Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04
Checking somebody, or yourself
Michigan Electrician License Lookup: How to Verify
LARA runs the search and it is free. This page is not that search. It explains which of LARA's several lookup systems covers electricians, why picking the wrong one returns nothing, and what a result does and does not settle.
On this page
The search is LARA's, and this page is not it
LARA runs the lookup itself. Its page is headed Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business and it groups the licenses by type. There is no BCC link. The construction trades sit under a heading Skilled Trades with one link per trade: Electrician, Mechanical Contractor, Plumber, Residential Builder, Code Official and Elevator. The Electrician link opens the Accela citizen access system.
This page holds no license records and searches nothing. It explains which system covers electricians and how to read what comes back, so you spend a minute there instead of ten.
The Accela search sits at aca-prod.accela.com under LARA's own link. Open it from LARA's verification page if you would rather not trust a link you found somewhere else.
Which bureau, and why that decides everything
LARA is not one licensing system. Its verification page lists several separate Accela instances, and an electrician sits in only one of them.
Electricians are regulated by the Bureau of Construction Codes, and the BCC search covers electrician, mechanical contractor, plumber, residential builder, code official and elevator licenses together.
The other bureaus run their own. The Professional Licensing Bureau, the Corporations, Securities and Commercial Licensing bureau and the Cannabis Regulatory Agency each have a different Accela address, and Community and Health Systems uses its own verification pages.
So a search that returns nothing may simply be the wrong bureau. Start from LARA's verification page and take the Electrician link under Skilled Trades rather than guessing at a URL.
One shop, two records
A one person electrical business normally holds two separate licenses, and they are separate records with separate numbers.
The individual license is the master electrician license, attached to the person. The contractor license is attached to the business, and MCL 339.5711 issues it to somebody who holds a master license or employs a full time master who lives in Michigan and is in charge of code compliance.
Checking the company therefore does not check the person, and checking the person does not check the company. If the work matters, look at both.
That structure is also why apprentices are asked at renewal for two numbers rather than one. LARA has them supply the master license number and the contractor license number for their employer.
Current is not the same as working
A contractor license can be current and still not function. LARA says the electrical contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician, and that hold has nothing to do with the renewal date.
MCL 339.5713 is why a hold is hard to paper over. A master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than one electrical contractor's license, so a business cannot borrow one from a friend for a fortnight.
If a search result looks fine and the work still feels wrong, the association is the thing to ask about rather than the expiry date.
Dates, and the gaps a search may not show you
Michigan renewal dates are shared rather than personal. Individual electrical licenses run to December 31 each year and apprentice registrations to August 31, so everybody in a category expires on the same day.
That makes the gaps predictable. Somebody who renewed late has a stretch of days behind them when they held nothing, and the late fee, $50.00 for a licensee or $100.00 for an apprentice, is the only trace of it in the fee schedule.
A lookup tells you about the position today. If you are checking somebody for work they did last spring, today's result is not the answer to that question.
We could not read the Accela search form itself while writing this page, so nothing here describes its fields, its filters or whether it shows expired records. Look at what the form offers when you open it rather than trusting a description written elsewhere.
What a result will not settle
It will not tell you whether the person is any good. A license is a floor, and the exam behind it is 80 questions at 75 percent for a journeyman or 76 questions at 75 percent for a master.
It will not tell you about Detroit. LARA's electrical licensing page says that if you live in the City of Detroit, the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally, and nothing on the LARA pages cited here sets out what Detroit requires.
It will not answer questions about insurance, bonds or complaints, none of which are described on the pages cited below.
And it will not fix a wrong name. LARA lists form BCC-3911 for a personal or company name change, a change of address or a change in company representation, which is what a licensee files when their record and their reality have drifted apart.
Checking your own record
Accela is also where you renew. LARA points licensees to michigan.gov/bccrenewals and says all renewals need to be processed through the site before the expiration date to stay active and avoid late fees.
LARA's Accela help pages describe registering for an account, linking your existing license to it, and renewing, and give [email protected] as the address for questions.
Apprentices have one extra field. LARA asks them to provide the master and contractor license numbers for their employer and to confirm participation in or completion of a board approved apprenticeship training program.
The apprentice renewal instructions add a line worth remembering: your apprentice registration number never expires, so you always renew rather than filing a new application.
Questions people ask
How do I look up a Michigan electrician license?
Through LARA's Accela citizen access search, reached from the Electrician link under the Skilled Trades heading on LARA's Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business page. Electricians are regulated by the Bureau of Construction Codes, so that is the search that covers them. It is free and LARA runs it.
Why does my search return nothing?
The usual reason is the wrong system. LARA runs several separate Accela instances, one for the Bureau of Construction Codes and different ones for professional licensing, commercial licensing and cannabis, so an electrician looked up in the wrong bureau's search will not appear. Start from LARA's verification index and follow the skilled trades link.
Does a Michigan license search show expired licenses?
We could not read the Accela search form while writing this page, so nothing here states what it shows. Look at the form itself when you open it. What is worth knowing either way is that individual electrical licenses all expire on December 31 and apprentice registrations on August 31, so late renewals leave predictable gaps.
How do I check that an electrical contractor is licensed in Michigan?
Search the business as well as the person, because they are separate records. MCL 339.5711 attaches the contractor license to a business that holds or employs a master electrician, and the master holds an individual license of their own with its own number. A one person shop normally carries both.
Can a contractor license be active and still not valid?
Yes. LARA says the contractor license is placed on hold when there is no associated master electrician, which is separate from the renewal date. Since MCL 339.5713 stops a master from qualifying more than one contractor license, the company cannot cover the gap by borrowing somebody else's master.
Does the state lookup cover electricians in Detroit?
LARA's electrical licensing page says that if you live in the City of Detroit, the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally. Nothing on the LARA pages cited here sets out what Detroit issues or how to check it, so treat Detroit as a separate inquiry and ask the city.
How do I check or renew my own Michigan license?
Through Accela. LARA points licensees to michigan.gov/bccrenewals and says renewals need to be processed there before the expiration date to stay active and avoid late fees. LARA's Accela help pages cover registering for an account, linking an existing license and renewing, with [email protected] for questions.
See the exact day you can sit the exam
Type in the hours you have. You get your exam date and your license date, each tied to the rule that sets it. Free, no account.
Every figure is cited to the Occupational Code, the Part 8 rules or LARA's own pages. Nothing leaves your browser unless you email it to yourself.
What this page cites
- LARA, find or verify a licensed professional or business Headed Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business, with the construction trades under a Skilled Trades heading and one link each for Electrician, Mechanical Contractor, Plumber, Residential Builder, Code Official and Elevator. Read 4 September 2026. source
- LARA, electrical examination and licensing information States that the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master, and that Detroit issues its own licenses and registrations locally. source
- MCL 339.5711 Attaches the electrical contractor license to a master electrician, either the licensee or a full time Michigan resident employee in charge of code compliance. source
- MCL 339.5713 Bars a master electrician's license from qualifying more than one electrical contractor's license. source
- LARA, license and registration renewals The December 31 and August 31 renewal dates, the $50.00 and $100.00 late fees, and the instruction to renew through the website before expiry. source
- LARA Accela FAQs Cover registering for an account, linking your license, and renewing, with [email protected] for questions. source
- LARA, licensing forms Names form BCC-3911 for a change in company representation, a name change or a change of address. source