To work legally as a trade contractor on Michigan homes, you need a Michigan Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license issued by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The core requirements are straightforward: pick the trade classifications that match your work, finish a 60-hour prelicensure course, pass the state exam, carry the required insurance, and pay a $195 application fee. After that, the license runs on a three-year renewal cycle with continuing education attached.
Is an M&A License the Right One for You
Michigan’s Occupational Code (Act 299 of 1980) splits licensed residential work into two categories. A Residential Builder handles full construction from the foundation up, across all trades. A Maintenance and Alteration (M&A) Contractor handles trade-specific repair, alteration, and improvement work on existing structures.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 339-2401 If your work is roofing, siding, concrete, or another single trade on residential property, the M&A license is the one you want.
Some work doesn’t require any license at all. Homeowners can work on their own home if they occupy it. Landlords can maintain and alter their own rental property. A subcontractor working solely under a licensed builder or M&A contractor doesn’t need a separate license. Electricians, plumbers, and mechanical contractors licensed under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act are exempt when working in their own trade. And a single project where the total cost of labor, materials, and everything else stays under $600 is exempt.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 339-2403
The $600 line covers the entire project, not just your labor. Splitting one larger job into multiple sub-$600 contracts to stay under the threshold is specifically prohibited, and LARA’s enforcement section looks for it.
Trade Classifications You Can Apply For
An M&A license is limited to the specific classifications you qualify for. You pick from LARA’s list, and you can only perform the work covered by the classifications on your license.3Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Maintenance and Alteration Contractor License Information The classifications are:
- Carpentry
- Concrete
- Excavation
- Insulation work
- Masonry
- Siding
- Roofing
- Screens and storm sash
- Gutters
- Tile and marble
- House wrecking
- Swimming pools
- Basement waterproofing
You can hold multiple classifications on one license if you qualify for each. A roofer who also does gutter work can carry both. Taking on concrete work with only a roofing classification, on the other hand, is a licensing violation.
Steps to Get Licensed
Applications go through LARA’s Bureau of Construction Codes. You’ll submit personal identification, business registration, and proof of insurance. Before you can sit for the exam, you have to complete a 60-hour prelicensure education course covering Michigan building codes, safety standards, and construction law. Then you take and pass the state-approved licensing exam covering those areas.
The application fee is $195.4Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. License Fees Exam vendor charges and a criminal background check are additional. LARA runs the background check as part of its review.
One thing to plan around: Michigan has no reciprocity agreements. A license from another state won’t waive the prelicensure course or the exam. Everyone applying in Michigan does the full sequence.
Insurance You Have to Carry
LARA won’t issue your license without proof of insurance. General liability coverage is required at minimum, protecting against property damage and bodily injury claims tied to your work. Many contractors carry well above the minimum because a serious claim outruns bare-minimum limits quickly.
Workers’ compensation is the second piece. If you have employees of any kind, including part-time workers or family members, Michigan law requires workers’ compensation coverage.5Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Employer Insurance Requirements Sole proprietors with no employees aren’t required to carry workers’ compensation on themselves.
Letting your coverage lapse can result in license suspension or revocation, on top of whatever an uninsured claim costs you directly.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Michigan M&A licenses renew every three years, with a May 31 deadline. The on-time renewal fee is $150. Miss the deadline and late renewal costs $170 for a limited window. After that window closes, you’ll pay $185 to apply for relicensure.4Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. License Fees
Continuing education hours depend on how long you’ve held the license:6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 339-2404b
- During your first two renewal cycles (the first six years), 21 hours per three-year cycle, with at least 3 hours in each calendar year. Coursework has to cover building codes, safety, and legal topics.
- From your third renewal cycle onward, 3 hours per three-year cycle, with at least 1 hour each in codes, safety, and legal issues.
The renewal clock keeps running whether or not you’ve finished your CE. Falling behind on hours doesn’t pause the deadline.
What Working Without a License Costs
Michigan penalties for unlicensed residential contracting are considerably steeper than the general Occupational Code penalty of up to $500 or 90 days in jail. Unlicensed residential contractors face their own schedule:7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 339-601
- First offense: misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum fine of $5,000, up to $25,000, and possible jail time of up to one year.
- Second or subsequent offense: misdemeanor with the same $5,000 to $25,000 fine range and up to two years in jail.
- An offense that causes death or serious injury: felony with the same fine range plus up to four years in prison.
There’s a civil consequence too. Michigan bars unlicensed contractors from filing or enforcing construction liens on residential property. If a homeowner refuses to pay you for work you did without a license, the courts won’t help you collect.
Federal Rules That Apply on Top
Your Michigan license doesn’t cover federal compliance. Two federal requirements come up often for M&A contractors, and they carry their own penalties on top of state licensing.
The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule requires lead-safe certified contractors and lead-safe work practices for any renovation, repair, or painting project in a home, child care facility, or preschool built before 1978 that disturbs lead-based paint.8US EPA. Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Anyone doing that work for compensation is covered; homeowners doing their own work generally aren’t.
OSHA requires fall protection for any employee working six feet or more above a lower level. For residential roofing and maintenance, that generally means guardrail systems, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems. Steep roofs need guardrails with toeboards, safety nets, or fall arrest equipment. On low-slope roofs 50 feet or less in width, a safety monitoring system alone can satisfy the rule.9Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1926.501 – Duty to Have Fall Protection Given how many M&A contractors work on roofs, this is core knowledge, not background.