Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

The license a contractor is built on

Michigan Master Electrician License: Requirements in 2026

Three requirements stack here and they are counted differently: total hours, total years, and time holding the journeyman license. Each one is cited below to the statute or the LARA page that sets it.

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What it takes, in three counts

MCL 339.5713 asks a master applicant to be at least 22 years old, to have at least 12,000 hours of experience obtained over a period of 6 years or more in electrical construction, building maintenance or electrical wiring performed under a master electrician's supervision, and to have held an electrical journeyman's license for at least 2 years.

LARA's licensing page adds a figure the statute does not spell out. It asks for 4,000 hours as an electrical journeyman alongside the two years of holding that license, inside the same total of at least 12,000 hours over at least 6 years.

So there are three counts running at once, and the eligibility date is the last one to finish. Twelve thousand hours, six years, and two years with a journeyman license in your hand.

The 4,000 journeyman hours sit inside the 12,000 rather than beside them. They are a slice of the total, not an addition to it.

How the three counts interact

Somebody who licensed as a journeyman on the earliest possible day has 8,000 hours and four years behind them. Twelve thousand hours is another 4,000, which is roughly two more years of full time work, and that is also the two years of holding the license.

For a full time worker the three counts therefore land close together at about six years total, which is why the statute writes six years as the minimum period.

Anybody who worked part time, or who waited to apply for the journeyman license after becoming eligible, sees the counts pull apart. The two years of holding the journeyman license starts on the date the license was issued, not on the date you became eligible for it, so a delayed application delays the master license by the same amount.

Under a master, for the master hours

MCL 339.5713 describes the 12,000 hours as work performed under a master electrician's supervision. The journeyman section describes its 8,000 hours as work under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician, and LARA reads that as a Michigan licensed journeyman or master.

The two descriptions are not identical, which matters if you spent years supervised only by journeymen. Ask the Licensing Section how your record reads before you file rather than after.

LARA does publish that credit is possible for recognized training programs. It does not publish how much, so treat any figure a provider quotes as their claim until LARA confirms it for your file.

The application and the fee

The form is the same one journeymen use: BCC-341, Application for Journeyman, Master Electrician Examination, Fire Alarm Specialty Technician or Sign Specialist Examination. The master fee on it is $50.00.

It travels with the experience statement, form BCC-3923, and the employer documentation of dates, hours and the kind of work has to be notarized.

LARA's licensing section says processing may run up to three to five weeks in the order applications arrive. PSI then notifies you with instructions on how to schedule the examination.

The exam, in numbers

The PSI candidate information bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives the master electrician examination as 76 questions in 180 minutes, with a passing score of 75 percent. The fee is $100 per attempt and it is not refundable or transferable.

Fewer questions than the journeyman exam and thirty more minutes to answer them. That works out to roughly 2.4 minutes a question against the journeyman's 1.9, which is the shape of an exam that expects longer calculations.

The book rules are the same. The National Electrical Code with factory markings and factory tabs only, plus 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8. No NEC Handbook, and nothing you have marked yourself.

PSI allows two attempts within one year for the master examination. Beyond that you reapply.

The two year rule, and the course that follows it

MCL 339.5713 puts a master candidate who fails twice within 24 months out for at least one year from the date of the second failure.

Coming back is conditional. Reapplying after the wait requires proof of the successful completion of a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory.

The journeyman section carries the same structure at MCL 339.5715, so this is the pattern in Michigan rather than something aimed at masters.

One master, one contractor license

MCL 339.5713 says a holder of a master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than 1 electrical contractor's license. LARA puts the same rule in plainer words: a master electrician can only associate with one electrical contractor at a time.

That is why a master leaving a company is a problem for the company rather than a formality. LARA says the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician.

MCL 339.5711 is the other half of the arrangement. The contractor license goes to a person who holds a master electrician's license, or to a business with at least one full time employee who is a master electrician, resides in Michigan, and is actively in charge of and responsible for Michigan electrical code compliance on all installations of electrical wiring and equipment.

Renewal, and the course tied to a code change

The master license renews every year by 12/31 and the fee is $50.00. That is ten dollars more than the journeyman renewal, which is worth checking against your own memory of last year's amount.

Renew after it expires and the late fee is $50.00. LARA notes that letting a master license expire may affect your ability to pull permits, which for a contractor is the whole of the business rather than an inconvenience.

MCL 339.5713 makes a code update course a condition of renewal within 12 months after an update or change to the state construction code. LARA's renewal page frames the same thing as a course required only within one year of new code being adopted, not annually.

Questions people ask

How many hours do you need for a master electrician license in Michigan?

At least 12,000, obtained over a period of 6 years or more. MCL 339.5713 sets both figures, and LARA adds that 4,000 of those hours are worked as an electrical journeyman. The 4,000 sit inside the 12,000 rather than on top of them.

How long do you have to be a journeyman before you can sit the Michigan master exam?

Two years of actually holding the license. MCL 339.5713 asks that the applicant has held an electrical journeyman's license for at least 2 years, and LARA repeats it beside the 4,000 journeyman hours. The clock starts on the date the license was issued, so applying late for the journeyman license pushes the master date back by the same stretch.

How old do you have to be for a Michigan master electrician license?

Twenty two. MCL 339.5713 sets the minimum age at 22 and form BCC-341 repeats it. Since 12,000 hours over six years has to sit behind the application, the age rarely decides anybody's timing.

How many questions is the Michigan master electrician exam?

Seventy six, with 180 minutes and a passing score of 75 percent. The PSI bulletin effective 20 August 2026 gives those numbers along with the $100 fee per attempt. It is open book on the 2023 NEC with the Michigan Part 8 rules and the two acts.

What does the Michigan master electrician license cost?

Fifty dollars to apply on form BCC-341, plus $100 to PSI for each examination attempt. Renewal is $50.00 every year by 12/31, with a $50.00 late fee after expiration. The PSI fee is not refundable or transferable.

Can one master electrician qualify two companies in Michigan?

No. MCL 339.5713 says a master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than one electrical contractor's license, and LARA says a master can only associate with one electrical contractor at a time. If the master leaves, LARA puts the contractor license on hold until another one is associated.

Do I need the master license to pull permits in Michigan?

Contracting runs on the contractor license, and MCL 339.5711 gives that only to a master or to a business employing a full time Michigan resident master in charge of code compliance. LARA notes that a lapsed master license may affect the ability to pull permits, which is the same relationship read from the other end. So the master license is the qualification and the contractor license is the permission.

Does a Michigan master electrician need continuing education every year?

No. MCL 339.5713 attaches a code update course to renewal within 12 months after an update or change to the state construction code, and LARA's renewal page says the course is required only within one year of new code being adopted. In a year with no adoption the renewal is the $50.00 and the 12/31 date.

What this page cites

• MCL 339.5713 The master requirements: at least 22 years old, at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more, two years holding a journeyman license, the one year wait after two failures in 24 months, the one contractor license limit, and the code update course at renewal. source
• MCL 339.5715 The journeyman license the master requirement is built on, at 8,000 hours over at least 4 years. source
• MCL 339.5711 Gives the electrical contractor license to a master, or to a business employing a full time Michigan resident master in charge of code compliance. source
• LARA, electrical examination and licensing information Adds the 4,000 journeyman hours to the statutory counts, gives the 75 percent pass mark, and says a master may associate with only one electrical contractor at a time. source
• LARA, license and registration renewals Master renewal every year by 12/31 at $50.00 with a $50.00 late fee, and the code update course only within one year of a new code being adopted. source
• Form BCC-341 The examination and licensure application, with the $50.00 master fee, the age and hour statements, and the notarized employer documentation. source
• PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Master examination of 76 questions in 180 minutes at 75 percent, $100 per attempt, two attempts within one year. source