LicensebyState

Moving to Michigan as a journeyman electrician: every state's rule

Michigan has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.

Michigan journeyman electrician · “Electrical Journeyman”

State license plus local requirements

Verified September 15, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes, Electrical Administrative Board

Michigan issues a statewide Electrical Journeyman license through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes under Article 7 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407). A new applicant must be at least 20, document 8,000 hours over at least four years under the direct supervision of a Michigan-licensed journeyman or master with notarized employer letters, pass the PSI-administered journeyman exam (80 questions, 75% to pass, 2023 NEC) for a $100 exam fee, and pay the $40 license fee; the license renews every year for $40. Michigan has no reciprocity agreements with any state: LARA states that out-of-state licensees must take and pass the Michigan exam, though experience earned in other states may be credited after board review. MCL 339.5733 lets a municipality with an equally stringent ordinance license its own residents; the City of Detroit does so, and Detroit licenses are valid statewide.

How local licensing works in Michigan

Under MCL 339.5733 a municipality that adopts an examination and licensing ordinance at least as stringent as the state's may license journeymen who reside in it, and both state and qualifying municipal licenses must be recognized by all municipalities. The City of Detroit's Board of Electrical Examiners examines and licenses Electrical Journeypersons who are Detroit residents (same 8,000-hour / four-year standard); Detroit licenses are valid throughout Michigan and equivalent to state licenses. Non-residents of Detroit apply to LARA. Other municipalities may require registration of state licensees under local inspection ordinances but do not issue their own journeyman licenses per the pages reviewed.

Every origin state

Experience credit 34No credit 16
Every state's path into Michigan
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaExperience credit2026-09-15
AlaskaExperience credit2026-09-15
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
ArkansasExperience credit2026-09-15
CaliforniaExperience credit2026-09-15
ColoradoExperience credit2026-09-15
ConnecticutExperience credit2026-09-15
DelawareExperience credit2026-09-15
District of ColumbiaExperience credit2026-09-15
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
GeorgiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
HawaiiExperience credit2026-09-15
IdahoExperience credit2026-09-15
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
IowaExperience credit2026-09-15
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
KentuckyExperience credit2026-09-15
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MaineExperience credit2026-09-15
MarylandExperience credit2026-09-15
MassachusettsExperience credit2026-09-15
MinnesotaExperience credit2026-09-15
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
MontanaExperience credit2026-09-15
NebraskaExperience credit2026-09-15
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
New HampshireExperience credit2026-09-15
New JerseyExperience credit2026-09-15
New MexicoExperience credit2026-09-15
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
North DakotaExperience credit2026-09-15
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
OklahomaExperience credit2026-09-15
OregonExperience credit2026-09-15
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
Rhode IslandExperience credit2026-09-15
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
South DakotaExperience credit2026-09-15
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-15
TexasExperience credit2026-09-15
UtahExperience credit2026-09-15
VermontExperience credit2026-09-15
VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WashingtonExperience credit2026-09-15
West VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-15
WisconsinExperience credit2026-09-15
WyomingExperience credit2026-09-15

Getting licensed in Michigan from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Michigan issues a journeyman electrician license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 8 sources

Electrical Journeyman license by examination

LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes issues the Electrical Journeyman license to an applicant who is at least 20, documents at least 8,000 hours over at least four years of electrical work under the direct supervision of a Michigan-licensed journeyman or master electrician, and passes the journeyman exam. Those hours are worked as a registered apprentice electrician: an apprentice must register with the state within 30 days of being hired, work for a licensed master electrician and electrical contractor, and stay enrolled in an approved related technical instruction program. You apply on Form BCC-341, online or by mail, with notarized experience statements from each employer and the $40 license fee. Once the Licensing Section approves the application, PSI contacts you to pay the $100 exam fee and schedule the open-book exam, which has 80 questions in 150 minutes and requires a score of 75%. There is no separate law or business exam.

Experience is documented with notarized letters or LARA's Work Experience Report (Form BCC-3923), one per employer, naming the supervising Michigan licensee, the exact dates and the hours. PSI should contact you within 10 business days of approval, and an approved application is good for one year from its first review. Exam questions are based on the 2023 NEC and Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8 and also cover the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act; you bring your own bound, unmarked copies of the NEC, 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Part 8 rules. If you fail the exam twice within two years, you must wait one year from the second failure and complete a board-approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory before testing again. LARA says some credit may be available for a recognized training or education program but does not publish how much. Residents of the City of Detroit are examined and licensed by Detroit's Board of Electrical Examiners instead, and Detroit licenses are valid statewide.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
PSI
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
75%
Renewal
Every year

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Obtained over at least four years in electrical construction, building maintenance, or electrical wiring or equipment, under the direct supervision of a Michigan-licensed electrical journeyman or master electrician (MCL 339.5715).
  • Hours worked as a registered Michigan apprentice electrician, employed by a licensed master electrician and electrical contractor and enrolled in an approved related technical instruction programApprentices must register within 30 days of employment and renew the registration every year by August 31 (MCL 339.5717).
  • Be at least 20 years old.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Military interior electrician

MCL 339.5715 also qualifies an applicant who served on active duty in the armed forces as an interior electrician or an equivalent job classification and was honorably discharged within the year before applying. The applicant files an affidavit from a commanding officer, supervisor or military superior with direct knowledge of the service, stating at least 8,000 hours of entry-level experience and basic knowledge in the ten areas the statute lists. If the affidavit shows fewer hours or fewer areas, LARA may grant partial credit toward the 8,000 hours. The journeyman exam and fees still apply.

  • Served on active duty in the armed forces as an interior electrician or equivalent, honorably discharged within one year before the application is filed
  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.
  • Be at least 20 years old.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($40). Electrical Journeyman license fee, paid with the BCC-341 application (non-refundable; waived for active service members, honorably discharged veterans and their dependents).
  2. 2Other. Notarized experience statement from each current and former employer (letter or Form BCC-3923) showing dates, hours, type of electrical work and the supervising Michigan licensee.
  3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Michigan Electrical Journeyman exam administered by PSI: 80 questions, 150 minutes, open book, 75% to pass.
  4. 4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($100). PSI examination fee, paid to PSI when scheduling after approval; charged for each attempt, non-refundable and valid for one year.

Published fees on this path total $140, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year and a $40 renewal fee.

There is no fixed yearly hour requirement. When the state construction code is updated, you must complete a board-approved code update course within 12 months of the change; in years without a code change, no course is required. Approved courses and instructors are listed through CE Broker (cebroker.com, 877-434-6323). You do not submit the certificate with your renewal, but must keep it in case you are audited.

Licenses expire December 31 each year, and renewal opens 90 days before. A $50 late fee applies if you renew after the license expires, and a license not renewed by March 1 is void.

Exam preparation

Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.

  • Trade exam
  • Exam fee · $100

Sources for this section

  1. City of Detroit BSEED - Electrical Journeyperson Examination Overview · City of Detroit, Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department · Agency Page · verified September 15, 2026
  2. Michigan LARA Form BCC-341 - Application for Journeyman, Master Electrician, Fire Alarm Specialty Technician or Sign Specialist Examination and Licensure (Rev. 3/22) · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Michigan LARA Bureau of Construction Codes - Electrical Examination, Licensing/Registration and Application Information · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Michigan LARA Form BCC-3923 - Work Experience Report, Electrical Experience Affidavit (1/2025) · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Michigan LARA Bureau of Construction Codes - PSI Examinations · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  6. Michigan LARA BCC - License/Registration Renewals (Residential Builders section) · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  7. Michigan Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407, Article 7 - Electricians and Electrical Contractors · MCL 339.5707, 339.5709, 339.5713, 339.5715, 339.5733 · Michigan Legislature · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  8. PSI - Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes Electrical Candidate Information Bulletin (effective 8/20/2026) · PSI Services LLC for Michigan LARA · Other · verified September 23, 2026

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