Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

The license most people are aiming at

Michigan Journeyman Electrician License: Hours and Exam

Two conditions have to be true at the same time, and one of them cannot be hurried. This page sets out the hours, the years, the form, the fee and the exam, each tied to the section of Michigan law or the LARA page that sets it.

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The two conditions, and why both matter

MCL 339.5715 asks an applicant to be at least 20 years old and to have at least 8,000 hours of experience obtained over a period of at least 4 years in electrical construction or maintenance, under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician.

LARA writes the same requirement as 8,000 hours and 4 years as an electrical apprentice, and adds that the work has to be supervised by a Michigan licensed journeyman or master electrician.

The word to notice is and. Working 60 hour weeks gets you to 8,000 hours in under three years and does nothing whatever to the four year clock. The date you become eligible is the later of the two, always.

Going the other way is possible and it is slower. Four years of part time work satisfies the years and leaves you short on hours, so the hour count becomes the thing that decides your date.

The military route

MCL 339.5715 carries a second path for somebody discharged from military service within the past year who served as an interior electrician.

Instead of the ordinary employer documentation, that applicant provides an affidavit signed by a commanding officer, supervisor or military superior. The affidavit documents 8,000 hours of entry level experience and knowledge across ten named electrical areas, which the statute lists: grounding systems, circuit classifications, ampacity, motors, load calculations, protective devices, raceways, special circuits and lighting fixtures among them.

The hour figure is the same 8,000. What changes is who signs for it and the one year window after discharge in which the route is open.

Who your hours have to be worked under

The statute says direct supervision of a licensed electrician. LARA's licensing page names the two licenses that qualify: a Michigan licensed journeyman electrician or a Michigan licensed master electrician.

That is narrower than the list of people who can be on site with you. It is also the reason the apprentice registration ties you to a master and an electrical contractor in the first place.

MCL 339.5717 caps how thin that supervision can be spread: one journeyman or master to no more than three registered apprentices, counted on a jobsite basis.

Credit for a recognized training program

LARA's licensing page says credit toward the requirement is possible for recognized training programs. It does not publish a table of how much credit each program carries.

Because the amount is not published, treat any number you are quoted as the provider's claim rather than LARA's rule until LARA confirms it in writing for your file. Ask the Licensing Section before you count on it.

The safe planning assumption is the statutory one: 8,000 hours over at least four years, with credit as a possible improvement rather than a starting point.

The application, the fee and the notary

The form is BCC-341, Application for Journeyman, Master Electrician Examination, Fire Alarm Specialty Technician or Sign Specialist Examination. The journeyman fee on it is $40.00.

It travels with an experience statement. LARA lists form BCC-3923 as the experience statement required under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, and BCC-341 says the employer documentation confirming dates, hours and the kind of work has to be notarized.

LARA's licensing section says processing may take up to three to five weeks, and that applications are reviewed in the order they come in. Once you are approved, PSI notifies you with instructions on how to schedule the examination.

Notarized employer documentation is the part that takes real calendar time, because it depends on people who no longer employ you. Start collecting it a season before you plan to file.

The exam, in numbers

The PSI candidate information bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives the journeyman electrician examination as 80 questions in 150 minutes, with a passing score of 75 percent. The fee is $100 per attempt and it is not refundable or transferable.

It is open book. The 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 book you have highlighted, underlined or marked yourself.

Michigan is on the 2023 NEC. The Part 8 rules that adopt it took effect on 12 March 2024 and adopt the 2023 edition second printing.

PSI limits journeyman candidates to two attempts within one year. Exceed that and you have to reapply.

If you fail twice

MCL 339.5715 sets the consequence in statute. Fail the examination twice within two years and you cannot retake it until at least one year after the date of the second failure.

The year is not the end of it. To sit again after the wait, you provide proof of completing a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory.

PSI's own limit sits alongside that one: two attempts within one year, after which you reapply. Read the two together rather than picking whichever is friendlier.

Renewal, and the one course that can be attached to it

The journeyman license renews every year by 12/31 and the fee is $40.00. Renew after expiration and there is a $50.00 late fee.

There is no annual hour count. LARA's renewal page says you are only required to take a code update course within one year of new code being adopted, and MCL 339.5715 makes that course a condition of renewal in the year the code changes.

LARA's page is blunt about working on an expired license. You are not allowed to be on the job site without an active license, and letting it expire may lead to citations or enforcement action.

What the journeyman license is a step toward

Two years of holding it is one of the master requirements. MCL 339.5713 asks for a master applicant to be at least 22 and to have held an electrical journeyman's license for at least 2 years, inside a total of at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more.

LARA adds a figure the statute does not spell out: 4,000 hours as an electrical journeyman alongside the two years of holding the license.

The journeyman license does not by itself let you contract. MCL 339.5711 gives the electrical contractor license to a person who holds a master electrician's license or employs a full time master who lives in Michigan.

Questions people ask

How many hours do you need for a journeyman electrician license in Michigan?

At least 8,000 hours, and they have to be spread over at least 4 years. MCL 339.5715 sets both conditions and LARA repeats them as 8,000 hours and 4 years as an electrical apprentice. Extra hours in a year shorten nothing, because the four year condition runs on the calendar.

How old do you have to be to get a Michigan journeyman license?

Twenty. MCL 339.5715 sets the minimum at 20 years old and LARA's licensing page and form BCC-341 both repeat it. Because 8,000 hours over four years has to be behind you as well, age is rarely the condition that decides anybody's date.

How much does the Michigan journeyman electrician license cost?

Forty dollars to apply on form BCC-341, and $100 to PSI for each examination attempt. Renewal is $40.00 a year, due by 12/31, with a $50.00 late fee if you renew after it expires. The examination fee is not refundable or transferable.

How many questions is the Michigan journeyman electrician exam?

Eighty, with 150 minutes to answer them and a passing score of 75 percent. The PSI bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives those numbers and the $100 fee. It is open book on the 2023 NEC.

Can I count hours worked in another state toward the Michigan journeyman license?

LARA does not publish a rule that credits out of state hours toward the 8,000. What it publishes is that Michigan holds no reciprocity with any other state or country, and that an out of state applicant submits the original license and documentation of that jurisdiction's requirements for review. Send it in and let the Licensing Section decide, rather than assuming either answer.

What happens if I fail the Michigan journeyman exam twice?

MCL 339.5715 puts you out for at least one year from the date of the second failure, when the two failures happen within two years. After the year you can apply again, and you have to show proof of completing a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory. PSI separately limits you to two attempts within one year before you reapply.

Does a Michigan journeyman license need continuing education every year?

No. LARA's renewal page says a code update course is only required within one year of new code being adopted, and MCL 339.5715 makes that course a condition of renewal in the year the code changes. In every other year the renewal is the $40.00 and the 12/31 date.

Can a journeyman electrician pull permits or run a business in Michigan?

Contracting takes a contractor license, and MCL 339.5711 issues that to somebody who holds a master electrician's license or employs a full time master who lives in Michigan and is in charge of code compliance. A journeyman license on its own does not satisfy either branch. LARA also notes that master electricians who let a license expire may find their ability to pull permits affected.

What this page cites

• MCL 339.5715 The journeyman requirements: at least 20 years old, at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years, the military affidavit route, the one year wait after two failures, and the code update course as a renewal condition. source
• MCL 339.5713 The master requirements the journeyman license feeds: at least 22, at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more, and two years holding a journeyman license. source
• MCL 339.5711 Reserves the electrical contractor license for a master electrician or a business employing a full time Michigan resident master. source
• MCL 339.5717 The apprentice registration the hours are worked under, and the one to three jobsite supervision ratio. source
• LARA, electrical examination and licensing information Names the supervision as a Michigan licensed journeyman or master, gives the 75 percent pass mark, and mentions possible credit for recognized training programs. source
• LARA, license and registration renewals Journeyman renewal every year by 12/31 at $40.00, a $50.00 late fee, and the code update course only within one year of a new code being adopted. source
• Form BCC-341 The examination and licensure application, with the $40.00 journeyman fee and the notarized employer documentation of dates, hours and type of work. source
• PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Journeyman examination of 80 questions in 150 minutes at 75 percent, $100 per attempt, two attempts within one year, and the book rules. 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