To get a Michigan builder’s license, you complete 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, pass a two-part exam administered by PSI, and file an application with a $195 fee to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The state issues two versions of the license — a Residential Builder license for full-scope residential construction and a Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license for specific trades — and the path is the same for both.
Do You Actually Need One
Michigan’s Occupational Code makes it illegal to perform residential building or maintenance and alteration work for pay without a license, but the statute carves out several situations where you don’t need one.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Occupational Code – Section 339.2403
- Homeowners building or renovating their own property for their own use.
- Owners maintaining and altering their own rental property.
- Anyone working solely under contract with a licensed residential builder or M&A contractor.
- Single projects where the total contract price for labor, materials, and everything else is under $600. Splitting a bigger job into sub-$600 pieces to avoid licensing does not count.
- Licensed electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors doing only work within their trade.
- Authorized federal, state, or local government agents and court officers acting officially.
If none of those fit you, you need to get licensed before you take paid work.
Which License Fits Your Work
The two license types authorize different scopes of work under Article 24 of the Occupational Code.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Occupational Code (Excerpt) – Article 24
Residential Builder
The broader of the two. It lets you build, renovate, repair, demolish, or add to residential structures, including single-family homes, townhouses, and prefabricated or shell housing. A residential builder can act as general contractor, coordinating subcontractors across the whole project.
Maintenance and Alteration Contractor
Narrower and trade-specific. It covers repair, alteration, improvement, and demolition of existing residential structures, plus garage building and residential concrete work. You pick from 12 trade categories when you apply, and you must pass a trade-specific exam for each one you want listed on your license:3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Occupational Code – Section 339.2404
- Carpentry
- Concrete
- Swimming pool installation
- Basement waterproofing
- Excavation
- Insulation
- Masonry
- Roofing
- Siding and gutters
- Screen or storm sash installation
- Tile and marble
- House wrecking
The 60 Hours of Prelicensure Education
Before you can test or apply, you have to finish 60 hours through a program on LARA’s approved course list. Seven mandatory subject areas require at least six hours each, and the remaining 18 hours can come from any approved topic:4Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Prelicensure Education Requirements for Residential Builder and Maintenance and Alteration Contractor Applicants
- Business management, estimating, and job costing — 6 hours minimum
- Design and building science — 6 hours minimum
- Contracts, liability, and risk management — 6 hours minimum
- Marketing and sales — 6 hours minimum
- Project management and scheduling — 6 hours minimum
- Michigan Residential Code — 6 hours minimum
- MIOSHA Construction Safety Standards — 6 hours minimum
The Exam
Once your coursework is done, LARA issues an authorization to test and PSI administers the exam. It’s closed-book. No reference materials are allowed in the testing room.5Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Residential Builder, Maintenance and Alteration Contractor, and Salesperson Candidate Information Bulletin
Residential builder candidates take both parts in one sitting. Part 1, Business and Law, is 50 multiple-choice questions covering project management, cost controls, subcontractor oversight, scheduling, and construction law; you have 75 minutes and need 36 correct (72%) to pass. Part 2, Practice and Trade, is 110 multiple-choice questions on site engineering, foundations, framing, roofing, mechanical systems, and finish work; you have 180 minutes and need 80 correct (73%) to pass.
M&A contractor candidates take the same Business and Law section plus a separate trade exam for each category they want on the license. Trade exams are limited to the craft in question.
Both parts have to be passed, and you have to apply for the license within one year of your passing date. Wait longer and the scores expire.
Applying and the Fee
After you pass, mail a completed application to LARA with the $195 fee:6State of Michigan. License Fees
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Bureau of Construction Codes / Licensing Division
P.O. Box 30255
Lansing, MI 48909
The application asks about criminal history under Michigan’s good moral character requirement. A record isn’t automatically disqualifying. LARA reviews the file to decide whether past conduct raises concerns about your fitness, and felonies and fraud-related offenses draw the closest look.
Veterans separated under honorable or general-under-honorable-conditions may be exempt from the fee; if you qualify, send a copy of your DD Form 214 or DD Form 215 with the application in place of payment. Active-duty personnel mobilized for federal service are temporarily exempt from renewal fees and continuing education while deployed.7State of Michigan. Exemption From Renewal Fees, Continuing Education Requirements and Any Other Related Requirements
Insurance and Bond
Licensure carries financial responsibility obligations. The Occupational Code requires evidence of financial responsibility, typically satisfied by posting a surety bond that protects consumers if you fail to meet contractual obligations or violate state regulations. Letting the bond lapse can trigger suspension or revocation.
Workers’ compensation coverage is required if you regularly employ one or more workers 35 or more hours per week for at least 13 weeks, or if you employ three or more workers at any one time regardless of hours. Sole proprietors whose only employees are a spouse, child, or parent may file an exclusion form. If you use subcontractors, you need a policy in place even without direct employees.8State of Michigan. Employer Insurance Requirements
General liability insurance isn’t required by the licensing statute, but most builders carry $500,000 to $1 million in coverage, and general contractors often require it from subcontractors before letting them on site.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Licenses last three years and renew for $150.6State of Michigan. License Fees How many continuing education hours you owe depends on when you were first licensed.
If your initial license was issued on or after January 1, 2009, you complete 21 hours of continuing education during each of your first two three-year cycles, with at least three hours per calendar year. The 21-hour total must include at least one hour each in building codes, safety, and changes in construction and business management law. After your first six years, the requirement drops to three hours per three-year cycle — one hour each in codes, safety, and legal updates.9State of Michigan. Residential Builders and M and A Contractors Renewal and Continuing Competency Requirements
If you were licensed before January 1, 2009 and have no disciplinary actions on your record, you need only three hours per three-year cycle: one each in codes, safety, and legal issues.10Michigan Legislature. Michigan Occupational Code – Section 339.2404b Disciplinary history can add hours.
Don’t let the license lapse. Relicensure means going back through the application process, and the relicensure fee is $185.
What Happens If You Skip the License
A first offense for unlicensed residential building or maintenance and alteration work is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of $5,000 to $25,000, up to one year in jail, or both, under Section 339.601(6). Penalties escalate for repeat offenses. The general Occupational Code penalty for unlicensed practice in other professions is a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail; the legislature wrote a harsher schedule specifically for builders.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Occupational Code – Section 339.601
Civil exposure adds to that. Contracts entered without a valid license may be unenforceable, which means you can finish a project and have no legal way to collect. Homeowners can sue for damages caused by unlicensed work, and courts tend not to favor unlicensed contractors in those cases.