Michigan HVAC License Exam

After LARA approves your Mechanical Contractor application, the one-year exam window begins on the eligibility approval date. LARA then transmits your eligibility and issues your Authorization to Test. You have exactly 365 days from approval to schedule, pay for, and pass your classification exams through PSI Services. Miss that window and your entire application expires — including the $300 non-refundable state fee.

How Registration Works

You don't register for the exam directly with LARA. Once your application is approved, LARA transmits your eligibility to PSI Services LLC, the state's contracted testing vendor. You then create an account on the PSI online portal, pay your exam fee, and schedule your test date.

PSI operates computer-based testing centers across Michigan: Dearborn, Holt, Southfield, Grand Rapids, Gaylord, and Marquette. You choose the location and time slot that works for you.

Exam Format and Scoring

Every Michigan mechanical contractor exam is open-book. This doesn't make them easy — it means the questions are designed to test whether you can find and apply code provisions under time pressure, not whether you've memorized them.

The HVAC Equipment exam (Classification B) is the most demanding: 150 questions in three hours, with a $100 fee. All other classification exams (Ductwork, Refrigeration, Hydronic Heating, Fire Suppression, Limited/Unlimited Service, and Specialty) run 55 questions in one hour at $50 each.

Passing scores range from 70% to 75%. If you've applied for more than one classification, plan for a separate exam for each classification within the same 365-day window.

Reference Materials You Can Bring

This is where preparation matters. You must bring your own approved reference materials — PSI does not provide them. Accepted references typically include:

• Michigan Mechanical Code (current edition)
• International Fuel Gas Code
• Michigan Residential Code
• SMACNA standards
• ACCA Manual D (duct design) and Manual J (load calculation)

Your reference books must be bound — stapled, spiral-bound, or softcover. Loose-leaf pages, photocopies, and handwritten notes are prohibited. If a proctor finds loose pages or handwritten annotations inserted into your books, they'll confiscate the materials and dismiss you from the exam. That costs you both the exam fee and time on your 365-day clock.

Tab your code books with proper adhesive tabs before test day. Knowing where to find provisions quickly is the real skill being tested.

What Happens If You Don't Pass

You can retake a failed exam within your 365-day eligibility window; the applicable $50–$100 exam fee applies to each scheduled attempt. Make sure any required passing score is completed before the one-year window closes.

If your year expires without a passing score, you have to restart the entire process: new application, new $300 state fee, new experience documentation review. This is why most candidates treat the first exam attempt seriously rather than viewing it as a practice run.

The Authorization to Test Timeline

The gap between submitting your LARA application and receiving your Authorization to Test typically runs four to eight weeks during peak construction season. Factor this into your planning, but calculate the deadline from the eligibility approval date rather than from the date you receive the authorization notice.

Some candidates make the mistake of buying expensive code books and study materials before LARA even confirms their experience hours qualify. If your application is rejected for documentation issues, those purchases are premature.

The Michigan HVAC License Guide walks through the entire exam timeline — from application submission through Authorization to Test — so you can map your study schedule around LARA's actual processing windows.

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