Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04
The license the business holds
Michigan Electrical Contractor License: Requirements
This is the only electrical license in Michigan with no examination behind it, because the examination sits in the master license it depends on. It also runs on a three year cycle instead of a one year cycle, which catches people out.
On this page
Who qualifies, in one sentence of statute
MCL 339.5711 issues the electrical contractor license to a person who meets the requirements in article 2 and either holds a master electrician's license, or has at least one full time employee who is a master electrician, resides in this state, and is actively in charge of and responsible for Michigan electrical code compliance of all installations of electrical wiring and equipment.
Read the second branch slowly, because it carries four conditions and people usually remember one. Full time, a master, a Michigan resident, and actually in charge of code compliance.
LARA writes the same rule as holding or employing a master electrician. The statute is the version that survives an argument.
No examination, and what that leaves
LARA says plainly that no test is required for the electrical 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 there is no separate contractor electrical examination among them.
The bulletin does mention a contractor attempt limit, which is unlimited attempts within one year, unlike the two attempt limit on journeyman, master and sign. Read that as covering the specialty contractor routes rather than as evidence of an electrical contractor exam.
What is left is the application, the fee, and the master electrician the license depends on. The examination happened when that master sat theirs.
The application and the fee
The form is BCC-974, Application for Electrical/Fire Alarm/Sign Contractor Examination and License, as LARA names it on the licensing forms page.
The renewal fee is published and the initial application fee is not on the pages cited here, so ask the Licensing Section for the current application amount rather than assuming it matches the renewal.
LARA's licensing section says processing may take up to three to five weeks, in the order applications are received.
Three years, $300, and December 31
The electrical, fire alarm and sign specialty contractor license renews every three years by 12/31 at $300.00. Every individual electrical license in Michigan renews annually, so this is the one that breaks the pattern.
The late fee is $50.00, the same amount a journeyman or master pays, which is a small penalty against a three year renewal.
A three year cycle is easier to forget than a one year cycle, and the reminder arrives to whatever address and email Accela has on file. LARA lists form BCC-3911 for a change of address, a name change or a change in company representation. Filing it is cheaper than missing a renewal.
LARA marks the code update course as not required for the contractor license. The course requirement lives on the individual licenses.
What puts the license on hold
LARA says the electrical contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician. It is not revoked and it is not renewed away, it simply stops working until a qualifying master is attached again.
The hold is easy to trigger, because MCL 339.5713 says a master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than one electrical contractor's license, and LARA says a master may associate with only one electrical contractor at a time. One master cannot cover two companies through a gap.
LARA lists form BCC-3911 for a change in company representation, which is the form behind a change of qualifying master. Have the replacement lined up before the departure rather than after.
The fire alarm and sign versions
Michigan runs the same structure for two other contractor licenses. The fire alarm contractor license requires holding or employing a fire alarm specialty technician licensee, with no test, and LARA says that licensee has to reside in Michigan if the contractor is out of state.
The sign specialty contractor license requires holding or employing a sign specialist, again with no test and the same Michigan residency condition for an out of state contractor.
All three share the $300.00 renewal every three years by 12/31 and the $50.00 late fee, and all three go on hold without their qualifying licensee.
One local exception LARA names
LARA's electrical licensing page carries a line worth reading before you plan anything around Detroit: if you live in the City of Detroit, the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally.
That is LARA's own statement about its own scope, so treat Detroit as a separate inquiry rather than assuming the state license answers everything there.
Nothing on the LARA pages cited here sets out what Detroit requires. Ask the city.
Questions people ask
Is there an exam for the Michigan electrical contractor license?
No. LARA says no test is required for the electrical contractor license, though the application still is, and the PSI bulletin lists no separate electrical contractor examination among the journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician and sign specialist exams. The examination sits inside the master electrician license the contractor license depends on.
How much does the Michigan electrical contractor license cost to renew?
Three hundred dollars, every three years by 12/31. LARA's renewal page gives the $300 amount and the three year cycle, and sets the late fee at $50.00 if you renew after expiration. The same figures cover the fire alarm and sign specialty contractor licenses.
Do I have to be a master electrician to hold an electrical contractor license in Michigan?
Not personally, but somebody does. MCL 339.5711 lets you qualify by holding a master electrician's license yourself, or by having at least one full time employee who is a master electrician, lives in Michigan, and is actively in charge of Michigan electrical code compliance on all installations. Those four conditions on the employee all have to hold.
What happens if my master electrician leaves the company?
LARA says the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician. It is not cancelled, but it stops functioning until a qualifying master is associated. Since a master may associate with only one contractor at a time, you cannot borrow one temporarily from another company.
Can one master electrician qualify more than one contractor license?
No. MCL 339.5713 says a master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than one electrical contractor's license, and LARA states the same rule as one association at a time. Two companies need two masters.
Does the electrical contractor license 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 course requirement attaches to the individual licenses instead, and even there it applies only within one year of a new code being adopted.
Does a Michigan contractor license work in Detroit?
LARA's electrical licensing page says that if you live in the City of Detroit, the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally. That is the department's statement about its own reach, and nothing on the LARA pages cited here sets out what Detroit requires. Ask the city before you plan work there.
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
- MCL 339.5711 Issues the electrical contractor license to a master electrician, or to a business with a full time master employee who resides in Michigan and is in charge of code compliance on all installations. source
- MCL 339.5713 Bars a master electrician's license from qualifying more than one electrical contractor's license. source
- LARA, electrical examination and licensing information States that no test is required for the contractor licenses, that a master may associate with one contractor at a time, that the license goes on hold without one, and that Detroit issues its own licenses locally. source
- LARA, license and registration renewals Contractor renewal every three years by 12/31 at $300.00, a $50.00 late fee, and no code update course. source
- LARA, licensing forms Names form BCC-974 for the contractor application and form BCC-3911 for a change in company representation, name or address. source
- PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Lists the four Michigan electrical examinations, none of which is an electrical contractor exam. source