One PSI exam of 36 questions in 90 minutes, open book, and you need 75%. It covers the NEC, the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, its rules, Part 8 and PA 230 as they relate to fire alarm systems. NFPA 72 is not on the reference list or in the bulletin’s scope.

The 2023 NEC. The bulletin says you may use other editions during the exam, but the questions are based on the 2023 edition. Michigan adopted the 2023 NEC, with its Part 8 amendments, effective March 12, 2024. A move to the 2026 NEC has been proposed but not yet filed, and no date has been announced for the exams.

Yes: the NEC (factory tabs and markings only; no NEC Handbook), the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407), the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230) and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules, Part 8. Print the three state documents from the Bureau of Construction Codes site and staple each one separately, three staples on the left edge, with no highlighting, marks or tabs. A straight edge without calculations is also allowed. The bulletin lists calculators among the belongings you must store and does not mention an on-screen calculator.

Yes, though the bulletin does not say how many questions it carries. Along with the NEC, each exam covers the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, the rules under it, the Part 8 electrical code rules and PA 230. The Skilled Trades Regulation Rules are in scope but are not on the list of documents you may bring.

PSI schedules and proctors the exams at seven Michigan test centers; the Bureau of Construction Codes writes them. There is no remote option. The fee is $100 per exam, and you need 75%. Under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, a journeyman or master candidate who fails twice within two years must wait at least a year from the second failure and complete a board-approved course before retesting; a sign specialist needs the course but not the wait. Fire alarm specialty technician candidates have unlimited attempts.

Every year; individual licenses expire December 31. The fee is $40 for a journeyman or sign specialist license and $50 for a master or fire alarm specialty technician license. There is no yearly hour requirement: when the state code is updated, you complete a board-approved code update course within 12 months.

Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state. LARA evaluates out-of-state licenses case by case.

You must be at least 20 and hold NICET Level II certification in fire alarm systems, or ESA CFAT Level II or higher, which LARA accepts as equivalent.