Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

The two specialty licenses

Michigan Fire Alarm and Sign Specialist Licenses: The Rules

These two sit beside the journeyman and master licenses rather than under them, and neither one follows the 8,000 hour pattern. One runs on a national certification, the other on 4,000 hours and two years.

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Fire alarm specialty technician: certification instead of hours

LARA asks a fire alarm specialty technician applicant to be at least 20 years old and to hold one of two national certifications: NICET level II or higher in the installation or repair of fire alarm systems, or an ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician certification at level II or higher.

There is no hour count and no year count. This is the one Michigan electrical license where the experience requirement is satisfied by somebody else's certification rather than by a log of dates.

The examination pass mark is the same 75 percent as every other Michigan electrical exam. The application is form BCC-341, the same one journeymen and masters use, and the fee on it is $50.00.

The fire alarm exam, in numbers

The PSI bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives the fire alarm specialty technician examination as 36 questions in 90 minutes, with a passing score of 75 percent and a $100 fee per attempt.

That works out to 2.5 minutes a question, and it is the smallest question count and the shortest sitting of the four Michigan electrical examinations.

The retake rule is different too. PSI limits journeyman, master and sign specialist candidates to two attempts within one year, and allows unlimited attempts within one year for the fire alarm specialty technician and the contractor.

The books are the same books: the NEC with factory markings and factory tabs only, 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8.

There is a fire alarm apprentice as well

Michigan registers a fire alarm specialty apprentice technician alongside the electrical apprentice, and MCL 339.5723 is the section that creates it.

The paperwork is shared. Form BCC-0704 is titled Application for Electrical Apprentice or Fire Alarm Specialty Technician Apprentice, so one form covers both, at the same $15.00 fee and the same 30 day filing window.

The renewal is shared too: every year by 8/31 at $15.00, with a $100.00 late fee. That is the August date rather than the December one.

Sign specialist: 4,000 hours and a course

LARA asks a sign specialist applicant to be at least 18 years old, with 4,000 hours of experience and at least 2 years under a sign specialist, plus completion of an approved training course. Form BCC-341 words the experience as at least 4,000 hours obtained over not less than 2 years.

So the hours and years pattern holds here as it does for the journeyman and master, at half the journeyman's figures.

The training course is a condition of the license rather than a renewal item. LARA points to CE Broker at cebroker.com for approved courses.

The application fee on form BCC-341 is $40.00, the same as the journeyman.

The sign exam, in numbers

The PSI bulletin gives the sign specialist examination as 32 questions in 60 minutes, at 75 percent, for $100 per attempt.

Sixty minutes for 32 questions is under two minutes a question, which is a faster pace than the journeyman or master exams ask for.

The sign specialist is on the two attempt limit within one year, alongside the journeyman and master.

Both have contractor versions, and neither has a test

The fire alarm contractor license requires holding or employing a fire alarm specialty technician licensee, with no test. LARA adds that the 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.

Both go on hold without their qualifying licensee, the same way the electrical contractor license does without a master.

All three contractor licenses renew every three years by 12/31 at $300.00, with a $50.00 late fee, and LARA marks the code update course as not required for them.

What each one renews at

The fire alarm specialty technician license renews every year by 12/31 at $50.00, with a $50.00 late fee. LARA marks the code update course as required only within one year of a new code being adopted, the same rule journeymen and masters follow.

The fire alarm specialty apprentice technician registration renews every year by 8/31 at $15.00, with the $100.00 late fee.

The sign specialist renewal fee and date are not published on the LARA renewal page cited here, so this page does not state them. Ask the Licensing Section at 517-241-9316.

Where these licenses are not required

Article 7 carries two sections on this. MCL 339.5725 is headed Specialty License Not Required, and both MCL 339.5727 and MCL 339.5729 end with a license not required provision for the sign side.

The detail of those exemptions is not reproduced here, because we read the section headings rather than the operative text in full. Read the sections themselves before relying on an exemption.

MCL 339.5731 is the section that requires a license to erect, install, alter, repair, service or maintain a fire alarm system or an electric sign. That is the requirement the exemptions carve out of.

Questions people ask

What do you need for a Michigan fire alarm specialty technician license?

To be at least 20 years old and to hold either a NICET level II or higher certification in the installation or repair of fire alarm systems, or an ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician certification at level II or higher. LARA sets both conditions on its electrical licensing page. There is no Michigan hour count for this license, which makes it the exception among the four.

How many questions is the Michigan fire alarm specialty technician exam?

Thirty six, with 90 minutes and a passing score of 75 percent, at $100 per attempt. The PSI bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives those numbers. Unlike the journeyman, master and sign exams, the fire alarm exam allows unlimited attempts within one year.

How many hours does a Michigan sign specialist license need?

Four thousand, over not less than two years, worked under a sign specialist. LARA and form BCC-341 both carry those figures, and LARA adds completion of an approved training course. The minimum age is 18, lower than the 20 for a journeyman and the 22 for a master.

How long is the Michigan sign specialist exam?

Sixty minutes for 32 questions, at 75 percent, for $100 per attempt. The PSI bulletin gives those figures. The sign specialist is on the same two attempts within one year limit as the journeyman and master.

Is there an exam for the fire alarm or sign contractor license?

No. LARA says no test is required for the fire alarm contractor or the sign specialty contractor license, though an application still is. Each one instead requires holding or employing the matching individual licensee, who has to reside in Michigan if the contractor is out of state.

Can I register as a fire alarm apprentice in Michigan?

Yes. Michigan registers a fire alarm specialty apprentice technician, and form BCC-0704 covers it alongside the electrical apprentice at the same $15.00 fee. It renews every year by August 31 at $15.00, with a $100.00 late fee, and MCL 339.5723 is the section behind it.

What does a Michigan fire alarm specialty technician license cost?

Fifty dollars to apply on form BCC-341, plus $100 to PSI per examination attempt. Renewal is $50.00 every year by 12/31 with a $50.00 late fee. LARA also applies the code update course rule to this license, meaning a course within one year of a new code being adopted rather than an annual hour count.

What this page cites

• LARA, electrical examination and licensing information The fire alarm specialty technician age and NICET or CFAT level II requirement, the sign specialist age, hours, years and training course, and the no test rule for the contractor versions. source
• PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Fire alarm 36 questions in 90 minutes, sign specialist 32 questions in 60 minutes, both at 75 percent and $100, and the differing attempt limits. source
• LARA, license and registration renewals Fire alarm specialty technician at $50.00 by 12/31, fire alarm apprentice at $15.00 by 8/31 with a $100.00 late fee, and the $300.00 three year contractor renewal. source
• Form BCC-341 The $50.00 fire alarm and $40.00 sign specialist application fees, with the age, hour and certification statements for each. source
• Form BCC-0704 One application covering both the electrical apprentice and the fire alarm specialty technician apprentice, at $15.00 within 30 days of employment. source
• Occupational Code Article 7 Creates the fire alarm and sign licenses at MCL 339.5719 to 339.5729, the fire alarm apprentice at 339.5723, and the licensing requirement at 339.5731. source