Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04
The one class LARA asks for
Michigan Electrician Continuing Education: The Code Update Course
Most states count hours every year. Michigan counts code adoptions. That single difference is what this page is about, and it decides whether you owe anything at all this year.
On this page
It is not an hour count
LARA's renewal page states the rule in one sentence: you are only required to take a code update course within one year of new code being adopted.
There is no annual figure attached to an electrical license in Michigan. No four hours, no eight, no biennial total. In a year with no code adoption, a journeyman or master renews by paying the fee before December 31.
That is unusual enough that people arrive here certain they have missed something. They usually have not.
Where the requirement actually lives
MCL 339.5715 makes it a condition of renewal for a journeyman: demonstrate the successful completion of a board approved course concerning any update or change in the state construction code, within 12 months after the update or change.
MCL 339.5713 carries the same condition for the master electrician, in the same words and on the same 12 month clock.
Notice what the clock runs from. It runs from the update to the code, not from your renewal date and not from the date you were licensed. Everybody's 12 months starts on the same day.
LARA's renewal page marks the course as not required for the electrical apprentice registration and not required for the contractor licenses. It is the individual licenses that carry it.
What counts as an adoption, and when the last one was
Michigan adopts the National Electrical Code through the Part 8 rules. The current Part 8 Michigan Electrical Code rules 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.
That 12 March 2024 effective date is the adoption the current cycle turned on. A licensee who owed a course under it owed it within 12 months of that change.
A new rule set is in draft. LARA's currently open rules page lists 2026-17 LR Part 8 Electrical Code as a proposed draft, discussed at a public rules advisory meeting on 27 August 2026. A draft is not an adoption, and no 12 month clock starts from a draft.
Watch that rule set rather than the NFPA publication date. What starts the requirement is Michigan filing its rule, not NFPA issuing an edition.
Where the course comes from
LARA points licensees to CE Broker for code update courses, at cebroker.com or (877) 434-6323.
For a provider wanting a program approved, LARA gives an address: lara-bcc-educational@michigan.gov. That is the route for approval rather than a place for licensees to send certificates.
This site does not sell continuing education and does not run courses. Check any provider against CE Broker before you pay, because approved is a status LARA grants rather than a claim a school makes.
Apprentices owe something different
An apprentice does not owe a code update course, but does owe related technical instruction, and that is continuous rather than occasional.
LARA asks for enrollment in an approved related technical instruction program and for coursework to continue throughout the apprenticeship. Form BCC-0704 has an RTI provider certify and sign the application, and says the instruction comes through a school, a labor organization or your employer.
At renewal, LARA asks apprentices to confirm in Accela that they are participating in or have completed a board approved apprenticeship training program.
So the apprentice classroom requirement is a bigger commitment than the licensee's code update course, and it is enforced through a different mechanism.
How completion is shown
MCL 339.5715 and MCL 339.5713 both use the phrase demonstrate the successful completion, and both put it at renewal.
LARA's renewal page frames renewal as an Accela transaction at michigan.gov/bccrenewals, and separately points to CE Broker for the courses themselves.
The exact reporting mechanism, and whether the provider files for you or you upload something, is not spelled out on the pages cited below. Keep your own certificate either way, and ask your provider whether it reports to CE Broker on your behalf.
The same books, twice
The code update course is not the only place the edition matters. The PSI bulletin allows the National Electrical Code into the examination room 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.
LARA's licensing page names the standards as the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8.
So the edition you study for the exam and the edition a code update course would cover are the same one until the 2026 rule is filed. That is worth knowing before you buy a book.
Questions people ask
How many continuing education hours does a Michigan electrician need?
None on a fixed 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, and no hour total is attached to an electrical license. In a year with no adoption, renewal is the fee and the date.
When is the Michigan code update course due?
Within 12 months after the update or change to the state construction code. MCL 339.5715 sets that for journeymen and MCL 339.5713 sets the same for masters, both as a condition of renewal. The clock runs from the code change rather than from your own renewal date.
Do apprentices need continuing education in Michigan?
LARA's renewal page marks the code update course as not required for the apprentice registration. What apprentices owe instead is related technical instruction, enrolled at registration and continuing through the apprenticeship, certified by the RTI provider on form BCC-0704 and confirmed again at each renewal in Accela.
Do electrical contractors need a code update course?
LARA's renewal page marks the code update course as not required for the electrical, fire alarm and sign specialty contractor license. The requirement attaches to the individual journeyman and master licenses instead, which is where the statute puts it.
Where do I take a Michigan electrical code update course?
LARA points licensees to CE Broker, at cebroker.com or (877) 434-6323. Providers seeking approval for a program are told to write to lara-bcc-educational@michigan.gov. Check a provider against CE Broker before paying, since approval is something LARA grants rather than something a school can assert.
Does the 2026 NEC start a new course requirement in Michigan?
Not yet. LARA's currently open rules page 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. The current rules took effect 12 March 2024 on the 2023 NEC. Watch the Michigan rule rather than the NFPA publication date.
What happens if I do not take the course in a year when the code changed?
MCL 339.5715 and MCL 339.5713 make the course a condition of renewal, so it is not a separate penalty but a gate on the renewal itself. Since LARA says you cannot be on a job site without an active license, missing it becomes a work problem rather than a paperwork problem.
See the exact day you can sit the exam
Type in the hours you have. You get your exam date and your license date, each tied to the rule that sets it. Free, no account.
Every figure is cited to the Occupational Code, the Part 8 rules or LARA's own pages. Nothing leaves your browser unless you email it to yourself.
What this page cites
- LARA, license and registration renewals States that a code update course is required only within one year of new code being adopted, and marks it not required for apprentices and contractors. source
- MCL 339.5715 Makes a board approved course on any update or change in the state construction code a condition of journeyman renewal, within 12 months of the change. source
- MCL 339.5713 Carries the same code update condition for the master electrician license. 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 at a public rules advisory meeting on 27 August 2026. source
- LARA, electrical examination and licensing information Names the standards as the 2023 NEC and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8, and points to CE Broker for code update courses. source
- Form BCC-0704 Requires an RTI provider to certify and sign the apprentice application, delivered through a school, a labor organization or the employer. source