Making money from building homes has multiple steps before you’re able to actually secure a project. After laying down your hard-earned cash to see your dream home come to fruition, a potential client can take solice in knowing you’re the real deal. In order for more of a guarantee that the project will be completed properly, there is a very high chance that they’ll ask for you residential builders license. Being able to answer them in the affirmative is the key component in this scenario that is highly common in the metro Detroit area.
Michigan’s Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs (LARA) makes it easy for people to verify your certified status. There is a “ Verify a License ” webpage that allows any individual to check into rather or not the contractor has their proper credentials.
If your Michigan builders license is expired or you don’t currently possess one, you could possibly risk losing jobs. Another company can easily beat yours out when it comes to securing the job all due to not having the state back up your claims as a carpenter.
However, when it comes down to it, obtaining your builder’s license is a piece of cake. You do need a few things to start.
Now let’s break these down step-by-step.
Before you’re actually off to the residential races, you’ll need to visit the Michigan Residential Builder’s page on the Detroit Training Center website. That’s where you can get more information before signing up for the course. We accept partial payments of $325 to get started. We provide the 60-hour course that you need in order to be able to apply to take the state exam. The course is online via Zoom and we host them at least once a month.
LARA requires that your 60-hour residential building license course includes:
From there, you have 18 hours you can use to study topics we cover in the 60-hour course.
These 60 hours aren’t just a formality, either. They prepare you to take the Residential Builder exam that you have to pass in order to get your license.
Once the class is all wrapped up, we provide the ability to print your certificate of completion as soon as you finish your course. That way, you don’t have to wait for anything to be filed or mailed to you. Theoretically, you could even send in your Michigan builders license application the day you complete your contractor training. However, we also provide access to our future Builder’s prelicense courses free of charge for some extra time with our instructors.
Once you’ve completed the relevant residential builder’s license course work, you’re ready to send in an application to the state.
The application asks just a few questions about your criminal history, ensuring you’re meeting the good moral character requirement. Then, it gathers personal details (name, address, etc.), and asks you to select the type of license you’re applying. Last but certainly not least, you have to input a little bit of information about your prelicensure education.
Once you have your application filled out, it’s time to gather up your application materials. You need to submit:
*If you’re a veteran and you can show that you separated from the armed forces with “honorable or “general under honorable conditions” standing, you’re exempt from the licensing fees. Just make sure you include a copy of your DD Form 214 or DD Form 215 in lieu of your application fee.
Once you have your application, fees, and the relevant documentation altogether, mail it in to:
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Bureau of Construction Codes/ Licensing Division
Lansing, MI 48909
You should know that everything you submit to LARA becomes their property at the time of submittal. Nothing will be returned to you, so it’s a good idea to keep your own copies for your records.
Once LARA has received your application with all of the necessary information and materials, they’ll approve you to take your residential builder or maintenance & alteration contractor exam.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is now test time. The exam you need to pass to become a residential builder is administered by a company called PSI Exams and consists of two parts: a 75-minute business and law section and a 180-minute practice and trade section.
Once LARA has approved you to take your exam, you can schedule it with PSI using this webpage .
They have several different exam centers across the state that offer testing six days a week. Some of those exam centers are located in:
You’ll need two types of ID: one current, valid, government-issued photo ID with a signature on it and one form of ID with a signature that matches the one on your photo ID (e.g., credit or debit card, military ID, or school ID).
There are a few additional fee’s outside of the pre-license course. For instance, the exam fee is $117 for the testing center. You can also retake the business and law section for $70 or retake the practice and trade section for $80.
