A Michigan electrician license is issued by the state, not by your city. The Bureau of Construction Codes at the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) licenses journeyman and master electricians, and any company doing electrical work for hire needs an electrical contractor license. You can check both online in minutes before you hire.
This guide explains how licensing, permits and inspections work in Michigan, what homeowners may do themselves, and which code applies today. When you are ready to compare local companies, start with our ranked list of Michigan electricians, then check each license yourself.
How does a Michigan electrician license work?
Michigan regulates electrical work under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407), which replaced the older Electrical Administrative Act in 2017. The law sets up licenses for individuals and for businesses, so you will usually see two credentials behind one job.
Licenses for individual electricians
LARA licenses apprentices, journeymen and master electricians. A journeyman must document at least 8,000 hours of supervised electrical work over at least four years. A master electrician needs at least 12,000 hours over six or more years and must have held a journeyman license for at least two years.
Licenses for electrical contractors
A business may not do electrical contracting in Michigan without an electrical contractor license from the state board or the appropriate municipality. That license has to be tied to a licensed master electrician. When you hire a company, the contractor license is the one that matters most, because it is the business that pulls the permit and answers for the work.
For a wider checklist on quotes, insurance and contracts, see our guide on how to hire an electrician.
How do I check an electrician’s license in Michigan?
LARA runs a free public search on its Accela Citizen Access licensee lookup. Choose the license type “Electrical Contractor” and search by business name, a person’s name or the license number.
- Ask the company for its electrical contractor license number and the name of its master electrician.
- Search the business in the LARA lookup and confirm the license is active.
- Check that the name on the license matches the name on your quote and contract.
- Ask who will do the work on site and whether they hold a journeyman or master license.
If a company cannot give you a license number, or the name in the lookup does not match, keep looking.
When do you need an electrical permit in Michigan?
LARA’s electrical permit rules say no one may install electrical wiring or equipment, or alter or add to an existing system, without a permit for that work. In practice that covers new circuits, panel and service changes, generators, EV chargers and most remodeling wiring. Work may not start until the permit is issued, and nothing may be covered until an inspector has approved it.
Permits come from your city or township building department. Where a community does not run its own program, the state Bureau of Construction Codes is the enforcing agency and takes applications online. Our national guide to electrical permits and inspections explains the rough and final inspection steps in more detail.
Who pulls the permit?
For hired work, the licensed electrical contractor pulls the permit in its own name and schedules inspections. Many Michigan cities, such as Warren and Troy, take permit applications online through BS&A, and contractors must register there first. Be cautious if a contractor asks you to pull the permit yourself: a homeowner permit makes you responsible for the work.
Ask your electrician to show you the permit number before work starts. You can use it to follow the inspection results with your local building department.
Can Michigan homeowners pull their own electrical permit?
Yes, with limits. A homeowner doing electrical work in a single-family home, and its accompanying outbuildings, that the homeowner owns and lives in, or will live in, does not need a contractor license to get a permit. The homeowner must do the work personally.
- The work must meet the Michigan Electrical Code and pass the same inspections as a contractor’s job.
- Landlords, rental units and multifamily buildings do not qualify.
- Cities set their own paperwork. Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, for example, lets owner-occupants of single-family homes apply online with a copy of the deed.
Which electrical code does Michigan use?
The 2023 Michigan Electrical Code (Part 8 rules) took effect on March 12, 2024. It adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code with state amendments. One Michigan change matters for service upgrades: one- and two-family homes need an emergency disconnect in a readily accessible outdoor location, on or within sight of the house.
LARA is already working on the next edition. Its 2026 draft rule set for Part 8 proposes adopting the 2026 National Electrical Code, and a public advisory meeting on the draft was held on August 27, 2026. Until new rules are final, the 2023 code applies, so ask your electrician which edition your permit falls under if a project starts near a change date.
What climate and housing issues drive electrical work in Michigan?
NOAA’s Michigan climate summary notes that the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and the south shore of Lake Superior get far more snow than the rest of the state, with parts of the Upper Peninsula above 180 inches a year. The same summary reports that extreme rain events have become more frequent. Long outages in snow and ice, and flooded basements when a sump pump loses power, are why many owners ask about backup power.
A standby generator needs a permit, a transfer switch and a correctly sized connection to your panel. Our home standby generator guide covers sizing and fuel, and you can compare Michigan electricians who install generators.
If an older house still has a small service, it can limit heat pumps, EV chargers and kitchen remodels. Because of the outdoor disconnect rule, a service upgrade in Michigan can also mean new equipment outside the house. Read our electrical panel upgrade guide before you collect quotes.
Which Michigan cities do we cover?
Permit offices and online systems differ from one community to the next. A few examples from the cities on our Michigan list:
- Detroit: BSEED issues electrical permits, contractors register with the department, and owner-occupants can apply online.
- Grand Rapids: the Development Center issues residential electrical permits, including homeowner permits for a primary residence.
- Ann Arbor: permits go through the city’s STREAM system, and service changes, panel upgrades, solar and EV chargers all need one.
- Lansing: the Building Safety Office requires plans for larger jobs with more than six circuits.
- Troy: applications are accepted only through BS&A Online, and a printed permit board must be posted at the job site.
Compare licensed electricians in Michigan
Start with a short list, check every electrical contractor license in LARA’s lookup, and make sure the quote says who pulls the permit. You can compare companies on our Michigan electrician rankings, or get 3 free quotes from local electricians.
How to Hire an Electrician: Licenses, Quotes and Permits·
[…] of our state guides covers the local details, such as the Michigan electrician license and permit guide, the Illinois guide to local licensing, the New York electrician license guide and the Missouri […]