Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

Read the score report first

Failed the Michigan Electrician Exam: Retakes and the Wait

Michigan limits journeyman, master and sign specialist candidates to two attempts in a year, and statute adds a one year bar after two failures inside two years. Here is what the bulletin says, what the Occupational Code says, what each attempt costs, and the question to ask PSI before you pay for a third.

Test yourself: free practice questions

The three things you came here for

A retake costs $100. PSI charges the examination fee for each attempt, and it is not refundable and not transferable.

Two attempts in a year, then you reapply. The bulletin says master, journeyman and sign specialist candidates are limited to 2 attempts within 1 year, and that once the limit has been exceeded you must reapply with the state to become eligible again.

Two failures inside two years brings a one year wait. MCL 339.5715(3) for the journeyman and MCL 339.5713(2) for the master both say that an applicant who fails the examination twice within a period of two years is not eligible to sit again until at least one year after the date of the second failure. After that year, eligibility comes back on proof that you finished a course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory that the board has approved.

The two sentences that disagree

The attempt limit is not the only thing the bulletin says about failing. A second line reads that if you fail you may retest unlimited, and that you must pay the examination fee for each attempt.

Both were in the document we read on 4 September 2026. One says two attempts in a year for journeyman, master and sign candidates. The other says unlimited.

The likeliest reading, and this is ours rather than PSI's, is that the unlimited sentence is the general rule and the attempt table is the specific exception, with fire alarm and contractor candidates genuinely unlimited and the other three capped. We are not going to present that as settled.

Call PSI on 855-579-4635, ask them to look at your own record, and ask which count applies to it. That call is free and a third booking is $100.

The one year clock that does exist

One period is stated without ambiguity: the examination fee is valid for one year from the date of payment.

So the money you have already paid has an expiry and the attempt limit runs across a year as well. Those two are not the same clock and they do not start on the same day.

Write down the date you paid and the date you first sat. If you have to reapply with the state, that pair of dates is what the Licensing Section and PSI will be working from.

What reapplying with the state means

PSI does not decide your eligibility. LARA's Licensing Section approves an applicant before PSI will schedule anything, which is why the bulletin sends an out of attempts candidate back to the state rather than to a waiting list.

Statute puts a floor under that wait. MCL 339.5715(3) and MCL 339.5713(2) hold a twice failed applicant out for at least one year from the second failure, and then ask for a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory before another attempt. How long the Licensing Section takes on top of that is not a number anybody publishes.

The Bureau of Construction Codes takes licensing questions on (517) 241-9316, and its mailing address is P.O. Box 30254, Lansing, MI 48909. Ask what a reapplication after two attempts requires from you and how long it usually runs.

Read the diagnostic before you rebook

A failing candidate gets more than a number. PSI provides a diagnostic report showing strengths and weaknesses by examination type along with the score report, and it prints from your online account later if you lose the paper copy.

That report is the only document that names which part of the paper cost you the pass. With two attempts in a year, the cost of rebooking on a hunch is high.

Map the weak areas onto the content outline. The bulletin names fifteen areas on the journeyman and master papers, and what is on the exam works through what each one covers.

Three failure patterns, and what each one needs

Everything in this section is our judgment rather than anything PSI or LARA publishes.

One weak area, everything else solid. That is a study gap and it is the cheapest kind to fix. Work that area and rebook.

Even and mediocre across every area. That usually is not a knowledge problem. It is the clock. A journeyman paper gives you just under two minutes a question across 80 questions, and a candidate who is looking up more than half of them runs out.

Strong on recall, weak on anything with arithmetic. That is method. Work whole problems to a final rounded answer with the book open, and log the step you got wrong rather than ticking the answer.

The week after

Do four things and none of them is buying a new book.

1. Read the diagnostic and write the weak areas down.
2. Call PSI and get your attempt count and your fee expiry from your own record.
3. Rehearse one full length paper on the clock, 80 questions in 150 minutes or 76 in 180.
4. Decide your date from that rehearsal rather than from how the last one felt.

Failing an examination is common and it is not a verdict on the trade you are good at. It is a verdict on one morning of lookups against a clock.

Questions people ask

How many times can you fail the Michigan electrician exam?

The bulletin limits master, journeyman and sign specialist candidates to 2 attempts within 1 year, after which you must reapply with the state to become eligible again. Fire alarm and contractor candidates are listed as unlimited. A separate line in the same bulletin says a failing candidate may retest unlimited, so confirm your own count with PSI.

How long do you have to wait to retake the Michigan electrician exam?

At least a year, if the two failures fell within two years of each other. MCL 339.5715(3) for the journeyman and MCL 339.5713(2) for the master make an applicant who fails twice in two years ineligible until one year after the second failure. Coming back also takes a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory.

How much does it cost to retake the Michigan electrician exam?

One hundred dollars, the same as the first attempt. PSI charges the examination fee for each attempt and states that fees are not refundable and not transferable. The fee is valid for one year from the date you pay it.

What happens after two failed attempts in Michigan?

You reapply with the state, and if both failures fell inside two years the statute holds you out for a year. MCL 339.5715(3) and MCL 339.5713(2) set that one year bar and then ask for a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory. LARA's Licensing Section approves candidates before PSI will schedule them.

Do you get a report showing why you failed the Michigan exam?

Yes. PSI provides a diagnostic report showing your strengths and weaknesses by examination type along with the score report, and a duplicate prints from your PSI online account. Read it before you rebook, because it names which areas cost you the pass.

Does a failed Michigan exam affect your license application?

The bulletin does not say that failing on its own does. It does say that a candidate caught marking reference materials, or found with prohibited items in the room, is reported to the Bureau of Construction Codes and has the result invalidated. Those are conduct consequences rather than score ones.

Should you rebook the Michigan exam straight away?

That is your call and the attempt limit makes it a real one. With two attempts inside a year, a booking made on a hunch is expensive. Read the diagnostic, sit one full length rehearsal on the clock, and pick the date from that.

What this page cites

• PSI candidate information bulletin, Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes Effective 20 August 2026, read 4 September 2026. Source for every item count, time limit, the 75 percent standard, the $100 fee, the reference list, the book and conduct rules, the attempt limit, the score report and the test center list. source
• LARA electrical examination, licensing and application information Michigan's Bureau of Construction Codes names the codes the examinations are based on and the experience each license needs. Read 4 September 2026. source
• MCL 339.5715(3) The journeyman section. Two failures within two years make an applicant ineligible until at least one year after the second failure, and a board approved course on the Michigan electrical code, electrical fundamentals or electrical theory restores eligibility. Read 4 September 2026. source
• MCL 339.5713(2) The master section, carrying the same one year bar after two failures within two years and the same board approved course before another attempt. Read 4 September 2026. source
• LARA construction codes rules, acts and standards Where the Bureau of Construction Codes links the Occupational Code, the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and the construction code administrative rules. Read 4 September 2026. source