Michigan General Contractor License Requirements

Michigan does not issue one statewide commercial general-contractor license. Article 24 of the Occupational Code instead regulates residential builders and maintenance-and-alteration contractors. An Individual Residential Builder may build a complete residential structure and perform residential remodeling; an individual maintenance-and-alteration license is limited to selected trades. A license is generally required for covered residential work for compensation other than wages for personal labor, subject to the statutory exemptions, including the limited $600 exception. Work cannot be divided into smaller contracts to evade that exception. The current individual-builder path requires 60 hours of Bureau-approved prelicensure education, an application, good-moral-character attestation, and the applicable PSI examination. A company must separately hold a company license and keep its individual qualifying officer active.

Who Regulates This Work

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs — Bureau of Construction Codes (LARA BCC) is the primary authority or official reference used for this guide. The controlling authority cited here is Michigan Occupational Code, MCL 339.2401 et seq. (Article 24 — Residential Builders); Skilled Trades Regulation Act, MCL 339.5101 et seq.. LARA Bureau of Construction Codes administers Michigan licensing for residential builders, electricians, plumbers, and mechanical contractors through its trade-specific boards, adopts the Michigan building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes, and conducts disciplinary proceedings.

Official reference: https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc
Address: P.O. Box 30254, Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (517) 241-9313

State and Local Eligibility Rules

There is no single statewide application for this work, so this guide does not impose a uniform applicant-age, identification, or tax-number rule. Check the business, specialty-trade, and local authorities that govern the actual project. The individual application requires a physical Michigan business address. An applicant using a photo ID from another state must also submit the notarized Consent to Service of Process form.

State-level applicant screening

The application requires the applicant to attest to serving the public fairly, honestly, and openly and to address relevant criminal or civil judgments.

Background-check requirements

The current application asks for a good-moral-character certification; the materials reviewed do not describe a routine fingerprint requirement for every individual-builder applicant.

Experience and Scope Requirements

No single statewide year-based experience threshold governs the local or scope-specific path described here. The controlling requirement is No prior construction-experience duration is listed as a standard individual residential-builder prerequisite. The required prelicensure education is 60 hours from Bureau-approved courses..

Relevant records and local documents

State-issued photo ID
60-hour Bureau-approved prelicensure-course certificate
Completed individual residential builder application
Consent to Service of Process when using out-of-state photo ID

Testing Requirements

Testing provider or authority: PSI Services LLC for the Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes.. The following examination requirements cover the pathways described in this guide; follow each part's classification, waiver, and local-scope conditions. Unpublished format details do not remove an examination requirement:

Michigan Individual Residential Builder examination — question count: confirm with the authority, timing: confirm with the authority, passing score: confirm in the current candidate bulletin

Examination fee: PSI collects the examination charge after LARA approves the application. Confirm the current PSI price and candidate bulletin when scheduling.

Retake policy: Applications are valid for one year from first review. If all required exams are not passed within that period, the applicant must apply again.

Insurance, Bonds, and Project Requirements

No statewide contractor-license bond applies to the local or scope-specific path described here. A city, county, permit authority, public owner, or project contract may still require a bond, so confirm the actual project requirements before bidding.

General liability

The individual Residential Builder application and LARA’s current licensing guidance reviewed here do not list a state liability-insurance filing or state bond as an initial-license requirement. Owners, lenders, insurers, contracts, and local governments may require coverage separately.

Workers' compensation

Workers’ compensation obligations depend on the business and its employees under Michigan law; confirm coverage requirements before hiring or beginning work.

Financial or filing requirements

No financial-statement or net-worth requirement was identified in the current individual Residential Builder application.

State and Local Fees

Fee	Amount
Application or registration	$195
Initial credential or registration	$195
Renewal (every 3 years)	$150

To budget for the applicable registration, permits, insurance, and project requirements, open the cost calculator preloaded for Michigan general contractor.

Renewal and Ongoing Compliance

Expect to renew the Michigan Individual Residential Builder License every 3 years. Renewal currently costs $150. Individual and company builder licenses renew every three years by May 31 in their respective renewal year. A company cannot operate without an active qualifying officer.

Continuing education: 21 hours of approved continuing education for the first and second renewal cycles; three hours for the third and later cycles.

Downloadable Asset

2026 Michigan General Contractor Compliance Roadmap (PDF) — a printable step-by-step checklist for the state, local, and project checks.

Download the PDF roadmap →

Out-of-State Credentials and Local Recognition

Michigan has no single statewide credential for this path to transfer through NASCLA. An authority may consider an outside license, examination, or experience record only under its own current rules.

Reciprocal State	Accepted Exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity agreements identified.

LARA’s current individual-builder materials do not publish a general state-to-state reciprocity arrangement. Do not rely on an out-of-state builder credential in place of Michigan’s application, education, and examination process.

Weighing more than one jurisdiction? The national hub compares published General Contractor license requirements by state — exam, bond, fee, and experience thresholds side by side.

General Contractor Licensing in Neighboring States

Contractors working near a state line, or weighing where to qualify first, should compare Michigan's requirements against the bordering jurisdictions before bidding or beginning work:

Indiana General Contractor License Requirements — Indiana General Contractor — Local License or Registration (No State License)
Ohio General Contractor License Requirements — Ohio General Contractor — No State License (Local Requirements Apply)
Wisconsin General Contractor License Requirements — Wisconsin Dwelling Contractor Certification and Dwelling Contractor Qualifier

Step-by-Step Compliance Roadmap

Choose the correct residential credential. Choose Individual Residential Builder for complete residential structures and remodeling, or an M&A license for selected trades only. An individual cannot hold both.
Complete 60 hours of approved education. Take the approved subjects, including business management, design/building science, contracts and risk, marketing, project management, Michigan Residential Code, MIOSHA, and electives.
Submit the individual application. File the photo ID, course certificate, Michigan business address, good-moral-character certification, and $195 nonrefundable individual license fee.
Schedule and pass the PSI examination. After approval, PSI contacts the applicant to pay and schedule. Use the current PSI candidate bulletin rather than relying on old question counts or scores.
Obtain a company license when operating through a company. An LLC or corporation is not entered on the individual application. Apply separately for the company license and serve as, or designate, its qualifying officer.
Obtain project permits from the enforcing agency. Permit and inspection requirements are administered by the applicable state, county, city, village, or township enforcing agency.
Renew the individual and any company license. Both renew every three years by May 31 in their renewal year; preserve the individual license if it qualifies a company.

Pre-Work Checklist

Before bidding or beginning work, confirm each item below with the authorities that govern the project location and scope:

State-issued photo ID
Physical Michigan business address
Consent to Service of Process if using an out-of-state ID
60-hour Bureau-approved course certificate
$195 individual application fee
PSI examination pass
Separate company license and qualifying officer if operating through an entity
Project permits from the proper enforcing agency

Common Compliance Mistakes

The issues below are the most likely to create an unlicensed-work, registration, permit, or scope problem for Michigan General Contractor work, based on the official sources cited on this page.

Treating the builder credential as a commercial statewide GC license

The statewide credential is residential. Commercial permits and local contractor rules require a separate jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction check.

Using the $600 exception to split a project

Article 24 expressly prevents dividing a larger operation into contracts below $600 to evade licensing.

Applying an LLC or corporation as the individual

The individual application is not for an entity. A company license and active individual qualifying officer are separate requirements.

Relying on stale exam specifications

PSI schedules after application approval; consult the current candidate bulletin instead of older question-count, score, or fee claims.

Missing the change in renewal CE

The education requirement falls from 21 hours for the first two renewals to three hours for later cycles.

Official References and Preparation Materials

What follows are the regulator-cited and commonly used preparation references for this trade. They appear here for convenience only; CLR takes no compensation for them.

Approved Residential Builder courses — Michigan LARA. Use LARA’s current approved-provider/course list for the required 60 hours.
PSI Residential Builder Candidate Information Bulletin — PSI / Michigan LARA. Current exam references, scheduling, and conditions.
Michigan Occupational Code, Article 24 — Michigan Legislature. Primary scope, exemption, and continuing-competency authority.

Other Michigan Trade Licenses

CLR covers other Michigan trades as well — the published guides below may be more relevant:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Michigan have a statewide general contractor license?

No single statewide commercial general-contractor credential is issued. Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance-and-alteration contractors; commercial and permit requirements can be set by the local enforcing agency.

When is a Michigan Residential Builder license needed?

It is generally required for covered residential construction or alteration work performed for compensation, subject to Article 24 exemptions. The statute’s limited $600 exception cannot be used by splitting a larger operation into smaller contracts.

Do Michigan builders need experience first?

LARA’s standard individual-builder path lists 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, not a minimum number of field-experience years.

How much does an individual Residential Builder license cost?

The current individual application lists a $195 nonrefundable fee. The individual renewal fee is $150 every three years, separate from education, PSI, company-license, and permit costs.

What continuing education is required?

The first and second renewal cycles require 21 hours; the third and later cycles require three hours. LARA can audit completion records.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-04 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-03

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Corrections and presentation updates

2026-09-30: Corrected examination detection when format details are unpublished and updated the summary layout and requirements score. Source-check dates are unchanged.
2026-09-08: Shared template updated to distinguish unspecified eligibility requirements, retain cost qualifications, and use consistent headings. Source-check dates are unchanged by presentation updates.
2026-09-21: Local-only guides now use a compliance-focused structure and terminology instead of implying a statewide license application. Source-check dates are unchanged by this presentation update.