HVAC Contractor License in Michigan: Requirements, Qualifier, Bond and Exams

Yes — statewide, at the contractor level.

Michigan regulates mechanical work through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes, and it does so only at the contractor level: the state issues no journeyman or technician license for HVAC workers, so employees work under a licensed Mechanical Contractor.

For an HVAC business, the Mechanical Contractor license is the license you contract under, in the work classifications you hold.

City-level mechanical registration was outside our research, so also check the building or mechanical inspection office where the work is done.

The Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC), part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), issues the Mechanical Contractor license under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407.

The license is issued by work classification: hydronic heating & cooling and process piping; HVAC equipment; ductwork; refrigeration; limited and unlimited heating service; limited and unlimited refrigeration & A/C service; fire suppression; and specialty classifications (solar, solid fuel/vented decorative gas, LP distribution piping, fuel gas piping, and fuel gas piping & venting).

An examination is required for each classification you want, and adding some classifications requires holding a prerequisite classification for at least 3 years first: ductwork and limited heating service require the HVAC equipment classification, and unlimited refrigeration & A/C service requires HVAC equipment, refrigeration or limited refrigeration & A/C service.

The requirement the state publishes is about the applicant's experience, not a named qualifier: our research found no qualifying-officer requirement for the Mechanical Contractor license on the LARA pages we reviewed, so ask the Bureau of Construction Codes how a company's license relates to a specific individual.

What the state does specify is experience — a minimum of 3 years (6,000 hours) in each work classification applied for, working for a licensed mechanical contractor whose license covers that classification.

A 2-year HVAC program (trade school, college or US DOL-approved) can credit up to 1 year / 2,000 hours of that time.

Because the minimum runs classification by classification, the years that qualify you for HVAC equipment do not automatically count for ductwork or refrigeration service.

PSI administers the mechanical contractor examinations.

Approved applicants are contacted by PSI to schedule their exam at one of five PSI testing centers throughout the state, and exam fees are paid to PSI — our research did not capture the dollar amount, so check PSI's current fee schedule.

You must pass an examination for each work classification you want.

The exams may include questions on the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and the state construction code as well as the trade code.

Reference material depends on the classification and includes the 2021 Michigan Mechanical Code, 2015 Michigan Residential Code, 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, ACCA Manual J (2011) and Manual D (2016), and SMACNA duct standards.

Our research did not find a bond or insurance minimum for Michigan mechanical contractors on the Bureau of Construction Codes pages we reviewed.

Treat that as a gap in our research, not proof that Michigan requires nothing — no figure appeared on the application and licensing pages we captured.

Confirm the current bonding and insurance requirements with the bureau before you bid; that is the part of the package our research could not pin down.

The initial Mechanical Contractor license or classification fee is $300, and honorably discharged veterans are exempt from the initial fee.

Adding a classification to an existing license costs $300, $200 or $100, depending on the year of the 3-year cycle.

Renewals are due every three years by August 31 at $300, with a $100 late fee; a license expired more than 3 years requires re-applying and re-testing.

No code update or continuing-education course is required.

Exam fees are separate and paid to PSI.

Our research did not find a reciprocity agreement for mechanical contractor licenses on the LARA pages we reviewed, so we cannot name partner states or an out-of-state waiver.

Treat a move into Michigan as a fresh application unless the bureau tells you otherwise: our research found no waiver, so plan around the classification experience minimums and the PSI examinations above, and ask the Bureau of Construction Codes whether any of your out-of-state experience or licensure counts before you assume it transfers.

The Michigan mechanical contractor pages we reviewed do not describe a qualifying-officer role, and they do not describe a replacement process for one either — what a departure would mean for the license is a question to put to the Bureau of Construction Codes, ideally before the change happens.

What the pages do make clear is the housekeeping: the license itself renews every three years by August 31 at $300, and a license that has been expired for more than 3 years requires re-applying and re-testing.