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The short answer for Michigan

No. Michigan requires no licence bond, and it requires no proof of insurance either. What Michigan requires is 60 hours of prelicensure education and a passed exam. The $100,000 general liability figure quoted all over the internet is not in the law.

Verified August 12, 2026 against primary sources from Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes. Requirements are subject to current state statutes and agency rules, which change without notice. Confirm the figure that applies to you before you file.

Does Michigan require a contractor license bond?

No. Michigan licenses two residential credentials under Article 24 of the Occupational Code: the Residential Builder licence, for constructing a residential or combined residential and commercial structure, and the Residential Maintenance and Alteration Contractor licence, for repair, alteration, addition, subtraction or improvement of one, for compensation other than wages for personal labour.

The $100,000 everyone quotes is not a Michigan requirement, and the statute they cite says something else entirely

Search for Michigan residential builder insurance and you will be told the state requires $100,000 of general liability per occurrence, cited to MCL 339.2412. Open that section. It is titled Action for collection of compensation for performance of act or contract, and it contains no insurance provision of any kind. What it actually says is that an unlicensed person may not bring an action in a Michigan court to collect payment for work requiring a licence, may not impose or pursue a lien on real property, and that a prosecutor or the Attorney General may bring a civil action carrying a mandatory fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $25,000. So the citation is wrong and the number has no home in Article 24. We checked the licensing section too: LARA's own requirements chart for these licences lists being 18, completing prelicensure education, submitting the application and passing the test. No insurance. No bond. That does not mean you should go uninsured. It means the discipline has to come from you, because Michigan is not imposing it at the licence counter.

What the application actually requires

LARA's published path to either licence is four steps, and none of them is a financial filing:

  • Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Complete a minimum of 60 hours of prelicensure courses with credits in specified areas, including the current Michigan Residential Code. Veterans may instead submit an affidavit from a military superior officer attesting to their skills and experience.
  • Submit the completed application to the State of Michigan, with a copy of your operator's licence or state personal identification card as proof of identity. The department may also require evidence of good moral character.
  • Take and pass the examination, which tests knowledge of a builder's obligations to the public and to the principal, and the statutes governing licensure.
  • Maintain a place of business in Michigan. More than one place of business means a branch office licence for each.
  • The licence runs three years. At renewal you state that you hold a current copy of the Michigan Residential Code and meet continuing competency requirements, and you must keep documentation of that activity for five years.

The ceiling to watch in Michigan

Michigan is the clearest case in this directory for buying coverage on purpose rather than to satisfy a filing. There is no bond, no insurance minimum and no financial statement, so nothing about your licence tells a homeowner, a general contractor or a lender anything about your ability to absorb a loss. Three practical consequences. First, your certificate of insurance is doing all the work your licence is not, which makes limits a commercial decision tied to the jobs you take rather than a number copied off a form. Second, the Homeowner Construction Lien Recovery Fund was abolished in August 2010, so the backstop that once sat behind Michigan residential work is gone and has not been replaced. Third, and this is the one worth acting on, the Maintenance and Alteration licence is issued craft by craft: carpentry, concrete, swimming pool installation, basement waterproofing, excavation, insulation, masonry, roofing, siding and gutters, screen or storm sash, tile and marble, and house wrecking. Your licence specifies the craft you are qualified for, and you may only take on another craft where it is incidental and supplemental to it. Work outside that scope and you are unlicensed for that work, which under MCL 339.2412 means you cannot sue for the money and cannot lien the property. In Michigan, scope creep is not just an insurance problem. It is a collection problem.

A license bond is not a contract bond

This is the distinction that costs Michigan contractors work. A license bond is what the state or the city requires before it will let you operate. It is a fixed amount, it renews annually, and it protects the public. It says nothing about whether you can bond a job.

A performance bond is different. That is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and it is what an owner requires before awarding you the work. Contractors who assume their license bond makes them "bonded" find out otherwise the first time they try to bid public work.

The two are connected in one direction that matters: the financial file that gets you a license bond easily is the same file a surety underwriter reads when you ask for a performance bond. Building it properly now is what makes the bigger bond reachable later. See how contractors qualify for bonds and how a bond program gets built.

A license bond is also not insurance. It does not protect you - if a claim is paid, you reimburse the surety. See surety bonds versus insurance.

Get bonded in Michigan

Our team writes contractor license bonds nationally and we never decline a submission - our job is to find the path to yes. Tell us the classification you are applying for and we will tell you what it takes. If you are building toward bigger work, we will look at the whole program, not just the bond in front of you.

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Call the Grit team: (801) 505-5500

Michigan contractor license bond FAQ

Does Michigan require a contractor license bond?

No. Michigan requires no licence bond, and it requires no proof of insurance either. What Michigan requires is 60 hours of prelicensure education and a passed exam. The $100,000 general liability figure quoted all over the internet is not in the law.

How much is a Michigan contractor license bond?

There is not one. Michigan requires no surety bond for a contractor license. The license is graded by monetary class - - and the application asks for liability insurance rather than a bond.

Is a Michigan license bond the same as a performance bond?

No. A license bond is a fixed annual requirement to hold your license and it protects the public. A performance bond is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and required by the project owner before award. Holding a license bond does not mean you can bond a job.

Does a Michigan contractor license bond protect my business?

No. A surety bond protects the party the bond runs to. If a claim is paid on your bond, you reimburse the surety. Liability insurance protects your business; a bond does not.

A note on the details: Everything on this page was taken from the state's own statutes, rules or agency publications on the verification date shown at the top, and it is subject to current state code. Legislatures amend statutes, boards amend rules, and agencies set some amounts administratively so they move without any change in the law. Bond amounts, licensing thresholds and filing rules also vary by classification and by the agency issuing the license. Use this page as a starting point, not as legal advice. Confirm the current requirement with the licensing authority before you file, and confirm your own bond requirement with a licensed member of our team.

Already licensed and looking for work to bid? See where to find public construction work to bid on in Michigan, and the national guide to contractor license and permit bonds.