Michigan · Plumbing licensing · official-source guide
Michigan licenses plumbing at state level through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, under Article 11 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407. It licenses the individual by grade, from apprentice registration through journey and master plumber, and licenses the plumbing contractor business separately. Every contractor license needs a master plumber behind it.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-11. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Michigan licenses plumbing at state level, and it licenses two different things. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, Licensing Section runs the credentials from P.O. Box 30255, Lansing, MI 48909, on 517-241-9316. The Plumbing Section administers and enforces the Michigan Plumbing Code and the plumbing provisions of the Michigan Residential Code, and sits on 517-241-9330 at bccplbg@michigan.gov. The governing law is Article 11 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407, at MCL 339.6101 through MCL 339.6133. The state plumbing board continues in existence under MCL 339.6105 and is composed of the director or a representative, an environmental quality representative, a drinking water and radiologic protection member, and five members appointed by the governor: two licensed plumbing contractors who hold a master license, one licensed master plumber who secures permits, one licensed journey plumber, and one public member. Michigan licenses the individual by grade and licenses the contracting business separately. The individual grades are apprentice plumber registration, journey plumber and master plumber. The business credential is the plumbing contractor license. The two are tied together by statute rather than issued independently: MCL 339.6111(1) says the plumbing contractor applicant must either hold a master plumber license or employ a master plumber as the representative, and the LARA contractor requirement sheet repeats it. A master plumber license alone does not let a company contract for plumbing. A contractor license alone cannot exist without a master behind it.
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MCL 339.6107(1) sets the rule: a person shall not engage in or work at the business of a plumbing contractor, master plumber, journey plumber, or apprentice plumber unless licensed or registered under Article 11, and except for the listed exemptions only a licensed master or journey plumber shall perform plumbing. A licensed master plumber shall be in charge and responsible for proper installation and conformance with the state construction code. Plumbing shall not be performed unless the plumbing contractor who is responsible has obtained a permit from the state or a governmental subdivision authorized to issue permits. Apprentice plumber, defined at MCL 339.6101(a), is a registration rather than a license, and MCL 339.6117(4) requires the apprentice to be engaged, as a principal occupation, in learning and assisting in the installation of plumbing under direct, on-site, in-person supervision of a journey or master plumber. Journey plumber, defined at MCL 339.6101(e), is the individual other than a contractor or master who is qualified to engage in the practical installation of plumbing. Master plumber, defined at MCL 339.6103(a), possesses the skills and qualifications to plan and supervise the installation of plumbing. Plumbing contractor, defined at MCL 339.6103(d), is a licensed master plumber or a person who employs a licensed master plumber full time to directly supervise installation, engaged in the business of plumbing for a fixed sum, price, fee percentage, valuable consideration, or other compensation. That definition is the one that decides who may sell plumbing work.
Sourceslegislature.mi.gov
MCL 339.6107(2) lists five exemptions, and a contractor should know them because they mark the edge of the market. No license is required for minor repair work. No license is required for installation of a building sewer or water service pipe if a permit is secured from the responsible enforcing agency, inspections are performed, and the installation complies with the state construction code. No license is required to install domestic water treatment and filtering equipment that requires modification to an existing cold water distribution supply and associated waste piping, again with a permit, required inspections and code compliance, and if the enforcing agency finds a violation the responsible installer must correct it. No license is required for a homeowner installing plumbing, a building sewer, or a private sewer in a single-family dwelling the homeowner owns, if a permit is secured. No license is required for installation of medical gas piping if the installation is performed under the supervision of a licensed plumbing contractor. Minor repair is defined narrowly at MCL 339.6103(b): clearance of stoppages, repair or replacement of a faucet or valve, reinstallation of that same plumbing fixture, or residential domestic water treatment and filtering equipment, with no modification to the plumbing system. The definition excludes repair or replacement of a backflow preventer and air admittance valves, and excludes any repair or replacement that is only part of a larger or major renovation. Domestic water treatment equipment is limited by MCL 339.6101(d) to residential equipment used in 1-family and 2-family dwellings.
Sourceslegislature.mi.gov
An individual employed as an apprentice plumber shall register with the department within 30 days after employment under MCL 339.6117(1). The registration fee is $15.00 on form BCC-3328. Registration renews every year by 4/30, the renewal is $15.00, and a license that expires before renewal carries a $20.00 late fee. MCL 339.6121(3)(b) sets the apprentice relicensure fee at $20.00. LARA warns on its renewal page that hours accrued while an apprentice registration is lapsed or expired do not count toward the hour requirement for journey licensure, and the registration form repeats that warning. MCL 339.6117(2) makes an apprentice registration invalid after 5 years from initial registration unless the registered apprentice applies for and takes the journey examination, and the board may grant an extension under subsection (3). MCL 339.6117a, added by 2024 PA 172 and effective April 2, 2025, caps supervision at 1 journey plumber or master plumber to not more than 2 apprentices, enforced on a jobsite basis. Penalties on the contractor are a $5,000.00 administrative fine for a first violation, a $10,000.00 administrative fine for a second, and suspension of the plumbing contractor license for not less than 90 days for a third, after which reinstatement requires passing the plumbing contractor examination again. Fines collected go to the enforcing agency that discovered the violation. LARA states in its ratio FAQ that Article 11 applies to all plumbing work unless specifically exempted in MCL 339.6107, not only to publicly bid work.
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MCL 339.6115(1) requires an applicant to be at least 18, file the application, pay the examination fee, pass the examination, pay the license fee, and hold at least 6,000 hours of experience gained over a period of at least 3 years as an apprentice plumber in the practical installation of plumbing under the supervision of a master plumber. The BCC-329A application requires a notarized letter or letters from current and former employers documenting that experience. Effective December 15, 2021, the journey application covers both a written examination and a practical skills examination, and both must be passed to achieve licensure. LARA schedules the practical skills sitting itself at locations including Lansing, Mason, Cadillac and St. Ignace, with a 2.5 hour window from 10:00 to 12:30, check-in from 8:00, and registration by email to LARA-BCC-LICENSING@MICHIGAN.GOV at least 30 days before the exam date. The written examination is scheduled through PSI. LARA states that a journey application is valid for one year only and that passing scores do not transfer to a new application. The journey plumber license fee is $40.00 at application. The license renews every year by 4/30 for $40.00, with a $100.00 late fee if it is not renewed before expiration. MCL 339.6115(1)(d)(ii) gives an armed forces route: service as a plumber or an equivalent classification, honorable discharge within the year before filing, and a signed affidavit covering at least 6,000 hours of entry-level experience across seven listed knowledge areas.
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MCL 339.6113(1) requires a master plumber applicant to be at least 18, file the application, pay the examination fee, pass the examination, pay the initial or renewal license fee, and hold a journey plumber license issued under Article 11 or former 2002 PA 733 with 4,000 hours of experience in work as a journey plumber over a period of not less than 2 years immediately preceding the date of application. LARA states the same requirement on its plumbing page and adds that any lapses in licensure in the 2 years immediately preceding the application will not meet the requirement. That is the trap: a journey license allowed to expire resets the clock on the master application, which is why LARA warns on the renewal page that letting a journey license lapse may hurt the ability to apply for master licensure. The master examination is written. MCL 339.6113(3) allows a licensed master plumber to represent only 1 plumbing contractor at any given time, and the LARA contractor application repeats that a master can only qualify one plumbing contractor license at a time. The initial and renewal fee is $300.00 under MCL 339.6121(7)(b), and the department issues the license for a period of up to 3 years. MCL 339.6119 lets a master request inactive status for up to 3 years, reactivating by paying the relicensure fee while holding and renewing a journey license, and forbids holding an active master and journey license at the same time.
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MCL 339.6111 governs the business credential. Only an individual who is a sole proprietor, a partner in a partnership, an officer of a corporation, or a member of a limited liability company may apply. The applicant must either hold a master plumber license or employ the holder of a master plumber license as a representative. The application must list the complete address of each place where the applicant has resided and been engaged in business during the last 5 years, with length of time at each and types of business or employment, plus the business name, the location of the place for which the license is desired, the name of the business owner or corporate president or LLC member or manager, and the name, residence address and license number of the licensed master plumber who represents the person. LARA states on its pathway page that there are no requirements for experience or hours for this license type, which is consistent with the statute: the experience lives in the master license behind it. The non-refundable license application fee due with the plumbing contractor application is $300.00. A licensed plumbing contractor may operate one or more branch offices under the same business if a licensed master plumber is in charge and responsible for supervision at each branch. Contractor and master are jointly and severally responsible for supervision or control of plumbing operations. If the master ceases to represent the contractor, the contractor has 30 days to designate another licensed master plumber and must notify the department in writing.
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MCL 339.6121 sets the schedule and LARA collects it. Annual fees for initial licensure or renewal are $40.00 for a journey plumber and $15.00 for an apprentice plumber registration. Initial and renewal fees for a master plumber or plumbing contractor license are $300.00 each, and the department issues those for a period of up to 3 years and renews them for 3-year periods. Examination fees under MCL 339.6121(5) are $100.00 for plumbing contractor, $100.00 for master plumber and $100.00 for journey plumber. A license or registration not renewed within 60 days of expiration can be relicensed only by applying to the board and paying the annual renewal fee plus a relicensure fee of $50.00 for a journey plumber, $20.00 for an apprentice plumber, and $100.00 for a plumbing contractor or master plumber. A lost or destroyed license is reissued without examination for $30.00 under MCL 339.6131. LARA lists late fees on its renewal page of $20.00 for an apprentice and $100.00 each for journey, master and contractor. Two figures to watch. LARA forms state the examination fee is paid to PSI at the time of scheduling and do not print an amount, while the statute prints $100.00, so the amount a candidate actually pays PSI is not published by LARA. And the statutory journey relicensure fee of $50.00 and the posted journey late fee of $100.00 are different numbers attached to a late renewal, both on state sources.
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Every Michigan plumbing credential renews on 4/30, and the cycle length differs by grade. Apprentice plumber registration renews every year by 4/30. Journey plumber renews every year by 4/30. Master plumber renews every three years by 4/30, and not all master plumbers renew in the same year. Plumbing contractor renews every three years by 4/30, and not all contractors renew in the same year. Renewal opens 90 days before the expiration date. LARA notes that a holder of both the plumbing contractor and the qualifying master license enters only the plumbing contractor license number, which starts with 80, to renew both. Michigan does not run an annual hour-count continuing education program for plumbers. Instead MCL 339.6113(2) and MCL 339.6115(3) make completion of a board-approved course on any update or change in the state construction code a condition of renewal, within 12 months after the update or change, and only during or after years in which the code is updated or changed. LARA states the same on its renewal page for journey and master plumbers and says the requirement does not arise every year. Apprentices are not required to take code update courses. Plumbing contractors are not required to take them for that specific license. Proof of completion does not have to be submitted unless the licensee is audited. LARA tracks approved code update providers and course listings through CE Broker.
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Article 11 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act sets no surety bond and no general liability insurance minimum as a condition of holding a Michigan plumbing contractor, master plumber or journey plumber license. The licensing sections at MCL 339.6111, MCL 339.6113 and MCL 339.6115 list application, examination, fee and experience, and stop there. The LARA requirement sheet for obtaining a plumbing contractor license lists four items: hold a master plumber license or employ a master plumber of record, submit a completed application to the state, and take and pass the appropriate test. No bond figure and no coverage figure appear on it. That absence is worth understanding rather than assuming. MCL 339.6133 states plainly that Article 11 does not relieve or lessen the responsibility or liability of any person owning, operating, controlling or installing plumbing for damages to individuals or property caused by a defect in the plumbing, and that the state assumes no responsibility by inspecting, approving or licensing. The liability sits with the contractor and the master plumber jointly and severally under MCL 339.6111(5) and (6), without a state-mandated policy limit behind it. Anything a Michigan plumbing contractor carries beyond that comes from a local enforcing agency, a general contractor, a lender or an owner, not from the plumbing license itself. A contractor bidding public or commercial work in Michigan should expect coverage demands from the job rather than from LARA.
The answer here is unusually clean, and it comes from LARA in writing. The Bureau of Construction Codes Out-of-State License Verification instructions state that the State of Michigan does not reciprocate with any other state for licensing, and that an applicant is therefore required to take and pass an examination to receive a license in Michigan. Out-of-state experience is not worthless, but it is handled as credit toward the experience requirement rather than as a shortcut past the exam. All applicants with out-of-state experience must be approved to sit for examination. The applicant provides a copy of the current license and the licensing requirements of the governing entity that issued it, sends the Out-of-State License Verification Form to each licensing entity for completion, and for a plumbing license application also supplies notarized letters documenting the required hours and years and licensed supervision, signed by the master or contractor of record for each employer. The individual licensing boards meet quarterly and review applications containing out-of-state information, and an approved applicant becomes eligible to schedule the examination. There is one examination waiver on the books, and it is military rather than interstate. MCL 339.5223 requires the department to license without examination an armed forces member, uniformed services member, veteran, or dependent who holds a valid license in the same occupation from an equivalent authority in at least one other state, held in good standing for at least 1 year. The journey plumber application carries the same waiver and a separate fee waiver for active service, veterans and dependents.
The penalties live in Article 6 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and they escalate hard. MCL 339.5601(1) forbids engaging in or attempting to engage in the practice of a regulated occupation, or using a title designated in the act, without a license from the department. A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. A second violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both. A third or subsequent violation is a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. A person whose license is suspended, revoked or lapsed is considered unlicensed. Remedies may include restitution. An affected person, which the statute defines to include a licensee, a board, the department, a customer of the suspected violator, or a trade association, may sue for injunctive relief and recover actual costs and attorney fees if successful. On the administrative side MCL 339.5603 lets the department limit, suspend, deny, revoke, censure, place on probation, order restitution, or impose an administrative fine of not more than $10,000.00. MCL 339.5607 attaches those same penalties to false advertising, fraud or deceit in practicing the occupation, gross negligence, and aiding or abetting another person in the unlicensed practice of an occupation.
Sourceslegislature.mi.gov
Michigan does not regulate plumbing advertising with a general license-number-in-all-ads statute, but it does impose three specific display duties that a contractor trips over. First, MCL 339.6111(8) requires a licensed plumbing contractor to display in a conspicuous place at the entrance of the place of business a sign that states the name of the business and the name of the licensed master plumber and license number, in letters that are at least 3 inches high. That is a physical sign at the business entrance, and the master plumber name and number belong on it, not only the company name. Second, MCL 339.6125(2) requires the state or a governmental subdivision to issue a plumbing permit only to a licensed plumbing contractor, to require the contractor to record the current plumbing contractor license number on the permit application, and to record the master plumber license number on the application as well. LARA repeats both on its plumbing permit page. A licensed plumbing contractor designates one or more full-time licensed master plumbers who directly supervise installation to pull permits using the contractor license number. Third, MCL 339.6125(5) requires master, journey and apprentice plumbers to carry their licenses and photo identification, and to present them if an enforcing agency asks. False advertising is separately disciplinable under MCL 339.5607(f), and using a title designated in the act without the license is the misdemeanor at MCL 339.5601.
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Michigan wrote the local question into the statute, and the answer surprises contractors who expect a city plumbing license. MCL 339.6125(1) states that a governmental subdivision may not exempt itself from the licensing requirements of Article 11 and may not engage in or require local licensing. What a city may require is registration of the state license. MCL 339.6125(4) says a plumbing contractor licensed under Article 11 who performs work in a governmental subdivision shall register the license with the enforcing agency that issues permits and provides inspection services if that agency requires it, the registration is valid until the expiration date of the plumbing contractor license, and each governmental subdivision must grant registration to a state-licensed plumbing contractor if a fee, in an amount determined by the subdivision and not exceeding $15.00, is paid. So the ceiling on a Michigan city plumbing registration fee is $15.00, and the registration runs with the state license term rather than a city calendar. Grand Rapids matches that model. Its Development Center asks contractors holding a State of Michigan license to register with the city before applying for permits, renews the state license information through the same online form, mails an updated registration card within about two weeks, and states that providing plumbing contractor information to the city is free of charge. Enforcement of the code itself may sit with the state, a county or a local unit, and LARA publishes a statewide jurisdiction list so a contractor can find the right enforcing agency before pulling a permit.
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LARA points the public at one place. The Bureau of Construction Codes Licensing Section links a license verification search for construction licenses, including plumbing credentials, at the state Accela portal. A customer can check whether the company in front of them holds a current plumbing contractor license, whether the named master plumber holds a current master license, and whether either has lapsed. That matters more in Michigan than in states with a bond behind the license, because the plumbing contractor license plus the master behind it is the entire consumer-facing guarantee. Two verification habits are worth building into a sales process. Permit applications already carry both numbers by force of MCL 339.6125(2), so a customer who asks to see the permit application sees the contractor license number and the master plumber license number together. And MCL 339.6125(5) obliges master, journey and apprentice plumbers to carry their licenses and photo identification and to present them to an enforcing agency on request, so a technician who cannot produce a license on a job site is a problem before it is a customer complaint. Licenses that lapse do not just cost a late fee. LARA warns that an expired master or contractor license affects the ability to pull permits and stops journey plumbers and apprentices working under that license from getting credit for their experience, and that a license expired more than 3 years sends the holder back through the experience requirements and the examination under MCL 339.6121(4).
Sourcesmichigan.gov 1aca-prod.accela.com 2legislature.mi.gov 3michigan.gov 4
Titles in Michigan are statutory, not marketing choices. MCL 339.5601(1) forbids a person from using a title designated in the act unless the person possesses a license issued by the department for that occupation, and the criminal penalties in subsections (3) through (5) attach to title misuse the same way they attach to unlicensed practice. Article 11 designates four titles and defines each one: apprentice plumber, journey plumber, master plumber and plumbing contractor. A company that does not hold the plumbing contractor license cannot hold itself out as a plumbing contractor, because MCL 339.6103(d) ties that phrase to the license. An individual who holds a journey license is not a master plumber, and MCL 339.6119(3) forbids holding an active master plumber license and an active journey plumber license at the same time, though a person holding an active master license may work as a journey plumber. One rule constrains multi-brand operators specifically. MCL 339.6113(3) allows a licensed master plumber to represent only 1 plumbing contractor at any given time, and the LARA contractor application repeats that a master can only qualify one plumbing contractor license at a time and that LARA will not issue a plumbing contractor license without an associated master plumber license. So the same master cannot stand behind two company names advertising plumbing at once. False advertising is an independent ground for discipline under MCL 339.5607(f), carrying the MCL 339.5603 penalties including an administrative fine of not more than $10,000.00.
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These are common details other guides publish about Michigan, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
At state level, through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes, under Article 11 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407. MCL 339.6125(1) goes further and says a governmental subdivision may not engage in or require local licensing, so a Michigan city cannot issue its own plumbing license.
Both, separately. The individual grades are apprentice plumber registration, journey plumber and master plumber. The company credential is the plumbing contractor license. MCL 339.6111(1) requires the contractor applicant to hold a master plumber license or employ a master plumber as the representative, so the two are issued separately but cannot stand alone.
Not less than 6,000 hours of experience gained over a period of at least 3 years as a registered apprentice plumber, in the practical installation of plumbing under the supervision of a master plumber, under MCL 339.6115(1)(d)(i). LARA requires notarized letters from current and former employers documenting it, and hours accrued while an apprentice registration is lapsed do not count.
4,000 hours of experience in work as a journey plumber over a period of not less than 2 years immediately preceding the date of application, plus passing the written master examination, under MCL 339.6113(1)(d). LARA states that any lapses in licensure in those 2 years will not meet the requirement.
The non-refundable license application fee due with the plumbing contractor application is $300.00. The license is issued for a period of up to 3 years and renews every three years by 4/30 for $300.00, with a $100.00 late fee if it is not renewed before expiration. MCL 339.6121(5)(a) sets the plumbing contractor examination fee at $100.00.
All of them renew on 4/30. Apprentice registration and journey plumber renew every year. Master plumber and plumbing contractor renew every three years, and not all master or contractor licenses renew in the same year. Renewal opens 90 days before expiration.
Not as an annual hour count. MCL 339.6113(2) and MCL 339.6115(3) make completion of a board-approved course on any update or change to the state construction code a condition of renewing a master or journey license, within 12 months after the change, and only in or after years the code is updated. Apprentices and the contractor license are not subject to it.
No. The Bureau of Construction Codes Out-of-State License Verification instructions state that the State of Michigan does not reciprocate with any other state for licensing and that an examination is required. Out-of-state experience can be credited toward the experience requirement using the Out-of-State License Verification Form, with board review at quarterly meetings.
Article 11 sets no bond amount and no general liability minimum as a condition of licensure, and the LARA plumbing contractor requirement sheet lists only the master license, the application and the examination. MCL 339.6133 still leaves full liability for defective plumbing with the people who install and control it.
MCL 339.5601 makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or up to 90 days for a first violation, not more than $1,000.00 or up to 1 year for a second, and a felony punishable by not more than $25,000.00 or up to 5 years for a third or subsequent violation. Restitution and injunctive relief are also available.
MCL 339.6111(8) requires a licensed plumbing contractor to display, in a conspicuous place at the entrance of the place of business, a sign stating the business name and the name and license number of the licensed master plumber, in letters at least 3 inches high.
Only for registration, and the ceiling is written into MCL 339.6125(4): each governmental subdivision must grant registration to a state-licensed plumbing contractor on payment of a fee set by the subdivision that does not exceed $15.00, and the registration is valid until the state plumbing contractor license expires. Grand Rapids registers state-licensed contractors free of charge.
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