Michigan to Utah: general contractor license reciprocity

Utah licenses contractors statewide through the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act, Utah Code 58-55, and Rule R156-55a, and it licenses by classification rather than by tier. The unlimited building classification is B100 General Building Contractor, which Utah Code 58-55-102(26)(a) defines as the construction of structures for the support, shelter and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or movable property, and any component of that construction except plumbing, electrical, mechanical, elevator and manufactured housing work, for which a B100 must employ a contractor licensed in the specialty; a B100 building single-family or multifamily residences up to four units may do the mechanical work itself and employ a licensed plumber or electrician. A B100 license already carries every S-series specialty scope, so a general builder does not add S220 Carpentry and Flooring, S260 Asphalt and Concrete, S270 Drywall, Paint and Plastering, S280 Roofing, S310 Foundation, Excavation and Demolition, S330 Landscape and Recreation, S440 Sign Installation and the rest separately; it does not reach R200 Factory Built Housing, S700 Limited Scope, S510 Elevator or the E200, E201, P200, P201 and H100 trade classifications. Alongside B100 sit E100 General Engineering Contractor, for fixed works such as roads, bridges, dams and pipelines that need specialized engineering knowledge, and R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor, the homes-and-small-buildings classification. The license is issued to the business rather than to the person: the entity applies and names a qualifier, an owner of at least 20 per cent or a W-2 employee in a management position who is paid for at least 12 hours a week, and it is that qualifier who meets the course, experience and examination requirements and who may qualify no more than three licensees at once. There is no Utah trade examination for B100: the only DOPL examination is the Utah Contractor Business and Law exam. Licenses expire on 30 November of each odd-numbered year and renewal takes six hours of continuing education.

Michigan does not license general, commercial or unlimited building contractors. LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes reviews applications "for Boiler, Electrical, Elevator, Mechanical, Plumbing, Inspector/Plan Reviewer, Residential Builder" and nothing else, and the statute behind the builder license, Article 24 of the Occupational Code, reaches only a "residential structure" — a detached one- or two-family dwelling or a townhouse of not more than three stories. Apartment buildings, offices, retail, industrial and institutional projects fall outside it, so there is no Michigan license for an out-of-state general contractor license to transfer into, no qualifying party to register with a board, no state trade or business-and-law examination, and no NASCLA route: Michigan is not one of the agencies that accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination, and LARA's pages never mention it. What controls commercial work instead is the building permit. Local building departments enforce the state construction code and generally ask a commercial contractor to register with the city and to file plans sealed by a licensed architect or engineer, rather than to prove competency — Detroit's building department states plainly that "commercial construction does not require a licensed contractor to perform the work." Two things still bind statewide: anyone self-performing electrical, mechanical, plumbing, boiler or elevator work needs the matching LARA license for that trade whatever the building is, and any work on a one- or two-family dwelling or a qualifying townhouse needs the residential builder or M&A license, with unlicensed residential work drawing a civil fine of $100 to $500.