How to check a Michigan electrician's license, and where to go if something goes wrong

What Michigan law requires of an electrician

The rule is in Article 7 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, starting at MCL 339.5701. MCL 339.5731 says only an individual licensed under the article shall install electrical wiring, and that where inspection service is provided, a permit must be obtained from the board or the municipality with jurisdiction. A separate section says no one may be in the business of electrical contracting without an electrical contractor’s license.

“Electrical wiring” is defined widely. It covers wiring, generating equipment, fixtures, appliances and devices for generating, distributing and using electricity in or on a building, and it applies whether or not the wiring is live. It also takes in service entrance wiring, so the license question reaches past new circuits to a generator hookup or a replaced service panel.

The license levels

Michigan has four tiers. An apprentice learns on the job under the direct personal supervision of a journeyman or master, and must register with the board within 30 days of starting work. A journeyman has at least 8,000 hours over at least four years of supervised work and is at least 20. A master is at least 22, with at least 12,000 hours over six or more years under a master, and has held a journeyman license for two years.

The fourth, the electrical contractor license, belongs to a business. It goes to a master or to a person who has at least one full-time master electrician employee living in Michigan, who is in charge of code compliance. The statute also has fire alarm and sign specialty licenses. A single station smoke detector does not count as a fire alarm system, which matters if that is the only thing you are replacing. Electrician vs electrical contractor goes through the tiers and who can pull a permit.

How to look a license up

1. Ask the person or the company for a license number before you agree to anything. “We’re licensed” with no number is not an answer.
2. Open the State of Michigan’s LARA lookup. Electrician is listed under Skilled Trades, and the page links on to the state license search.
3. Search by number or name, then compare the license type with the work. A journeyman and an electrical contractor are different licenses, and a company that sells jobs should show a contractor license.
4. If the name on the result does not match the person at your door, call the company back before you sign.
5. Write the license number next to the company’s name on your copy of the estimate, so it stays with the paperwork.

We describe the route to the search portal and none of its screens. A further wrinkle: under MCL 339.5733, a city whose own licensing ordinance is at least as strict can run its own system, and state and qualifying municipal licenses must be recognized across municipalities. If your city has a registration step, ask the electrician whether it applies.

Who can legally do the work without a license

The statute lists exemptions, and two matter at home. A homeowner may install, alter or repair electrical equipment in a single family home and its outbuildings that the homeowner owns and occupies, or will occupy. The text names a single family home, and the exemption reads as covering your own house and not a rental or a relative’s. A permit and inspection still apply, which the permit guide covers.

The second is minor repair work, which the statute defines as electrical wiring with a value of $100 or less. A job that merely feels small does not qualify, and a panel, a new circuit or a charger will clear that figure quickly. If a quote covers more than the problem you described, ask which part is licensed work. The permits and DIY limits tool lays the same lines out as questions.

What an electrician is paid, and what that tells you

We will not print one price for electrical work, because it varies too much by job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a Michigan mean of $35.50 an hour and a median of $36.67 for electricians in May 2025, with a U.S. median of $30.38. Those are wages paid to electricians, not what a company charges you, because a company’s rate also covers insurance, trucks and overhead. Each service page opens with a modeled estimate, built from national published ranges and not collected from Michigan companies.

Until then, ask what the quote covers: the permit, who pulls it, and whether utility work is billed separately. Panel upgrade and electrical inspection each list the questions for those jobs.

Penalties for unlicensed work

Practicing a regulated occupation without a license is a misdemeanor on a first offense, with a fine of up to $500 or up to 90 days in jail, or both. A second offense carries up to $1,000 or one year. A third or later offense is a felony, with up to $25,000 or five years. A licensee whose license has lapsed, been suspended or revoked is treated as unlicensed, and a court may order restitution.

The penalties land on the person doing the work, yet you can be left holding the consequences. Under MCL 339.5601, where construction is contrary to a permit or the act, the enforcing agency gives notice and, if cause is not shown within one full working day, posts a written stop-construction order. An affected person, including a customer, may sue for injunctive relief and recover costs and attorney fees.

If something goes wrong

LARA’s Bureau of Construction Codes is the licensing and permit agency for electrical work. Ask it, or your city’s electrical inspector, where to send a complaint about unlicensed or unpermitted work. The Statewide Jurisdiction List shows whether your city, county or the state enforces the electrical code at your address, and that decides which office holds your permit file.

For a money dispute, the Michigan Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team will informally mediate. It cannot act as your private attorney, complaints become public records, and the process may take a few weeks. In-state callers can use 877-765-8388, and the Attorney General suggests small claims court if the business will not respond. Before you call anyone, gather the estimate, the license number you wrote down, the permit number if there is one, photos of the work and any texts or emails with the company.

Where ElectricianMatch fits

ElectricianMatch holds no license and does not vouch for any company. We pass your request to one independent electrical company, and how it works explains what we send and what we leave unchecked. The license number, the lookup and the written price stay with you.