Michigan · Checked October 22, 2026
State license. Michigan licenses residential roofers through LARA. Trade work on an existing home — including roofing — needs a Residential Maintenance and Alteration (M&A) Contractor license that names the Roofing craft, or a full Residential Builder license. Both take 60 hours of pre-licensure education and a state exam, and there is no state license for purely commercial work.
Checked in part. The load-bearing facts on this page (regime, threshold, exam) are sourced below, but one or more figures for Michigan could not be confirmed on a primary board or statute page in the October 22, 2026 pass. Anything unconfirmed is printed as “Not published” — never estimated. Confirm the open figures with the board before you file.
| Item | Michigan |
|---|---|
| Regime | Maintenance & Alteration license with Roofing trade (or Residential Builder license) |
| Exam | PSI examination for Residential Builder or Maintenance & Alteration Contractor (business/law and trade portions) — pass mark Not published. MCL 339.2404(2) requires an exam establishing fair knowledge of the contractor's obligations and the licensing statutes. A single numeric pass mark for the M&A roofing portions was not published in the sources checked. Secondary sources put the M&A exam fee at about $70-$114 depending on how many trades are tested, and the builder exam at $117. |
| Experience | No years-of-experience prerequisite is stated in MCL 339.2404. The gate is education instead: completion of a 60-hour approved pre-licensure course (at least 6 hours in each of six competency areas, per the LARA application) before the exam. |
| Application fee | $195 application fee for an individual Residential Builder or M&A Contractor license (LARA application form BCC-2000) |
| License / registration fee | Included in the $195 application fee breakdown on the form ($165 license portion + $30 other portion, as printed on the 03/22 form) |
| Total state cost | $195 state application fee, plus the PSI exam fee (about $70-$114 for M&A depending on trades) and the cost of the 60-hour course — Relicensure (after lapse) is $185 on the same form. Fee form revision checked was 03/22 — verify the current MiPLUS fee before publishing, as LARA now takes applications online. |
| Bond | No state bond minimum published |
| Insurance minimums | No state general liability minimum or license bond for M&A roofers was published in the sources checked — 'Not published' at state level. Workers' compensation is required for employers under Michigan law, and customers/permits commonly require liability certificates. |
| Who qualifies | The applicant / business owner |
| Timeline | Not published by LARA in the sources checked. Secondary sources estimate roughly 8-12 weeks including the 60-hour course, exam scheduling and processing — estimate only. |
| Renewal | License is issued for three years (MCL 339.2404(5)). Renewal requires the renewal fee and documented continuing-competency hours; secondary sources put renewal at $150 — verify in MiPLUS. |
| Credential | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Maintenance & Alteration Contractor — Roofing (trade M) | residential | License must specify the craft or trade; the statutory list in MCL 339.2404(3) includes roofing, siding and gutters, carpentry, concrete, masonry, insulation work and others. Work in another trade is allowed only if it is incidental and supplemental to the licensed trade. |
| Residential Builder | residential | Broader license covering construction, repair, alteration and improvement of a residential structure; also covers roofing as part of whole-project work. |
License trigger: $600 — Jobs under $600 are exempt from residential builder / M&A licensing (MCL 339.2403(f), as described in secondary legal sources). The exemption is lost if a job is split into small contracts to avoid licensing. Threshold includes the work contracted for — confirm the current statutory wording before relying on the $600 figure for a specific job.
Michigan issues no separate subcontractor license. A subcontractor doing a licensed trade on a residential job needs the same builder or M&A license for that trade as a prime contractor. An unlicensed contractor cannot sue to collect for licensed work or file a construction lien (MCL 339.2412, secondary legal sources).
No state license for commercial contractors — commercial roofing is regulated locally, so check the city/township building department for permits and any local contractor registration. Residential permits are also local on top of the state license.
No specific deductible-waiver statute found. No Michigan statute specifically barring a contractor from advertising, offering or paying a homeowner's insurance deductible was located in primary searching on 2026-10-22. General fraud and consumer-protection law may still apply — do not read this as permission.
Run the compliance checker for Michigan →
Thresholds and classes turn on your contract value and your role. Run the checker with Michigan preselected:
Confirm with the board before you file: fees and rules change, and the board — not this page — decides your application. Information only, not legal advice.
The checker gives you the verdict. The kit gives you the paperwork, in filing order: the application walkthrough for your state's class, qualifying-party documentation templates, the bond and insurance spec sheet with your state's exact minimums, the city-registration checklist pack for no-license states, and the contract-compliance pack (deductible language and required contract notices, including Florida's deadlines calendar).
$49 one-time payment
Included in the $49 RoofingLicenseCheck Kit — every item below, for every state, one payment.
