How to get an electrician license in Michigan

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes, Licensing Section · (517) 241-9316 [1]

The license pathway in Michigan

1. 1

   Electrical apprentice (registration)

   • Must be enrolled in an approved related technical instruction (RTI) program throughout the apprenticeship
   • $15 registration
   • Yearly by August 31; $15

   You must be employed by a master electrician and electrical contractor and register within 30 days of starting. You work under the direct personal supervision of a licensed journeyman or master, at no more than 3 apprentices per journeyman or master on a jobsite. [1][4][8][9][17]

2. 2

   Electrical journeyman

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • RTI during the apprenticeship (hours set by your approved program)
   • Yes: PSI, 80 questions, 150 minutes, 75% to pass, open book; $100 exam fee
   • $40 license fee
   • Yearly by December 31; $40; code update course after a new code is adopted

   Lets you install and alter electrical wiring. You must be at least 20 and have at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years under a Michigan-licensed journeyman or master. Military interior electricians can qualify with a commanding officer's affidavit. [1][2][8][11][12][17]

3. 3

   Master electrician

   • 12,000 hours on the job
   • 6 years of experience
   • Yes: PSI, 76 questions, 180 minutes, 75% to pass, open book
   • $50 license fee
   • Yearly by December 31; $50; code update course after a new code is adopted

   Responsible for code compliance of electrical installations for a contractor. You must be at least 22, have 12,000 hours over at least 6 years under a master electrician, and have held a journeyman license for at least 2 years. [1][3][8][11][12]

4. 4

   Electrical contractor

   • No exam
   • $300
   • Every 3 years by December 31; $300

   Required to do business as an electrician. You must hold a master electrician license yourself or have a full-time master electrician who lives in Michigan and is in charge of code compliance. [1][7][8][13]

Who needs a license in Michigan

State law says "only an individual who is licensed under this article shall install electrical wiring," with limited exceptions. Anyone doing business as an electrician also needs an electrical contractor license.

Beginners don't need a license, but they do need a registration. If you're "employed as an apprentice electrician" you must register with the board "within 30 days after employment." LARA warns that "You can't be on the job site without an active apprentice registration."

One city runs its own system. LARA says that if you live in the City of Detroit, "they issue their own licenses and registrations locally. Please reach out to them directly." Detroit's Board of Electrical Examiners examines applicants for its city licenses. [1][4][5][6]

The license ladder: apprentice to contractor

• Apprentice (registration): you must be employed by a master electrician and electrical contractor, enrolled in a related technical instruction (RTI) program (the classroom part of an apprenticeship), and registered with the state. $15 a year.
• Journeyman: at least 20 years old, "at least 8,000 hours of experience obtained over a period of at least 4 years" in electrical construction or maintenance, under a licensed electrician. Pass the journeyman exam.
• Master electrician: at least 22, "at least 12,000 hours of experience that was obtained over a period of 6 years or more," performed under a master, and "Has held an electrical journeyman's license for at least 2 years." Pass the master exam. If you already hold a Michigan journeyman license, LARA says you don't need to prove experience from before that license was issued.
• Electrical contractor: no exam. You hold a master license yourself, or employ a full-time master electrician who lives in Michigan and is in charge of code compliance. A master can qualify only one contractor at a time.

One jobsite ratio applies throughout: no more than 3 registered apprentices per journeyman or master. See journeyman vs. master for the general difference between the levels. [1][2][3][4][7][8]

Classroom training (RTI)

Michigan doesn't set a fixed classroom hour count for the journeyman license in the sources we checked. Instead, the apprentice registration depends on "satisfactory proof of the individual's participation in an apprenticeship training program that is approved by the board." The board approves any bona fide program that meets or exceeds the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship's standards.

You need to stay enrolled: LARA asks about your coursework and employer each time you renew, and the apprentice application needs a signature from your RTI provider (a college, trade school or labor organization). [1][4][9]

The exam

PSI schedules and proctors the exams, but the Bureau of Construction Codes writes them. After LARA approves your application, PSI should contact you within 10 business days to pay and schedule.

• Journeyman: 80 questions, 150 minutes, 75% to pass.
• Master: 76 questions, 180 minutes, 75% to pass.
• Fee: $100 per attempt, paid to PSI.
• Topics: the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and its rules, Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8, and NEC (National Electrical Code) topics such as grounding and bonding, overcurrent protection, wiring methods, services, feeders, motors, load calculations and box and raceway fill. Exams are based on the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC).
• Open book: you may bring the NEC (factory tabs and highlights only), 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Part 8 rules, all bound. The NEC Handbook is not allowed.
• Limits: your approval is good for one year. If you fail twice within two years, you must wait a full year after the second failure and complete a board-approved course before you can test again.

[1][2][10][11]

Fees and renewal

• Apprentice registration: $15, renewed every year by August 31 ($100 late fee).
• Journeyman: $40 application/license fee; renew every year by December 31 for $40 ($50 late fee).
• Master: $50; renew every year by December 31 for $50.
• Electrical contractor: $300; renew every 3 years by December 31 for $300.
• PSI exam: $100 per attempt.

The application fee is waived for applicants who are actively serving, honorably discharged veterans, or dependents of either, with proof. There is no yearly continuing education (CE) requirement. Instead, journeymen and masters must complete a board-approved code update course within 12 months after Michigan updates its electrical code. LARA notes that "This does not happen every year." You keep proof yourself and send it only if you're audited. [2][3][8][9][11][12][13]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Michigan

• Union: IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)/NECA joint apprenticeship and training committees (JATCs, run jointly by the electricians' union and union contractors) operate around the state, including Detroit (Warren), Ann Arbor (Chelsea), Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Coopersville, Traverse City and Gwinn. Find contacts with the Electrical Training Alliance locator.
• Open shop and employer programs: non-union contractors can hire you as an apprentice as long as you register and attend approved RTI. Lansing Community College is one RTI provider; its courses serve apprentices from more than 35 mid-Michigan companies.
• State help: LEO's Registered Apprenticeships office connects career seekers with apprenticeship resources.

More background: electrician apprenticeships and union vs. non-union. [1][4][14][15][16]

If you're licensed in another state

LARA is direct: "Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state/country." You can still ask to be considered. Send a copy of your out-of-state license plus that state's licensing requirements, showing "the hours, schooling and requirements" you had to meet. LARA then reviews it to decide whether you can be licensed.

Veterans have a separate path. If you served as an interior electrician (or equivalent) on active duty and were honorably discharged within the past year, a commanding officer's affidavit of at least 8,000 hours can qualify you for the journeyman license. The application form also offers an exam waiver if you're a service member, a veteran or a military dependent and hold an active, valid electrical license in at least one other state.

More: the license reciprocity guide. [1][2][12]

Steps to get licensed in Michigan

1. Get hired by a licensed electrical contractor

   Apprentices must work for a master electrician and electrical contractor (often the same person or company). [1]

2. Enroll in related technical instruction and register as an apprentice

   Within 30 days of starting, file the apprentice application with your employer's and RTI provider's signatures and the $15 fee. Renew it every year by August 31. [4][8][9]

3. Log 8,000 hours over at least 4 years

   Work under the supervision of a Michigan-licensed journeyman or master and keep up your coursework. You document this on LARA's experience statement form when you apply. [1][2]

4. Apply for the journeyman exam

   Send the journeyman/master application with the $40 license fee. Once approved, PSI contacts you, usually within 10 business days, to pay the $100 exam fee and schedule. [10][11][12]

5. Pass the exam with 75%

   80 questions in 150 minutes, open book. Your application is good for one year; if you fail twice within two years, you wait a year and take an approved course before reapplying. [2][10][11]

6. Renew every year

   Renew your journeyman license by December 31 each year ($40), and take a code update course within 12 months whenever Michigan adopts a new electrical code. [2][8]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train electricians in or for Michigan, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  IBEW/NECA electrical JATCs in Michigan

  The Electrical Training Alliance lists inside-wireman training centers across Michigan, including Detroit (Warren), Ann Arbor (Chelsea), Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, West Michigan (Coopersville), Traverse City and the Upper Peninsula (Gwinn). [14]

• State program

  Michigan Registered Apprenticeships (LEO)

  The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's State Apprenticeship Expansion team connects employers and career seekers with registered apprenticeship resources. [16]

• School

  Lansing Community College electrical apprenticeship

  LCC's courses "fulfill all of the State of Michigan requirements for Related Technical Instruction" for apprentices working for residential, commercial and industrial companies. [15]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask