10.2 Licensure, Examination Eligibility, Retakes & Continuing Education

10.2 Licensure, Examination Eligibility, Retakes & Continuing Education

Exam Focus: MCL 339.5715 in full — age, the 8,000-hour rule, the military affidavit and its ten knowledge areas, discretionary credit, the two-failure bar, and the code-update renewal condition — plus the BCC-to-PSI application workflow.

Section 715 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act is the single most quotable statute for a Michigan journeyman candidate, because it governs whether you may sit, what happens if you fail, and what you must do every code cycle to keep the license.

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Eligibility: MCL 339.5715(1)(a)

The department shall issue an electrical journeyman's license to an individual who:

1. Is at least 20 years old;
2. Meets the general requirements described in article 2 of the Occupational Code (application, fees, good moral character, and similar administrative requirements); and
3. Has at least 8,000 hours of experience obtained over a period of at least 4 years related to electrical construction or maintenance of buildings, or electrical wiring or equipment, under the direct supervision of an individual who is licensed under this article.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                 THE THREE NUMBERS IN MCL 339.5715(1)(a)                 |
|                                                                         |
|   AGE ...................... at least 20 years old                      |
|   HOURS .................... at least 8,000 hours of experience         |
|   ELAPSED TIME ............. obtained over a period of at least 4 years |
|                                                                         |
|   Both the hour count AND the elapsed period must be satisfied.         |
|   8,000 hours crammed into 2 years does not qualify.                    |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[!IMPORTANT] Two traps in one sentence. First, the hours and the elapsed period are independent requirements — you cannot compress 8,000 hours into two years of heavy overtime and qualify. Second, the supervising individual must be "licensed under this article," which means a journeyman or a master, not a master only.

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The Military Route: MCL 339.5715(1)(b) and (2)

An applicant qualifies by military service if all of the following are true:

• The applicant served on active duty as an interior electrician or in an equivalent job classification;
• The applicant was honorably discharged in the 1-year period preceding the date the license application is filed; and
• The applicant files an affidavit signed by a commanding officer, supervisor, or military superior with direct knowledge of the service, stating at least 8,000 hours of entry-level experience in and basic knowledge of each of the following ten areas:

MCL 339.5715(2) covers the partial case: if the applicant has not reached 8,000 hours or lacks basic knowledge in one or more of areas (i) through (x), the affidavit may state what the applicant has attained, and the department may in its discretion grant credit toward the 8,000-hour requirement based on that experience.

Study note: Read list (i) through (x) again. It is effectively the legislature's own summary of the journeyman body of knowledge — grounding, circuits, ampacity, motors, load calculations, protective devices, raceways and fill, power-limited circuits, and lighting. It maps almost one-to-one onto the PSI subject list.

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Two Different Retake Restrictions

Candidates routinely confuse these. They come from different sources and both apply.

Note also that the $100 examination fee is not refundable or transferable and is valid for one year from the date of payment, and that fire alarm specialty technician and contractor candidates have unlimited attempts within one year — the two-attempt cap does not apply to them.

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Continuing Education as a Renewal Condition: MCL 339.5715(4)

As a condition of renewing an electrical journeyman's license, the licensee must demonstrate successful completion of a board-approved course concerning any update or change in the state construction code within 12 months after that update or change. The statute adds an important limiter: this requirement applies only during or after those years in which the state construction code is updated or changed.

That is why Michigan's continuing education obligation is tied to the code cycle rather than to a fixed annual hour count. When Michigan adopted the 2023 NEC through the Part 8 rules, licensees were required to complete an approved code-update course; the BCC tracks completions through CE Broker.

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The Application Workflow

1. Apply to LARA/BCC. Only the State of Michigan determines your eligibility. Applications go to the Bureau of Construction Codes, Licensing Division, in Lansing.
2. Receive approval and an ID number. The department notifies you and transmits your eligibility to PSI.
3. Pay and schedule with PSI. Create an account, enter the ID number the BCC provided, choose a site and date. Fee $100.
4. Test. Arrive 30 minutes early with one valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID whose first and last name match your registration exactly.
5. Receive your score on screen. A failing report includes a diagnostic breakdown of strengths and weaknesses.

[!CAUTION] Missed appointment rules forfeit the fee. You forfeit the $100 if you do not cancel at least 2 days before the scheduled date, do not appear, arrive after the start time, or cannot present proper identification.