Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC), Licensing Section - Electrical (Electrical Administrative Board) administers electrician licensing in Michigan. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.
What it’s called
Michigan licenses individual electricians — the state electrician license is issued by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and held by the electrician personally (not only by the contractor, as in some states). “Electrician license,” “journeyman electrician license,” “master electrician license” and “electrician certification” are common informal names for the individual credential. The exact license tiers, fees, and any separate electrical-contractor license are set out in the license types and requirements below.
License types & fees
| Type | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Apprentice (registration) | Must be employed by a Master Electrician and Electrical Contractor (may be the same person) and enrolled in a Related Technical Instruction (RTI) program; coursework must continue throughout the apprenticeship. Register within 30 days of employment. Renew annually. | None | $15.00 non-refundable license/registration fee due with application (BCC-0704) |
| Electrical Journeyman | At least 20 years old; 8,000 hours AND 4 years as a registered electrical apprentice in electrical construction/maintenance of buildings, wiring or equipment, supervised by a Michigan-licensed Journeyman or Master Electrician. Some credit possible for a recognized training/education program. | Electrical journey exam administered by PSI; must score at least 75%. | $40.00 license fee (paid at time of application, BCC-341) |
| Master Electrician | At least 22 years old; must hold a Michigan electrical journeyperson license for at least 2 years and complete 4,000 hours as a journey electrician; total at least 12,000 hours of experience over at least 6 years (experience before the journey license was issued need not be proven if a Michigan journey license is held). | Master electrician exam administered by PSI; must score at least 75%. | $50.00 license fee (paid at time of application, BCC-341) |
| Electrical Contractor | Required to do business as an electrician. Must hold a Master Electrician license or employ someone who holds one (a Michigan-resident Master if the contractor is out of state). One Master may associate with only one Electrical Contractor at a time; without an associated Master the contractor license is placed on hold. | None (no test required; examination no longer required for Electrical Contractor license) | Renewal $300.00 every 3 years |
| Fire Alarm Specialty Technician (FAST) | At least 20 years old; hold NICET Level II or higher certification in fire alarm installation and repair, or ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician (CFAT) Level II or higher. | FAST exam administered by PSI; must score at least 75%. | $50.00 license fee (paid at time of application, BCC-341) |
| Sign Specialist | At least 18 years old; 4,000 hours of experience AND at least 2 years under a Sign Specialist in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, connection or repair of electric signs and related wiring; proof of an approved training course. | Sign Specialist exam administered by PSI; must score at least 75%. | $40.00 license fee (paid at time of application, BCC-341) |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Michigan’s electrical licensing now lives in the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407) — the old Electrical Administrative Act (1956 PA 217, MCL 338.881-338.892) was repealed effective April 4, 2017 — and the exemptions are stated as classes of work in MCL 339.5737(3). They carve work out of both prohibitions in the article: the electrical-contracting license requirement (MCL 339.5737(1)) and the rule that no individual may execute electrical wiring unless licensed under the article and working under an electrical contractor (MCL 339.5737(2)), so they reach every Article 7 credential (electrical contractor, master electrician, journeyman, registered apprentice, fire alarm specialty technician, sign specialist). A license is not required for: minor repair work, defined as electrical wiring with a value of $100.00 or less (MCL 339.5737(3)(a); definition at MCL 339.5703(c)); elevator, dumbwaiter, escalator, and man-lift electrical work performed under an elevator-inspection permit (3)(b); utility and communication-agency work — equipment and wiring installed on consumers’ premises by or for an electrical energy supply or communication agency for generation, transmission, distribution, metering, signals, or transmission of intelligence (3)(c), and generation/primary-distribution wiring up to and including the meters as an integral part of an electric utility’s own system (3)(d); work in the manufacture of electric equipment, including testing and repair (3)(e); telephone or telegraph company communication-system work (3)(f); homeowner work — any installation, alteration, or repair of electrical equipment by a homeowner in a single-family home and accompanying outbuildings owned and occupied or to be occupied by the individual doing the work (3)(g); use, maintenance, operation, dismantling, or reassembly of motion-picture and theatrical equipment in buildings with approved entertainment facilities, excluding permanent wiring (3)(h); licensed mechanical contractors (in specified classifications) and licensed plumbing contractors, and their employees, servicing control wiring circuits and electrical components of existing mechanical systems on the load side of the unit disconnect — energy management systems, boiler and water-heater relays and controls, fan controls, thermostats, sensors, and interconnecting wiring — except life-safety systems wiring (3)(i); water-well pump wiring on a single-family dwelling to the first point of attachment, by a pump installer registered under the Public Health Code (3)(j); installation, maintenance, or servicing of security alarm systems (3)(k); listed lawn-irrigation equipment and listed landscape lighting systems, except permanent wired connections exceeding 30 volts (3)(l)-(m); electric sign work by unlicensed individuals under the direct supervision of a licensed sign specialist, at a ratio not exceeding 2 unlicensed individuals per licensed sign specialist (3)(n); and telecommunications equipment work by persons primarily engaged in the telecommunications and information-systems industry, excluding fire alarm systems (3)(o). Separately, MCL 339.5733(1) makes the whole article inapplicable in a municipality that has adopted an equally stringent licensing ordinance with substantially similar enforcement, penalties, and inspection — the basis for the City of Detroit issuing its own electrical licenses — while MCL 339.5733(2) forbids any such local ordinance from requiring licenses or permits for the utility, manufacturing, and telephone-company classes of work in §5737(3)(c)-(f), for business or home monitoring systems and low-voltage electric fences, or for registered security-alarm providers.
Fees
Application/license fees (paid at time of application, form BCC-341): Journeyman Electrician $40.00; Master Electrician $50.00; Fire Alarm Specialty Technician $50.00; Sign Specialist $40.00. Electrical Apprentice registration $15.00 (form BCC-0704). Renewal fees: Journeyman $40.00/yr; Master $50.00/yr; Apprentice $15.00/yr; Electrical/Fire Alarm/Sign Specialty Contractor $300.00 every 3 years. Examination fees are paid separately to PSI (amount not published on the state pages reviewed).
Exam
Examinations for Journeyman, Master Electrician, Fire Alarm Specialty Technician and Sign Specialist are administered by PSI; applicants must be approved by the Licensing Section to test, then schedule directly with PSI (examination fee paid to PSI). Passing score is 75%. Exams are based on the 2023 National Electrical Code, 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules (Part 8), 1972 PA 230, and 2016 PA 407. No exam is required for Electrical Contractor, Fire Alarm Contractor, or Sign Contractor licenses, or for Apprentice registration.
Renewal & continuing education
Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master Electrician licenses renew annually (Journeyman and Master by 12/31; apprentice yearly). Electrical/Fire Alarm/Sign Specialty Contractor licenses renew every 3 years (by 12/31). Renewals are done through the Accela/MiPLUS online system. No fixed annual continuing-education hour requirement. A code update course is required for Journeyman/Master renewal only within one year of a new electrical code being adopted (not every year); proof need not be submitted unless audited. Apprentice registrations and Contractor licenses do not require a code update course to renew.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC), Licensing Section - Electrical (Electrical Administrative Board). Start at the official application page .