Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04
Coming from another state
Michigan Electrician License Reciprocity: None, and Why
LARA's answer is one sentence long and it is a no. What follows the no is a review process rather than a shortcut, and this page sets out what it asks for and what it cannot promise.
On this page
The answer, in LARA's own words
LARA's electrical licensing page says Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state or country.
There is no list of friendly states, no partial agreement, and no tier where one license transfers and another does not. Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ontario: the answer is the same for all of them.
So a search for whether Michigan has reciprocity with any particular state has one answer, and it does not change with the state you name.
What LARA does instead
The same page describes a review rather than a transfer. An out of state applicant submits their original license along with documentation of the detailed requirements of the jurisdiction that issued it.
That is a file LARA reads, not a form that converts one license into another. What it is being read against is the Michigan requirement: for a journeyman, at least 20 years old with at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years, and for a master, at least 22 with at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more plus two years holding a journeyman license.
LARA's licensing section says processing may take up to three to five weeks and that applications are reviewed in the order they are received. Build that into your moving date.
Nothing on the pages cited here says a review can waive the examination, and nothing says it cannot. Because we could not confirm it either way, this page does not claim an outcome.
What to have ready
Your original license, as LARA words it, and documentation setting out the detailed requirements of the state or country that issued it.
That second item is the one people underestimate. It means the other state's statute or rule text on hours, years, supervision and examination, not a screenshot of your wallet card.
There is no out of state verification form on LARA's licensing forms page. What that page carries is a Skilled Trades Detailed License Verification Request, and it runs the other way: it verifies a Michigan license for another state that is asking about you. Coming into Michigan, you send your own license and that state's requirements for review. Ask the Licensing Section which forms your situation needs before you post anything, because the answer depends on which license you hold.
Have your hour records in the shape Michigan will want them. Form BCC-341 asks for employer documentation of dates, hours and the type of work, notarized, and form BCC-3923 is the experience statement LARA names.
The exam is a Michigan exam
Whatever your file shows, the Michigan examinations are Michigan examinations. The PSI bulletin allows 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.
Those two acts and the Part 8 rules are the part an experienced electrician from another state has not seen. 2016 PA 407 is the Skilled Trades Regulation Act that licenses you, and Part 8 is Michigan's amendment set on the National Electrical Code.
Michigan is on the 2023 NEC. The Part 8 rules adopting the 2023 edition second printing took effect on 12 March 2024, so a candidate arriving from a 2020 or 2026 state has an edition question as well as a Michigan question.
Whether your out of state hours count
LARA publishes that credit toward the requirement is possible for recognized training programs. It does not publish a rule crediting hours worked under another state's license.
MCL 339.5715 describes the journeyman hours as experience in electrical construction or maintenance under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician. It does not say Michigan licensed, and LARA's own page does say a Michigan licensed journeyman or master.
That gap is exactly why the review exists, and it is why guessing is a poor plan. Send the file and let the Licensing Section decide, and ask for the answer in writing.
The one route that is written down
There is a path in statute for somebody discharged from military service within the past year who served as an interior electrician, at MCL 339.5715.
It replaces the ordinary employer documentation with an affidavit signed by a commanding officer, supervisor or military superior, documenting 8,000 hours of entry level experience and knowledge across ten named electrical areas.
The hour figure does not shrink. What changes is who attests to it, and the one year window after discharge in which the route is available.
One more jurisdiction to ask about
LARA's licensing page notes that if you live in the City of Detroit, the city issues its own licenses and registrations locally.
That is a second inquiry rather than a complication of the first. If Detroit is where you are moving to, ask the city what it requires alongside whatever the state review produces.
Nothing on the LARA pages cited here sets out Detroit's own requirements, so this page does not describe them.
Questions people ask
Does Michigan have electrician license reciprocity with any state?
No. LARA's electrical licensing page says Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state or country. There is no partial agreement and no list of participating states, so the answer is the same whichever state you are coming from.
Does Michigan have reciprocity with Ohio, Indiana or Wisconsin?
No, and the answer does not vary by neighbor. LARA's statement covers every other state and country without exception. What exists instead is a review: you submit your original license and documentation of that jurisdiction's detailed requirements.
How do I get a Michigan electrician license with an out of state license?
Submit your original license to LARA along with documentation of the detailed requirements of the jurisdiction that issued it, as LARA's electrical licensing page describes. Have your hour records ready in Michigan's shape as well, since form BCC-341 asks for notarized employer documentation of dates, hours and type of work. Processing may take up to three to five weeks.
Do I still have to take the Michigan exam if I am licensed elsewhere?
The LARA pages cited here describe a review of your license and the issuing jurisdiction's requirements, and do not say the review waives an examination. Because we could not confirm either answer, this page does not state one. Ask the Licensing Section at 517-241-9316 and get the reply in writing before you plan a move.
Will my hours from another state count toward the 8,000?
LARA publishes that credit is possible for recognized training programs, and does not publish a rule on hours worked under another state's license. MCL 339.5715 describes the hours as supervised by a licensed electrician while LARA's page says a Michigan licensed journeyman or master. That gap is what the out of state review is for, so send the documentation rather than assuming.
Is there a faster route for military electricians?
There is a different route rather than a shorter one. MCL 339.5715 lets somebody discharged within the past year who served as an interior electrician document 8,000 hours by affidavit from a commanding officer, supervisor or military superior, covering ten named electrical subject areas. The hour figure stays at 8,000.
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, electrical examination and licensing information States that Michigan does not hold reciprocity with any other state or country, and describes the out of state submission of the original license and the issuing jurisdiction's requirements. source
- MCL 339.5715 The journeyman requirement an out of state file is read against, and the military affidavit route for a recent discharge. source
- MCL 339.5713 The master requirement: at least 22, at least 12,000 hours over 6 years or more, and two years holding a journeyman license. source
- LARA, licensing forms Carries the Skilled Trades Detailed License Verification Request, which verifies a Michigan license for another state, plus the transfer applications and the BCC-3923 experience statement. Read 4 September 2026. source
- PSI candidate information bulletin 4375 Effective 20 August 2026. Allows the NEC with factory tabs only, plus 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Part 8 rules. source
- Part 8 Michigan Electrical Code, final rules Adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code second printing effective 12 March 2024. source