds two: a master electrician license attached to the person and an electrical contractor license attached to the company.

If you live in the City of Detroit, LARA says the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally, so that is a second inquiry.

How do I become an electrician in Michigan?

Get hired first. LARA asks an apprentice to be employed by a master electrician and an electrical contractor and to be enrolled in an approved related technical instruction program.

Then register within 30 days. Form BCC-0704 and MCL 339.5717 both set that window, at a $15.00 non refundable fee.

Then work at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years under a Michigan licensed journeyman or master, apply on form BCC-341 with the $40.00 fee, and sit the journeyman examination.

Is a Michigan electrical apprentice licensed or registered?

Registered. MCL 339.5717 has the apprentice register with the board and has the department issue a certificate of registration to somebody showing satisfactory participation in an approved apprenticeship training program.

The word matters for the paperwork rather than the job site. There is no apprentice examination in the PSI bulletin because there is nothing to test, and the fee is $15.00 rather than the $40.00 a journeyman pays.

On site the effect is the same. LARA says you should not be on a job site if your apprentice registration expires, because that is against the law.

How much does the Michigan apprentice registration cost?

Fifteen dollars, and it is not refundable. Form BCC-0704 charges $15.00 to apply and LARA's renewal page charges $15.00 again each year.

Renewal is due every year by August 31, which is a fixed calendar date rather than an anniversary of your own registration.

Miss it and the late fee is $100.00, which is more than six times the renewal.

How many hours do I need for a Michigan journeyman license?

At least 8,000, obtained over a period of at least 4 years. MCL 339.5715 sets both figures and LARA writes them as 8,000 hours and 4 years as an electrical apprentice.

Both conditions bind. Working overtime brings the hour count in sooner and leaves the four years exactly where they were, so your date is the later of the two.

The work has to relate to electrical construction or maintenance and be supervised by a Michigan licensed journeyman or master electrician.

How many hours do I need for a Michigan master license?

At least 12,000, over a period of 6 years or more. MCL 339.5713 sets those figures and adds that you must have held an electrical journeyman's license for at least 2 years.

LARA adds a number the statute does not spell out: 4,000 hours worked as an electrical journeyman, sitting inside the 12,000 rather than on top of them.

So three clocks run at once, and the last one to finish sets your date.

How old do you have to be to get an electrical license in Michigan?

Twenty for the journeyman electrician license and twenty two for the master, under MCL 339.5715 and MCL 339.5713. Form BCC-341 repeats both.

The specialty licenses differ. LARA sets the fire alarm specialty technician at 20 and the sign specialist at 18.

Neither MCL 339.5717 nor LARA's apprentice pages state a minimum age for the apprentice registration, so we do not state one here.

What score do I need to pass the Michigan electrician exam?

Seventy five percent, on every Michigan electrical examination. LARA states it for the journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician and sign specialist licenses, and the PSI bulletin repeats it for all four.

The journeyman examination is 80 questions in 150 minutes and the master is 76 questions in 180 minutes.

The fee is $100 per attempt and PSI says examination fees are not refundable or transferable.

Is the Michigan electrician exam open book?

Yes, with conditions on the books. The PSI bulletin allows the National Electrical Code with factory markings or highlights and factory tabs only, along with 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8.

The NEC Handbook is not allowed, and neither is any material you have highlighted, underlined or marked yourself. Printed materials have to be bound by three staples on the left edge in separate documents.

PSI says candidates caught marking materials before or during the examination are reported to the Bureau of Construction Codes.

Which NEC edition does the Michigan exam use?

The 2023 edition. LARA names the current standards as the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8.

The Part 8 rules adopting it took effect on 12 March 2024 and adopt the 2023 NEC second printing along with its TIAs, errata and Annex H, beginning at rule R 408.30801.

A 2026 rule set exists in draft. LARA lists 2026-17 LR Part 8 Electrical Code as a proposed draft discussed at a rules advisory meeting on 27 August 2026, and a draft is not an adoption.

How much does a Michigan electrician license cost?

Forty dollars for a journeyman and fifty for a master, on form BCC-341, plus $100 to PSI per examination attempt.

Renewal matches the application fee: $40.00 a year for the journeyman and $50.00 a year for the master, both due by December 31, with a $50.00 late fee.

The electrical, fire alarm and sign specialty contractor license renews at $300.00 every three years by December 31, also with a $50.00 late fee.

When does my Michigan electrical license expire?

December 31 for the journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician and contractor licenses. August 31 for the apprentice registrations.

Both are shared calendar dates rather than anniversaries of your issue date, so everybody in a category expires on the same day.

The contractor license is the one that runs on a three year cycle instead of a one year cycle, which is why it gets missed.

What is the late fee if I renew my Michigan license late?

Fifty dollars for a journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician or contractor license.

One hundred dollars for an electrical apprentice or a fire alarm specialty apprentice technician registration, on a $15.00 renewal.

LARA states each late fee as a flat amount. Nothing on its renewal page makes the fee grow the longer you wait.

Can I work while my Michigan license is expired?

LARA's answer is no. It says you are not allowed to be on the job site without an active license and that letting it expire may lead to citations or enforcement action.

For apprentices it is plainer still: you should not be on a job site if your registration expires, because that is against the law.

For masters LARA raises a different consequence, that an expired license may negatively impact your ability to pull permits.

How much continuing education does a Michigan electrician need?

None on an annual schedule. LARA's renewal page says you are only required to take a code update course within one year of new code being adopted.

MCL 339.5715 and MCL 339.5713 write it as a condition of renewal for journeymen and masters within 12 months after an update or change to the state construction code.

LARA marks the course as not required for the apprentice registration and for the contractor licenses, and points licensees to CE Broker at cebroker.com or (877) 434-6323.

Does Michigan have reciprocity with other states?

No. LARA says Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state or country, with no partial agreements and no list of participating states.

What exists instead is a review. An out of state applicant submits their original license along with documentation of the detailed requirements of the jurisdiction that issued it.

Nothing on the LARA pages we read says whether that review can waive an examination, so we do not state an answer. Ask the Licensing Section at 517-241-9316.

Do I need to be a master electrician to run an electrical business in Michigan?

Somebody does. MCL 339.5711 gives the electrical contractor license to a person who holds a master electrician's license, or to a business with at least one full time employee who is a master electrician, resides in Michigan, and is actively in charge of Michigan electrical code compliance on all installations.

So you can qualify through an employee, but that employee has to satisfy all four of those conditions.

LARA says the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master, and MCL 339.5713 stops one master from qualifying two contractor licenses.

Is there an exam for the Michigan electrical contractor license?

No. LARA says no test is required for the electrical, fire alarm or sign contractor license, though an application still is.

The PSI bulletin backs it from the other side. It lists journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician and sign specialist examinations and no separate electrical contractor examination.

The examination that stands behind the contractor license is the one the qualifying master already passed.

What happens if I fail the Michigan electrician exam twice?

MCL 339.5715 puts a journeyman candidate who fails twice within two years out for at least one year from the date of the second failure. MCL 339.5713 does the same for master candidates who fail twice within 24 months.

Coming back is conditional. You show proof of completing a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory.

PSI also limits journeyman, master and sign specialist candidates to two attempts within one year, after which you reapply. Fire alarm and contractor candidates have unlimited attempts within a year.

How do I check whether a Michigan electrician is licensed?

Through LARA's Accela search. On LARA's Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business page, the construction trades sit under a heading called Skilled Trades, and the link you want is the one labeled Electrician. There is no BCC link on that page.

Search the business as well as the person, because a one person shop normally holds two separate records: an individual master license and a company contractor license.

A current contractor license can still be on hold if no master is associated with it, so the association is worth asking about separately.

What this page cites

• LARA, electrical examination and licensing information The requirements for every Michigan electrical license and registration, the 75 percent pass mark, the reciprocity statement and the Detroit note. source
• LARA, license and registration renewals The renewal dates, cycles, fees and late fees, and the rule that a code update course is owed only within one year of a new code being adopted. source
• PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Question counts, times, the 75 percent pass mark, the $100 fee, attempt limits and the book rules. source
• MCL 339.5715 The journeyman license: at least 20 years old, at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years, the retake rule and the code update course at renewal. source
• MCL 339.5713 The master license: at least 22, at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more, two years holding a journeyman license, and the one contractor license limit. source
• MCL 339.5711 The electrical contractor license and the full time Michigan resident master it depends on. source
• MCL 339.5717 The apprentice registration within 30 days of employment and the one to three jobsite ratio. source
• Form BCC-341 The application fees for each license and the notarized employer documentation of dates, hours and type of work. source
• Form BCC-0704 The $15.00 apprentice registration, the 30 day window and the RTI provider certification. source
• Part 8 Michigan Electrical Code, final rules Adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code second printing effective 12 March 2024, beginning at R 408.30801. source
• LARA, currently open rules Lists 2026-17 LR Part 8 Electrical Code as a proposed draft discussed on 27 August 2026. source
• LARA, find or verify a licensed professional or business Names the Bureau of Construction Codes verification link and the separate Accela systems LARA's bureaus use. source