The short version: Michigan licenses contractors through LARA — Residential Builder for whole-home construction/large remodels, Maintenance & Alteration (M&A) for single-specialty work like bathroom or roofing remodels. Verify at michigan.gov/lara → Verify a License. The threshold for required licensure is low at $600. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are separately licensed. Important caveat: Michigan does NOT require LARA-licensed contractors to carry insurance — independent insurance verification is critical. Vulnerable Adult Protection Act covers home-repair fraud against seniors 60+.

Michigan’s two-license system

Michigan splits its contractor licensing into two main categories under the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA):2

LicenseCoversSenior project fit
Residential BuilderResidential construction with 3+ building componentsWhole-home, multi-room remodels
Maintenance & Alteration (M&A)Single-specialty remodelingBathroom, kitchen, roofing, single-trade remodels

The M&A license has specialty endorsements: Carpentry, Concrete, Excavation, Insulation, Masonry, Painting & Decorating, Roofing, Screen/Storm Sash, Siding, Swimming Pools, and more. Match the M&A specialty to your project type.

For most senior aging-in-place projects — a bathroom accessibility remodel, walk-in tub install, stair lift, threshold ramps — an M&A contractor in the relevant specialty is the right fit. For larger work involving structural changes across multiple rooms, Residential Builder applies.

This is the Michigan-specific companion to our national state contractor license lookup guide. For the master pre-hire workflow, see How to Find a Senior-Friendly Contractor.

How to verify: michigan.gov/lara

To verify: go to michigan.gov/lara → Verify a License.1 Enter license number, name, or business.

What to check:

  1. Status Active (not expired, suspended, revoked)
  2. License type — Residential Builder or M&A; if M&A, the specialty matches the work
  3. Business name matches the contractor’s quote
  4. Disciplinary history — recent enforcement actions

The $600 threshold

Michigan law requires a LARA license for any residential construction, alteration, or repair where the price exceeds $600 (labor + materials).2 Below $600, licensure is technically optional.

The $600 threshold is among the lowest in the country, which is good for senior protection. But contractors offering below-threshold pricing — “I’ll do it for $550 cash” — eliminate your LARA recourse if anything goes wrong. For any senior project, hire LARA-licensed regardless of project size.

Trades are separately licensed

For electrical, plumbing, and mechanical (HVAC) sub-work, LARA’s separate boards apply:

All searchable at michigan.gov/lara. The Residential Builder or M&A license does NOT cover these — verify each trade separately.

The Michigan insurance gap — critical for seniors

Michigan is unusual in that LARA does NOT require licensed contractors to carry liability insurance as a condition of state licensure. This is a meaningful gap. In states with state-required insurance (California, Florida, Georgia), state licensure is also at least minimal financial-responsibility verification. In Michigan, it is not.

For senior projects, this means independent insurance verification carries the full weight:

  1. Request a current Certificate of Insurance
  2. Call the insurance carrier directly (using a number you find independently)
  3. Confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active today
  4. Ask to be added as a certificate holder for change notifications

See Contractor Insurance & Bonding for the full verification workflow. In Michigan, skipping this step is unusually risky.

Michigan senior scam patterns

  • Post-winter-storm roofers — heavy lake-effect snow and ice in the UP, Detroit metro, and West Michigan drive aggressive door-to-door roofer activity after major storms.
  • Furnace replacement scams — Michigan cold winters generate a market for “your furnace is unsafe, must replace today” pitches targeting senior homeowners. Verify the LARA mechanical license and get three quotes before any furnace work.
  • Spring driveway sealing — Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County senior suburbs see traveling crews every May-August.
  • Vulnerable Adult Protection Act — Michigan law enhances penalties for fraud committed against vulnerable adults 60+. The AG actively pursues these cases.3

If something goes wrong

  • LARA-licensed contractors: file at michigan.gov/lara → File a Complaint. LARA can investigate, fine, suspend, or revoke.
  • Consumer fraud generally: Michigan AG Consumer Protection at michigan.gov/ag.
  • Vulnerable adult fraud: Michigan AG Senior Brigade, plus your county Department of Health and Human Services Adult Protective Services.
Michigan verification in 30 seconds:
  • Search michigan.gov/lara → Verify a License
  • Residential Builder for whole-home; M&A for single-specialty (match specialty to work)
  • $600 threshold — below that no LARA recourse; hire licensed anyway
  • Electrical/plumbing/HVAC verified at separate LARA boards
  • ⚠️ Michigan does NOT require insurance for LARA — verify with carrier directly
  • Problems → LARA complaint, Michigan AG, Vulnerable Adult Protection Act

Citations

  1. Verify a License. Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), retrieved June 3, 2026. .
  1. Residential Builders and Maintenance & Alteration Contractors. Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, retrieved June 3, 2026. .
  1. Michigan Consumer Protection. Office of the Michigan Attorney General, retrieved June 3, 2026. .
  1. Home Improvement Scams Targeting Older Adults. AARP Fraud Watch Network, June 2024. .