How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Michigan?

Yes.

Michigan licenses plumbers statewide through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes, which issues the Apprentice Plumber registration and the Journey Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Contractor licenses.

The four credentials form one statewide ladder, from a first apprentice registration to the business-level Plumbing Contractor license.

Working as a plumbing apprentice in Michigan starts with that registration: an apprentice may not be on a job site without one.

Michigan's four credentials are Apprentice Plumber (a registration), Journey Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Contractor.

The apprentice registration is the entry point, and every hour that counts toward journey licensure must be worked while it is active.

A journey plumber may supervise registered apprentices on site, subject to the state's supervision cap.

The master plumber is the top worker license, and a plumbing contractor must hold a master license or employ a master plumber as its representative — only a sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer or LLC member may apply for the contractor license.

The Apprentice Plumber registration is the first step, and the clock only runs while it is active: any time without an active apprentice registration does not count toward the journey requirements.

A Journey Plumber applicant must be at least 18 and have at least 6,000 hours over at least 3 years as an actively registered plumbing apprentice under a licensed master or journey plumber, and passes a written exam and a hands-on practical on one application.

A Master Plumber applicant needs 4,000 hours as a journey plumber over the 2 years immediately preceding the application, with no lapse in licensure, plus an exam.

The Plumbing Contractor applicant must hold or employ a master plumber and pass the contractor exam.

Our research captured Michigan's renewal fees but not the initial application or exam fees, so check LARA's plumbing licensing page for those before you apply.

Two exams sit inside one journey application: a written portion administered by PSI and a hands-on practical scheduled by the state itself.

The state runs the practical at scheduled sites — Lansing, Mason, Cadillac and St. Ignace were the 2026 sites listed — and sessions fill up, so applying early matters.

Master plumber applicants also sit an exam, and the plumbing contractor applicant must pay the examination fee and pass the examination.

Our research does not describe the content outline of these exams; LARA's plumbing examination page is the place to confirm what to study.

Apprentice registrations and journey plumber licenses renew yearly, by April 30: $15 for the apprentice registration ($20 late fee) and $40 for the journey license ($100 late fee).

The master plumber license renews every three years, also by April 30, for $300 ($100 late fee).

Michigan requires no routine continuing education for journey or master plumbers — a code update course is required only within one year of a new plumbing code being adopted, and that does not happen every year.

One more deadline matters: a journey license lapse of more than 60 days restarts the time accrual toward master.

Our research did not find a Michigan plumbing reciprocity provision.

That is an absence in our research, not a confirmed no: LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes may recognize out-of-state licenses in cases we did not find.

If you hold a plumber license from another state, ask LARA whether any recognition or waiver applies before you assume you can skip Michigan's registered-apprentice hours.

Our research recorded LARA's Accela license lookup — labeled “Find / Verify a BCC Licensed Professional or Business” on LARA's licensing pages — as the place Michigan BCC licenses, plumbers included, can be verified; the lookup itself was not opened in our research, so treat LARA's licensing section as the front door if the link moves.

Search by name or license number before you hire someone who claims a Michigan plumbing license, or before you take a job from a contractor you have not checked.

Yes.

Michigan does not recognize medical-gas certification as a license in its own right — med-gas work requires a plumbing license.

Our research did not find a separate statewide gas-fitter credential for Michigan plumbing work, so route any fuel-gas question to LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes directly.

Since April 2, 2025, Michigan law has capped direct on-site supervision at one journey or master plumber per two registered plumbing apprentices, and the cap applies to all plumbing work.

If you are accruing apprentice hours, the ratio is worth watching: it shapes how many apprentices a licensed plumber can have on site at once.

Confirm the current rule with LARA before you plan a crew around it.