Michigan runs a free public database where you can check whether the person quoting your roof holds a licence. It takes less than a minute, it requires no account, and almost nobody uses it.
Here is how, and more usefully, what to look for once the record comes up — because a licence existing is not the same as a licence covering the work you are buying.
The lookup
The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs publishes a verification search at val.apps.lara.state.mi.us. Search by the individual’s name or the company name, and the record shows the licence type, its status and its expiry.
Search for the name on the contract. Not the name on the truck, not the name on the yard sign — the legal name that will appear on the document you sign. Those are not always the same, and where they differ that is itself worth a question.
Two different licences
Michigan issues two residential licences and the difference matters.
A Residential Builder licence covers building a complete residential structure, and also maintenance and alteration work — the broad licence.
A Maintenance & Alteration Contractor licence is narrower. It is issued in specific trade classifications, and the holder is licensed for those trades only. LARA’s published classifications include carpentry, concrete, excavation, insulation work, masonry, siding, roofing, screens and storm sash, gutters, tile and marble, house wrecking, swimming pools and basement waterproofing.
Read that list again with your own project in mind. Roofing, siding, gutters and masonry are four separate classifications. Someone licensed for roofing is not, by that fact, licensed for masonry.
So the question is not only “are you licensed” but “licensed for what”. On an exterior job that touches several trades, that is a fair thing to ask and an easy thing to check.
The $600 rule
Michigan law exempts work where the aggregate contract price for labour, material and everything else is less than $600. The statute also closes the obvious loophole — the exemption does not apply where the work is part of a larger operation designed to circumvent the requirement.
Practically, this means almost any roofing, siding or gutter job on a house requires a licence. A small repair might fall under it. A re-roof never will.
Other exemptions in the same statute are worth knowing: property owners working on their own property, rental owners doing their own maintenance, and subcontractors working under a licensed contractor. That last one explains crews on site who are not individually licensed — that is normal, provided the contractor holding the agreement is licensed.
What licensing actually required of them
Getting the licence in the first place means a 60-hour prelicensure course covering business management, design and building science, contracts and liability, marketing and sales, project management, and the Michigan Residential Code.
That is not a guarantee of craftsmanship. Plenty of excellent tradespeople and plenty of poor ones sit on the same list. What it guarantees is that there is a state record attached to a real person, and a body you can complain to.
The refusal is the answer
LARA’s own guidance on hiring contractors makes the point that a contractor unable to provide a licence number or a copy of the licence should be treated as a warning sign.
In practice that is the most useful part of this whole exercise. You rarely need the database. You need the reaction. A licensed contractor answers the question in a flat, bored tone because they are asked it constantly. Anything other than that — deflection, an offer to bring it next time, mild offence at being asked — has told you something before you ever open a browser.
What else to check at the same time
The Michigan Attorney General’s guidance for homeowners on building and remodelling says to ask whether the contractor is licensed and insured and to demand proof of both. Insurance is separate from licensing and neither implies the other.
Two things to request:
- General liability insurance — covers damage to your property during the work.
- Workers’ compensation — covers an injury on your roof. Without it, an injured worker’s route to compensation may run through your homeowner’s policy.
Ask for the certificate to come from the insurer or agent rather than from the contractor’s own files.
The AG also offers a benchmark on deposits: generally around one third of the total contract price should suffice. That is a useful anchor when someone asks for far more up front.
If something goes wrong
Licensing complaints go to LARA. Consumer complaints about business practices go to the Michigan Attorney General’s Consumer Protection division at 877-765-8388.
Knowing those exist changes the dynamic of a dispute, which is a good reason to verify the licence before the work rather than after.
Common questions
Do roofers need a licence in Michigan?
Yes, once the contract value reaches $600. Roofing is a named trade classification under the Maintenance & Alteration Contractor licence, and it is also covered by a Residential Builder licence.
Is a licence the same as being insured?
No. They are separate and you should verify both. Ask for the insurance certificate directly from the insurer or agent.
What if the crew on my roof is not licensed?
Michigan law exempts subcontractors working under a licensed contractor. The licence that matters is the one held by whoever signed your agreement.
Can I look up a contractor's complaint history?
The LARA verification search shows licence status. Disciplinary matters are handled by LARA; the Attorney General’s office handles consumer complaints.
Ours is on the contract
Ask us for our licence number and you will get it in the first reply, before you ask twice. Ask any contractor the same thing and watch what happens next.
Get in touch, or read about residential roofing across Metro Detroit.
Sources: Michigan LARA, Residential Builder and Maintenance & Alteration Contractor licence information and application; MCL 339.2403; Michigan LARA news release on hiring contractors, July 2025; Michigan Attorney General, Building and Remodeling — Advice for Homeowners.