Michigan Handyman License Requirements
Michigan's small-job figure is $600. The exact wording below decides whether a job fits.
MCL 339.2403(f): no license needed for 'A person that is working on 1 undertaking or project by 1 or more contracts, if the aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00.' Strictly LESS THAN $600 (so $600.00 exactly requires a license). Exemption void if the work is part of a larger operation or split into contracts under $600 to evade the act. Other exemptions: owner for own use/occupancy; rental-property owner for maintenance/alteration of own rental; subs working solely under contract with a licensed builder/M&A contractor; licensed electrical/plumbing/mechanical contractors within their trade.
What counts toward it: labor+materials
"A person that is working on 1 undertaking or project by 1 or more contracts, if the aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00."
Source: legislature.mi.gov · checked November 2, 2026
Who regulates this
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes - Residential Builders' and Maintenance & Alteration Contractors' licensing (Article 24, Occupational Code). Trades: LARA Bureau of Construction Codes under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407).
Source: michigan.gov · checked November 2, 2026
Does Michigan license general and residential work?
Michigan licenses Residential Builders and Residential Maintenance & Alteration (M&A) Contractors under Article 24 of the Occupational Code (1980 PA 299, MCL 339.2401 et seq.), administered by LARA Bureau of Construction Codes. M&A licenses are trade-specific (carpentry, concrete, excavation, insulation, masonry, siding, roofing, screens/storm sash, gutters, tile & marble, house wrecking, swimming pools, basement waterproofing).
Source: michigan.gov · checked November 2, 2026
When a permit changes the answer
No - the statutory $600 exemption is based on aggregate contract price only; MCL 339.2403 contains no permit condition. (Separate permit/licensed-trade rules apply to electrical, plumbing, mechanical work.)
Source: legislature.mi.gov · checked November 2, 2026
Registration
Individual Residential Builder or Individual M&A Contractor license application $195 per LARA form BCC-2000 (relicensure $185); 60-hour LARA-approved prelicensure course required (waivable in some cases) plus state exam. No separate state registration tier found.
Source: michigan.gov · checked November 2, 2026
Trade work
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical (HVAC) contractors/journeymen licensed by LARA Bureau of Construction Codes under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (MCL 339.5101 et seq.); licensed electrical/plumbing/mechanical contractors are exempt from builder license for their own trade work (MCL 339.2403(g)-(i)).
Source: legislature.mi.gov · checked November 2, 2026
What a handyman should charge in Michigan
Statewide planning estimate: $71 to $98 an hour. It's an estimate from public data, not the market rate. City pages use local wages when we can match them.
| Step | Low end | High end |
|---|---|---|
| Your pay (employee wage for this work in Michigan) | $47,580 median | $59,490 top quarter starts here |
| Overhead ($33,148 national, adjusted to local prices at 96.2) | $31,894 | $31,894 |
| Profit 15% + PTO 10% + warranty 3% + business taxes 12% | +40% | +40% |
| Yearly total to cover | $111,264 | $127,938 |
| Billed hours a year (hours on the job × 52) | 30 × 52 = 1,560 | 25 × 52 = 1,300 |
| Hourly rate | $71 | $98 |
- Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General, Michigan (statewide figure, because we could not match a metro for this place). The top-quarter figure is in the BLS data file.
- Local prices: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, Michigan, all items index 96.2 (US = 100).
- Overhead, hours and percentages: median answers from members using our hourly rate calculator, the same formula that tool uses. National, not local.
Michigan places we cover (42)
- Ann Arbor
- Cass County
- Cassopolis
- Clawson
- Clinton
- Clinton Charter Township
- Dearborn
- Dearborn Heights
- Detroit
- Flint
- Fraser
- Garden City
- Genesee County
- Grand Rapids
- Grosse Pointe
- Harrison Charter Township
- Hudsonville
- Kalamazoo
- Lansing
- Livonia
- Macomb
- Macomb Township
- Mason
- Midland
- Mount Clemens
- New Baltimore
- Niles
- Oakland County
- Port Huron
- Saginaw
- Shelby
- Southfield
- Southgate
- Sterling Heights
- Three Rivers
- Troy
- Van Buren County
- Vandalia
- Warren
- Washtenaw County
- Westland
- Whitehall
Rules change. This page shows what official sources said on the dates above. It is not legal advice.