Michigan Residential Builder Exam Prep

About the Michigan Residential Builder license

Michigan licenses residential builders through the Michigan Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes. Residential Builders and Maintenance & Alteration Contractors are licensed under the Occupational Code (Public Act 299 of 1980), Article 24, MCL 339.2401 et seq. The Residential Builder license authorizes contracting to build, alter, repair, or improve residential structures and combination residential/commercial structures (one- and two-family dwellings and the residential portions of combination structures). The builder enters into the prime contract, pulls the building permit, and is responsible for the whole project — scheduling and coordinating the subcontractors and trades, means and methods, jobsite safety, and delivering work that passes inspection and meets the contract.

Your technical exam is built on the Michigan Residential Code (Michigan's adopted version of the International Residential Code, IRC) (confirm the edition and the full reference list on the bulletin). Know these scope facts cold: the license is held by the qualifying individual (and the entity it qualifies); most work requires a permit and inspections at defined milestones (footing, foundation, framing, rough trades, insulation, final); you must work within the scope of the license you hold; and unlicensed or out-of-scope contracting is a violation that can void contracts, forfeit the right to collect payment, and carry penalties.

How Michigan licensing works

• Prelicensure education: Michigan requires 60 hours of approved prelicensure education before you can sit for the exam and obtain your first Residential Builder (or Maintenance & Alteration Contractor) license. The 60 hours include a mandated minimum of business/law instruction plus building-code and construction content — confirm the current breakdown on the bulletin.
• Application: submit the application, fees, and proof of completed prelicensure education; the qualifying individual must be at least 18.
• Exam vendor: PSI administers the Michigan exam. It is split into a Business & Law portion (about 50 questions, roughly 36 correct to pass) and a Trade (residential building) portion (about 110 questions, roughly 80 correct to pass); both are open-book and you must pass both. Confirm the current cut score, question counts, and time limits on the PSI candidate bulletin rather than relying on a number here.
• Renewal: Residential Builder licenses renew on a 3-year cycle (by May 31) and require continuing competency (continuing education) for renewal — licensees first licensed on or after January 1, 2009 must complete 21 hours of approved continuing-competency activities each 3-year cycle. Confirm the current hour requirement and deadline with LARA.