Michigan · Roofing licensing · official-source guide
Michigan licenses roofing work at the state level through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes, not as a standalone roofing license. Contractors qualify either as a Residential Builder or as a Maintenance and Alteration Contractor, which lists roofing among its named trades. Both require 60 hours of prelicensure education and a PSI exam, and apply once a job reaches 600 dollars in labor and materials.
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Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction CodesState-level license
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-18. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Michigan does not issue a license called a roofing license. Roofing is regulated as one of the named trades under the state's Maintenance and Alteration Contractor program, and a full-scope Residential Builder license also covers roofing as part of complete residential construction or repair work. Both licenses are issued by the Bureau of Construction Codes inside the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, under Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980. The statute was written to license people who construct a residential structure or a combination residential and commercial structure, and people who repair, alter, add to, subtract from, or improve such a structure for compensation other than wages for personal labor. That wording matters for roofing contractors who work mostly on commercial buildings, because the license program is built around residential and combination residential and commercial structures rather than purely commercial ones. On the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, the trades and crafts listed on the actual license application include carpentry, concrete, excavation, insulation work, masonry, siding, roofing, screens and storm sash, gutters, tile and marble, house wrecking, swimming pools, and basement waterproofing. A contractor applying for the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license selects the specific trade or trades the license will cover, and roofing is one of the boxes on that application. Michigan's own consumer guidance states plainly that any contractor offering to do work totaling 600 dollars or more in labor and materials must be licensed, which sets the practical line for when a roofing job requires either the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license with the roofing trade selected, or the broader Residential Builder license. Below that dollar amount, state law does not require a license, though local permit rules can still apply.
The license itself is issued and administered entirely at the state level by the Bureau of Construction Codes, a bureau inside the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. There is no separate city or county residential builder or roofing contractor license anywhere in Michigan. A Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license issued by the state is valid for practicing that trade anywhere in Michigan, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Sterling Heights, and every other city and township in the state. That said, the state license only covers who is legally allowed to contract for and perform the work. It does not replace the building permit process, which Michigan runs on a three-tier jurisdiction model of state, county, and local enforcement depending on where the job site is located. The Bureau of Construction Codes publishes a statewide jurisdiction list showing, county by county and city by city, which level of government issues building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits for that location. A roofing contractor who holds a valid state license still has to pull a permit through whichever government unit has jurisdiction over the job site, and that permit-issuing office is often the city or county building department rather than the state. The Bureau of Construction Codes Licensing Section can be reached at 517-241-9316 for questions specifically about the Residential Builder and Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license programs, separate from whatever office issues the local building permit. Contractors expanding into a new Michigan metro area do not need a new or additional state license to work there, but they do need to identify the correct local permit office for that jurisdiction before pulling permits, since the state license and the local permit are two separate, though related, requirements that both apply to the same roofing job.
Michigan gives an applicant a choice between two individual license types, and an applicant cannot hold both at the same time on one application. An Individual Residential Builder license allows the holder to build a complete residential structure and also to do maintenance and alteration, meaning remodeling, work. An Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license instead limits the holder to specific named trades, and the applicant must select at least one trade on the application, though the state's own application form notes an applicant cannot select every trade on a single Maintenance and Alteration application. Roofing is one of the trades a Maintenance and Alteration Contractor can select, alongside carpentry, concrete, excavation, insulation work, masonry, siding, screens and storm sash, gutters, tile and marble, house wrecking, swimming pools, and basement waterproofing. Whichever trades are approved are printed on the license itself, so a Maintenance and Alteration Contractor licensed only for roofing is not authorized to advertise or perform the other listed trades under that license. Beyond the individual license, Michigan also licenses a company level: a Builder Company, an M&A Company, and company branches each carry their own license and must be tied to a qualifying officer who holds the underlying individual Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license. A roofing business organized as an LLC or corporation needs this company license in addition to at least one individual license held by its qualifying officer, since the state's individual application explicitly cannot be filed in the name of an LLC or corporation. Michigan also licenses salespersons who sell residential building or maintenance and alteration work on behalf of a licensed company, and a salesperson license must be linked to an employer before it can be renewed.
Since June 1, 2008, Michigan has required every applicant for an Individual Residential Builder or Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, including one applying under the roofing trade, to complete 60 hours of approved prelicensure education before taking the exam or filing a license application. The hours are not a free-form 60 hours; the state requires at least 6 hours in each of seven named subject areas that add up to 42 hours: business management, estimating, and job costing; design and building science; contracts, liability, and risk management; marketing and sales; project management and scheduling; the Michigan Residential Code; and MIOSHA construction safety standards. The remaining 18 hours can be filled from any other topic on the Bureau of Construction Codes' approved course list. Courses have to come from a sponsor the Bureau has approved in advance; a sponsor cannot advertise or schedule a class, even as pending approval, until the Department signs off on the curriculum, the instructor's qualifications, and the course format. Michigan keeps an updated, approved course list that applicants can check before enrolling, since credit is not granted for a course that was not on the approved list at the time it was completed. Once the 60 hours are finished, the training provider issues a certificate of completion that lists the sponsor, the participant's name, the completion date, and the course approval numbers, and that certificate is a required attachment to the license application. Michigan gives military applicants one accommodation here: a veteran, active-duty service member, or military spouse can request a waiver of the 60-hour course requirement by submitting a signed letter from a commanding officer, supervisor, or military superior documenting direct knowledge of equivalent experience in the subject areas the course would otherwise cover.
Sourcesmichigan.gov 1michigan.gov 2
After the 60 hours of prelicensure education are complete and the license application has been submitted and approved, the applicant still has to pass the Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor examination before the license is issued. Michigan contracts this testing out to PSI, a third-party exam administrator, rather than running the exam itself. PSI operates five testing centers around the state, and the exam is available six days a week, so an approved applicant chooses both the testing center and the day of the exam that works for their schedule. As of June 1, 2008, exam fees are paid directly to PSI when the applicant schedules the test, not to the Bureau of Construction Codes, so the state application fee and the PSI exam fee are two separate payments. Applicants with questions about scheduling, rescheduling, or the format of the test are directed to contact PSI directly rather than the Bureau. A veteran who is already licensed as a residential contractor in another state and who meets specific service criteria, such as an honorable discharge, may be able to use Michigan's Military Examination Waiver Procedure to waive the exam itself, though that waiver is limited to applicants who already hold a valid license in another state and does not apply to a veteran simply trying to waive fees based on service status alone. Outside of that narrow military waiver, every applicant for the roofing trade under the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, and every applicant for the full Residential Builder license, has to sit for and pass the PSI exam after finishing the 60 hours of coursework, regardless of how much prior roofing or construction experience the applicant already has.
Sourcesmichigan.gov
Michigan's license application form sets the same base fee for either individual license track. An Individual Residential Builder application costs 195 dollars, and an Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor application, which is the track a roofing-only contractor would typically file under, also costs 195 dollars. Relicensure, meaning an application from someone whose prior Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license lapsed for more than three years and now has to reapply rather than simply renew, costs 185 dollars for either license type. All of these fees are non-refundable once submitted, and the state's own form warns applicants not to submit multiple applications because doing so only slows processing and none of the extra fees are refunded. Payment has to be made by check or money order payable to the State of Michigan; the state does not accept the application fee through any other method on the paper application. Veterans applying for either the Individual Residential Builder or Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license can have this application fee waived entirely by submitting a copy of their DD-214 showing an honorable discharge or honorable character of service. Beyond the fee itself, every applicant, veteran or not, has to supply a state-issued photo ID, and an applicant whose photo ID was issued by a state other than Michigan also has to submit a notarized Consent to Service of Process form. The application also requires a physical Michigan business address; a post office box is not accepted. These application fees are separate from, and in addition to, the exam fee paid to PSI and the cost of the 60-hour prelicensure course itself, so a first-time roofing applicant in Michigan should budget for three distinct costs: the course, the state application fee, and the PSI exam fee.
Sourcesmichigan.gov
Unlike many states, Michigan's own application checklist for the Individual Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license does not require the applicant to submit proof of liability insurance or post a surety bond. The state's published list of what has to accompany the application covers a state-issued photo ID, the 60-hour prelicensure completion certificate, the application fee, and a physical Michigan business address; insurance and bonding are not on that list. That means a Michigan roofing contractor can hold a valid, active state license without carrying liability insurance or a bond as a condition of licensure itself. This is a meaningful gap for contractors to be aware of when marketing themselves, because being licensed in Michigan is not the same claim as being insured or bonded, and the two should not be presented interchangeably. Michigan's own consumer guidance for homeowners hiring a contractor recommends, as a matter of good practice rather than a licensing requirement, that a written contract include a guarantee that the contractor carries liability insurance and has Workers Compensation coverage in case of an accident on the job. That guidance is advice for what a homeowner should ask for in the contract, not a statement that the state verifies or requires it before issuing the license. Separately, Michigan employers generally are required under state law to carry workers compensation insurance once they have employees, which applies to a roofing company the same as any other employer, though this brief did not confirm the exact employee-count threshold that triggers that requirement from a primary source and does not publish a number for it here. A roofing contractor competing for work in Michigan can use verified insurance and bonding, on top of the state license, as a real point of differentiation precisely because the license alone does not guarantee either one.
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The Individual Residential Builder and Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor licenses both run on a three-year renewal cycle, with license expiration falling on May 31 and not every licensee's three-year cycle ending in the same calendar year. A licensee can start the renewal process up to 90 days before the license expires. The renewal fee is 150 dollars. Missing the deadline adds a 20 dollar late fee, and if the license is not renewed within 60 days of the expiration date, that late fee increases to 35 dollars. Continuing education is tied to how many renewal cycles the individual licensee has gone through: on the first or second renewal cycle, the licensee must complete 21 hours of continuing education; from the third renewal cycle onward, the requirement drops to 3 hours. The licensee does not have to submit proof of completed continuing education when renewing unless selected for an audit, but the state instructs licensees to keep their completion records on hand in case that happens. Renewal for the individual license can generally be done through Michigan's Express Payment option without logging into an account, unless the licensee also holds a builder or M&A company or branch license, in which case Express Payment is not available and the renewal has to go through a full Accela account login instead. Company-level licenses, meaning a Builder Company, M&A Company, or branch license, also renew every three years for 150 dollars with the same 20 and 35 dollar late fee structure, but company license holders are not required to complete continuing education for that specific license. Salesperson licenses follow the identical three-year, 150 dollar renewal pattern with no continuing education requirement, but a salesperson license cannot be renewed at all unless it is currently linked to an employer, which the employer has to set up through a separate form.
Sourcesmichigan.gov
A roofing business that wants to operate as an LLC or corporation in Michigan, rather than as a sole proprietor under an individual's own name, needs a separate company-level license on top of at least one individual license. The state issues this as a Builder Company, M&A Company, or company branch license, and it always has to be tied to a qualifying officer, meaning a specific individual who personally holds an active Individual Residential Builder or Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license and takes responsibility for the company's licensed work. The individual application form is explicit that it is only for a person, not an LLC or corporation; an applicant has to get the individual license first, and only after that can the same person apply separately for the company license and serve as its qualifying officer. The relationship runs both ways: the company license cannot operate without an active qualifying officer, and if that qualifying officer lets their own individual Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration license lapse, the company license itself gets placed into what the state calls a Section 2405 Suspension. In practical terms, that means a roofing company's ability to legally contract for work in Michigan is only as current as the individual license of whichever person is serving as its qualifying officer, so a company should track that individual's three-year renewal deadline as closely as its own company-level renewal deadline. The company or branch license itself renews every three years for 150 dollars, following the same late fee structure as the individual license, and company license holders are not required to complete continuing education hours for the company license, though the qualifying officer's own individual license still carries its own separate continuing education obligation based on that individual's renewal cycle.
Sourcesmichigan.gov 1michigan.gov 2
The Michigan licensing materials reviewed for this brief describe a single path to becoming a licensed Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor: complete the 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, submit the application and fee, and pass the PSI exam. None of the state's published pages on the application process, the prelicensure requirement, or license renewal describe a reciprocity agreement or a license-by-endorsement pathway that would let a roofing contractor already licensed in another state skip the Michigan coursework or exam simply by holding that out-of-state credential. The one accommodation Michigan publishes for people with outside experience is aimed specifically at veterans and service members: a veteran can request a waiver of the application fee with a DD-214 showing an honorable discharge, and separately can request a waiver of the 60-hour prelicensure course with a letter from a commanding officer or military supervisor documenting relevant experience. A narrower military exam waiver procedure is also available, but it is explicitly limited to applicants who already hold a valid license in another state and meet specific service criteria, and it still requires the applicant to have gone through Michigan's application process first. Outside of these military-specific accommodations, a roofing contractor moving a business into Michigan from another state should plan on completing the full 60-hour Michigan-approved course and passing the PSI exam rather than assuming an existing home-state roofing or general contractor license will transfer. Because this brief could not locate a formal reciprocity or endorsement agreement on any LARA or Bureau of Construction Codes page, the possibility of an informal or unpublished arrangement with specific neighboring states is listed as a gap rather than stated as fact.
Sourcesmichigan.gov 1michigan.gov 2
Michigan draws its licensing line at 600 dollars: the state's own consumer guidance states that any contractor offering to do work totaling 600 dollars or more in labor and materials must be licensed, which means a roofing job at or above that dollar figure legally requires either the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license with the roofing trade selected or the broader Residential Builder license. Enforcement of that requirement runs through the Bureau of Construction Codes' Enforcement Section, which reviews and investigates complaints against residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors, and the Bureau lists performing work without a permit or proper licensure as one of the specific examples of a complaint it handles, alongside negligence causing physical harm and fraud or deceit in the performance of work. The Bureau states directly that it does not have legal authority over contractual, monetary, or warranty disputes, and that it does not have authority to conduct criminal prosecution itself. Instead, when an investigation finds the law or rules may have been violated, the Bureau schedules an informal compliance conference with the contractor, and if that does not resolve the matter, the case is forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for review and a possible formal administrative hearing. Outcomes the Bureau can pursue directly include disciplinary action against a license and cease and desist orders, both of which the Bureau publishes. This brief did not locate, from a primary Michigan source, the exact criminal statute language, misdemeanor classification, or specific fine amount that applies to a person who contracts for roofing work above the 600 dollar threshold without holding the required license, and that specific criminal penalty detail is listed in the unsourced items below rather than stated as a number here.
Sourcesmichigan.gov 1michigan.gov 2
Michigan's consumer guidance for hiring a contractor states that the license holder's state license must be displayed at the place of business, and that both contractors and their salespersons must carry a pocket card that they should show a customer on request. If a contractor or salesperson cannot produce that card, the state directs homeowners to check the department's license information database or to call the Residential Builders Section directly rather than take the contractor's word for it. That same guidance lists what a written contract should include, and the first item on the list is the company name, address, phone number, and the full name and license number of the builder or contractor and, separately, of the salesperson if one is involved, so at minimum the license number is expected to appear on the written contract itself. This brief did not locate a separate, explicit statutory requirement from a primary Michigan source that the license number must also be printed on advertising such as trucks, yard signs, flyers, or a business website, distinct from the display-at-the-business-and-pocket-card requirement and the contract disclosure requirement that are confirmed above; that specific advertising rule is listed as a gap rather than asserted as fact, and a roofing contractor should still treat including the license number on marketing materials as good practice given the disclosure rules that are confirmed. For verification, Michigan maintains a public, searchable license lookup on its Accela-based licensing platform, where a customer or a competitor can search by name or license number to confirm an active Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, including which trades an M&A license covers, before signing a contract or putting down a deposit.
Michigan's consumer contracting guidance includes a specific, sourced protection that matters most right after a hailstorm or windstorm, when roofing companies are going door to door offering same-day estimates and same-day contracts. The state's guidance states that if a homeowner was solicited and signed the contract inside their home, the homeowner has three days to cancel the contract if they change their mind, and that the homeowner must send the contractor a registered letter stating the wish to cancel in order to exercise that right. This right to cancel applies to the broader category of contracts signed at home after being solicited there, which is exactly the scenario a storm-chasing roofing sales visit creates, and it gives homeowners a real cooling-off window before a hastily signed storm-repair contract becomes binding. Michigan's own contract checklist for homeowners recommends that any agreement include this right-to-cancel clause explicitly, along with start and completion dates, a detailed description of materials, and a statement that required building permits will be obtained before work begins. For a roofing contractor operating in the aftermath of a storm, building an estimate and contract process that plainly discloses this three-day cancellation right, rather than pressuring a homeowner to sign and pay a deposit on the spot, lines up with what the state already expects to see in the contract. This brief did not find, in the LARA pages reviewed, a Michigan statute written specifically for roofing or storm damage repair contracts beyond this general home-solicitation cancellation right, so any more specific storm-restoration contracting rule is listed as a gap rather than stated as confirmed.
Sourcesmichigan.gov
When a roof is damaged by hail or a storm, the insurance claim process and the repair work are legally two different things in Michigan, and a roofing contractor who crosses from doing repair work into representing a homeowner on the insurance claim itself can run into a separate licensing requirement administered by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. That department licenses two categories of adjuster. An Adjuster for the Insured, commonly called a public adjuster, is an individual licensed to contract with and represent the insured homeowner on losses covered by insurance for fire and other hazards, which includes storm and hail damage to a roof; that license does not cover workers compensation losses. An Insurance Adjuster, or independent adjuster, instead contracts with and represents insurance companies. A company or staff adjuster who is a salaried employee of an insurance company does not need a separate state adjuster license, but that exemption applies only to the specific insurer employing that adjuster and not more broadly. Attorneys admitted to practice in Michigan may adjust claims without an adjuster license, but the state is explicit that they still cannot represent themselves as a state-licensed adjuster. Applying this to roofing: a contractor can inspect a roof, document storm damage, and submit its own estimate to help a homeowner file a claim, but a roofing company that goes further and contracts with a homeowner to negotiate, adjust, or represent the homeowner's interests against the insurer on the value of that claim is functioning as a public adjuster and would need the Adjuster for the Insured license to do so lawfully. This brief did not locate a Michigan statute written specifically to prohibit roofing contractors, by name, from acting as public adjusters; the general public adjuster licensing requirement itself is confirmed from the state insurance regulator, and that distinction is worth keeping in mind.
Sourcesmichigan.gov
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.
No. Michigan licenses roofing work through the Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, which names roofing as one of its trades, or through the broader Residential Builder license. Both are issued by LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes under Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980.
A Residential Builder license covers building a complete residential structure plus remodeling. A Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license instead covers only the specific trades selected on the application, such as roofing. An applicant cannot hold both on one application.
Michigan requires 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, including at least 6 hours each in seven named subjects such as the Michigan Residential Code and MIOSHA construction safety standards, before an applicant can take the exam or file the application.
PSI, a third-party testing company, administers the exam at five testing centers across Michigan, six days a week. Applicants choose their testing center and day, and pay the exam fee directly to PSI rather than to the state.
The Individual Maintenance and Alteration Contractor and Individual Residential Builder applications each cost 195 dollars. Relicensure after a lapse of more than three years costs 185 dollars. Veterans can have this fee waived with a DD-214 showing honorable discharge.
No. The state's application checklist requires a photo ID, the 60-hour education certificate, the fee, and a Michigan business address, but does not require proof of liability insurance or a surety bond as a condition of issuing the individual license.
Every three years, with expiration falling on May 31. The renewal fee is 150 dollars, with a 20 dollar late fee that rises to 35 dollars if the license is not renewed within 60 days of expiration.
An individual Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor licensee needs 21 hours of continuing education on their first or second renewal cycle, then 3 hours on the third and later cycles. Company and salesperson licenses do not require continuing education.
Michigan's consumer guidance states that any contractor offering to do work totaling 600 dollars or more in labor and materials must be licensed. Work below that dollar figure does not trigger the state licensing requirement.
A contractor can document damage and submit its own repair estimate, but negotiating or representing a homeowner's interests against the insurer on the value of a claim is public adjusting. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services licenses that separately as an Adjuster for the Insured.
If the homeowner was solicited and signed the contract in their home, Michigan's contracting guidance describes a three-day right to cancel, exercised by sending the contractor a registered letter stating the wish to cancel.
Michigan maintains a public license lookup on its Accela licensing platform where a license number or business name can be searched to confirm an active Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license and which trades it covers.
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