Michigan Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements, Hours, and the PSI Exam

Michigan Journeyman Electrician License: Requirements and the Exam

Michigan licenses electricians statewide through the Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC), part of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The license rules are in the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407. The exam is scheduled and proctored by PSI, but it is written by the Bureau's own staff. Here is what the journeyman license takes.

One exception up front: the City of Detroit issues its own electrical licenses and registrations. Everything below is the state license.

Eligibility

The hours are earned as a registered apprentice electrician. Apprentice registration has no exam, but you must register within 30 days of starting employment and be enrolled in an approved related-training program. On the job, one journeyman or master may supervise no more than three apprentices.

Military route

PA 407 has a route for military electricians. An honorably discharged interior electrician (or equivalent), within one year of discharge, can apply with a commanding officer's affidavit covering 8,000 hours across the knowledge areas the act lists. Partial credit is possible. Separately, service members, veterans and their dependents who have held a license in another state for at least a year can be licensed without the exam.

The exam

The exam covers the National Electrical Code plus Michigan law: PA 407, the rules made under it, the Michigan Electrical Code Rules (Part 8) and the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230). What is on the exam walks through every topic, and exam day covers the books you can bring.

How to apply

1. Complete the 8,000 hours and collect notarized employer statements.
2. Submit form BCC-341 to LARA.
3. Once approved, PSI contacts you, usually within about 10 business days. You can also register at PSI's Michigan electrical page or by phone.
4. Pass the exam.

Your application is good for one year from LARA's first review. If you do not pass within that year, you reapply.

Pass rates

Neither LARA nor PSI publishes pass rates for the Michigan electrical exams. Figures you see quoted elsewhere are not official.

Renewal and continuing education

• Journeyman licenses are annual and expire December 31. The renewal fee is $40.
• You can renew up to 60 days after expiration with a late fee. The rules and LARA's renewal page give different late-fee amounts ($100 and $50), so check the current figure when you renew.
• If a license has been expired for three years or more, you reapply and retake the exam.

Michigan has no annual CE hour requirement. What it does require is a board-approved code-update course within 12 months each time the state construction code is updated or changed. LARA puts it plainly: this "does not happen every year". Courses are approved through CE Broker, and you submit proof only if you are audited. The law sets no hour count for the course.

A pending rule set (2025-58 LR) says it will change continuing education, fees and experience requirements. The draft text is not yet public, so watch LARA's site.

Reciprocity

Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state. Out-of-state electricians send LARA their license and the other jurisdiction's requirements for a case-by-case evaluation. Out-of-state experience may count toward the 8,000 hours. Expect to sit the Michigan exam.

Moving up to master

The master license takes 12,000 hours over at least six years under a master electrician, and you must have held your journeyman license for at least two years. See Michigan Master Electrician requirements.

Getting ready

Try our free practice test on the 2023 NEC, or see the full Michigan Journeyman Electrician exam prep.