Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

When the date has already passed

Michigan Electrical License Renewal: Late Fees and Lapse

A missed renewal in Michigan costs a fixed late fee and a stretch of days when you were not licensed. The fee is the small part. This page sets out what LARA says about each licence type, and what it does not say.

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The deadline you missed

Apprentice registrations were due August 31. Journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician and contractor licenses were due December 31, with the contractor on a three year cycle.

Both are fixed calendar dates. LARA says all renewals need to be processed through the renewal website before the expiration date to keep the license active and to avoid late fees.

If the date has passed, the renewal is still the route. What has changed is the amount and the fact that a gap now exists in your record.

What late costs

An electrical apprentice or a fire alarm specialty apprentice technician who renews after expiration pays a $100.00 late fee on top of the $15.00 renewal.

A journeyman, a master, a fire alarm specialty technician or a contractor pays a $50.00 late fee on top of the ordinary renewal.

LARA states the late fee flatly rather than as a schedule that grows. Nothing on the renewal page cited here makes the fee larger the longer you wait.

Working while it is expired

LARA's answer for the journeyman is direct: you are not allowed to be on the job site without an active license, and allowing your license to expire may lead to citations or enforcement action.

For the apprentice it is the same in plainer words. You should not be on a job site if your apprentice registration expires, because that is against the law.

For the master, LARA raises a different consequence: letting the license expire may negatively impact your ability to pull permits. For anybody running work, that is the version that hurts first.

So the honest answer to whether you can keep working is no, and the fee is not the reason.

What the gap does to your hours

An apprentice whose registration lapses has a problem beyond the $100.00. The hours you need are hours of experience under supervision, and LARA's position is that you should not have been on the site at all.

MCL 339.5715 asks for at least 8,000 hours obtained over at least 4 years, and BCC-341 asks the employer to confirm the dates, the hours and the type of work in notarized documentation. A lapse leaves a stretch of dates somebody may later look at.

Nothing on the LARA pages cited here says what happens to hours worked during a lapse. Because we could not confirm it, this page does not claim either answer. Ask the Licensing Section before you rely on those weeks.

The contractor license, and hold versus lapse

There are two separate ways a contractor license stops working, and they are not the same thing.

The first is expiry. The contractor license renews every three years by 12/31 at $300.00, with a $50.00 late fee after expiration.

The second is the hold. LARA says the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician, which can happen in a year with no renewal due at all. A license can be current and still on hold.

MCL 339.5713 stops you covering the gap with somebody else's master, since a master electrician's license cannot be used to meet the eligibility requirement for more than one electrical contractor's license.

Does the code update course have to be done first

LARA's renewal page ties the code update course to a code adoption rather than to a renewal cycle. You are only required to take it within one year of new code being adopted.

MCL 339.5715 and MCL 339.5713 write it as a condition of renewal for journeymen and masters within 12 months after an update or change to the state construction code.

So in a year with no adoption there is nothing to complete before renewing. In a year following an adoption there is, and it is one course rather than an hour count.

One thing that does not die

The apprentice renewal instructions carry a useful line for anybody who has been out a while: your apprentice registration number never expires, so you always renew instead of submitting a new application.

That matters for record keeping. The same number carries your history, which is the thing the experience statement later has to line up with.

LARA also warns that filing a new application instead of a renewal causes delays. If you are late, renew.

What LARA does not publish here

Three things people ask about are not on the LARA pages cited below, so they are not answered on this page.

How long a license can stay expired before renewal is no longer possible. Whether relicensure after a long lapse requires a new examination. And what happens to experience hours worked during a lapse.

The Licensing Section publishes a phone number for exactly this: 517-241-9316, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. A five minute call beats a guess that costs you a year.

Questions people ask

What is the late fee for renewing a Michigan electrical license?

Fifty dollars for a journeyman, master, fire alarm specialty technician or contractor license, and $100.00 for an electrical apprentice or fire alarm specialty apprentice technician registration. LARA's renewal page gives both amounts. The late fee is stated as a flat amount rather than one that grows with time.

Can I work while my Michigan electrical license is expired?

LARA says you are not allowed to be on the job site without an active license, and that letting it expire may lead to citations or enforcement action. For apprentices it says plainly that being on a job site with an expired registration is against the law. Renew first.

How long can a Michigan electrical license stay expired before I lose it?

The LARA pages cited on this page do not publish a cut off, so this page does not state one. What they do publish is the late fee and the instruction to renew rather than reapply. Call the Licensing Section at 517-241-9316 for your own dates rather than working from a figure you read somewhere else.

Do I have to take the exam again after a lapse?

Nothing on the LARA renewal pages cited here says a lapsed licensee retakes the examination, and nothing says they do not. Because we could not confirm it either way, this page leaves it open. Ask the Licensing Section, and get the answer in writing if a long gap is involved.

My apprentice registration lapsed. Do I start over?

No. LARA's apprentice renewal instructions say the registration number never expires, so you renew rather than filing a new application, and that filing a new application instead causes delays. You will owe the $15.00 renewal and the $100.00 late fee.

Can my contractor license be current and still not work?

Yes, and that is the trap. LARA places the contractor license on hold when there is no associated master electrician, which is separate from the three year renewal. Since a master may qualify only one contractor license, you cannot borrow one to cover the gap.

What this page cites

• LARA, license and registration renewals The renewal dates, the $50.00 and $100.00 late fees, the instruction to renew before expiry, and what LARA says about working with an expired license. source
• LARA apprentice renewal instructions The $100 late fee, and that the apprentice registration number never expires so you renew rather than reapply. source
• LARA, electrical examination and licensing information States that the contractor license is placed on hold without an associated master electrician. source
• MCL 339.5713 Bars a master electrician's license from qualifying more than one electrical contractor's license, and ties a code update course to renewal after a code change. source
• MCL 339.5715 The 8,000 hours over at least 4 years the experience statement has to support, and the code update course at renewal. source
• Form BCC-341 Requires notarized employer documentation confirming dates, hours and the type of work. source