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Your rights

Michigan

Michigan · home improvement

Your rights in Michigan

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If they solicited it and you agreed at your home

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day (weekends don't count). Money back within 10 days, with two cancel forms.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The 4 exceptions, in the rule's words
  • A genuine emergency: you asked for the work without delay, you gave the contractor a separate dated and signed statement in your own handwriting describing the emergency and waiving the right to cancel, and the contractor in good faith made a substantial start on the work before you cancelled (for goods, they also cannot be returned in substantially as good condition).
  • Sales made at the seller's fixed place of business, or under earlier negotiations held there.
  • Sales made under a printed advertisement in a publication of general circulation.
  • Sales made under a preexisting revolving charge account.
Read the full rule

When it applies

The contractor (or someone working for them) solicited the sale in person, by phone or in writing, you received that solicitation at your home, you agreed to buy there, and the price is more than $25 (Michigan Home Solicitation Sales Act). Business days are Monday through Friday; Saturdays, Sundays and the listed holidays do not count.

If a contractor solicited the job and you agreed to it at your home, you can cancel in writing (by mail or hand delivery) until midnight of the third business day after you sign. Saturdays, Sundays and listed holidays do not count. The contractor must return your payments within 10 days. The contract must tell you about this right and include two copies of a cancellation form.

MCL 445.112 · read on legislature.mi.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On their ads

Home building, repair or remodeling jobs of $600 or more need a LARA residential builder or alteration contractor license.

Read the full rule

Michigan contractors who take on home building, repair or remodeling jobs of $600 or more must hold a LARA residential builder license, or a maintenance and alteration contractor license for that trade. Electricians, plumbers and heating and cooling contractors hold separate trade licenses instead. Check the license with LARA before you sign.

Who needs one: Anyone paid (other than hourly or daily wages for personal labor only) to build, repair, alter, add to, improve, wreck or demolish a residential structure (a detached one- or two-family home, or a townhouse of up to three stories), build a garage, or lay concrete on residential property, when the total price for labor and materials on the project is $600 or more.

Who doesn't

  • Projects whose total price for labor, materials and other items is under $600, unless the work is part of a larger job or is split into smaller contracts to get around the law.
  • Subcontractors (other than salespersons) who work only under contract with a licensed residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor.
  • Electrical, plumbing and mechanical (heating and cooling) contractors licensed under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, for work within their own trade.
  • Owners working on a structure for their own use and occupancy, and owners of rental property maintaining or altering that property.
  • Government representatives and court officers acting in their official capacity.

Where the number must appear

  • advertising

Issued by: Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes: Residential Builder or Maintenance & Alteration Contractor license

MCL 445.112 · read on legislature.mi.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: MI law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 5 in writing before you sign.

  • Written & signed, with copiesEvery later change too: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in writing and signed by you and the contractor, including every later change; the contractor must give you copies of the agreement and of each change.

  • Specs, cost, work & materials: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Clearly state the terms: the specifications (plans and specifications when construction is involved), the cost, the type and amount of work, and the type and quality of the materials.

  • License info & full agreement: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include information about the contractor's state license, and give you the entire agreement, including any finance or other charges.

  • 3-day cancel notice & formsIf they sold it at your home: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the job was sold at your home: show the date you signed, carry the 3-business-day cancellation statement next to your signature, and attach two copies of a notice of cancellation, in at least 10-point bold type and in the same language as the sales presentation.

  • Installment contract termsIf you pay in installments over $300: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If you pay the contractor in installments (cash price over $300): be titled 'home improvement installment contract', state the cash price, down payment, amount financed, finance charge and payment schedule, and include the notice that you may cancel by 5 p.m. on the next business day. You must get a completed copy when you sign.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources38 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Independently verified on 2026-10-04. Every statute cited was re-read on its legislature.mi.gov section page ('Complete Through PA 103 of 2026'): Home Solicitation Sales Act MCL 445.111-445.115; Home Improvement Finance Act MCL 445.1102 and 445.1201-445.1204; Occupational Code MCL 339.2401, 339.2403, 339.2404, 339.2404a, 339.2411 and 339.2412; Skilled Trades Regulation Act MCL 339.5733, 339.5737, 339.5807, 339.5809, 339.5811 and 339.6107; NREPA MCL 324.8303, 324.8313 and 324.8314; Building Contract Fund Act MCL 570.151-570.153; Michigan Telecommunications Act MCL 484.2505-484.2507. LARA rules R 338.1532-338.1533 were read in the Administrative Rules System PDF (ars.apps.lara.state.mi.us). The michigan.gov LARA and Attorney General pages and 16 CFR 429.0 on ecfr.gov were read directly.
  • No deposit cap: no Michigan statute or rule was found that limits a home improvement deposit or down payment (none in Article 24, the Home Solicitation Sales Act, the Home Improvement Finance Act, or LARA rules R 338.1511-338.1566). depositCap is null, so the app must not state a Michigan cap. The 'one-third' figures on official pages are advice only: the AG's building and remodeling page says paying about one-third up front should generally be enough, LARA's 2019 release says one-third in advance is customary, and LARA's 2025 release warns against unusually large down payments. The app must not present one-third as a legal limit in Michigan.
  • Not a cap, but related: under the Building Contract Fund Act (MCL 570.151-570.153), money paid to a contractor for building construction is a trust fund for the payer, laborers, subcontractors and suppliers. Using it for anything else, with intent to defraud, before paying those owed on the job is a felony. Under MCL 339.2411(2)(b), diverting funds received for a specific project is grounds for discipline of a licensee.
  • Refund wording conflict: MCL 445.114(1) says the seller must return payments 'within 10 days' after cancellation, but the notice-of-cancellation form the statute requires (MCL 445.113(2)) says '10 business days'. refundWithinDays is 10. The app should say 'within 10 days' and not count business days. If the seller performed services before the sale was cancelled, the seller is not entitled to be paid for them (MCL 445.115(2)).
  • Michigan's business day excludes Saturday (MCL 445.111(c)). The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule counts Saturday: 16 CFR 429.0(f) defines a business day as any calendar day except Sunday or a federal holiday. LARA's homeowner page says 'three days' and tells homeowners to send a 'registered letter'. The statute allows any written notice, mailed or delivered, and a mailed notice counts as given when it is put in the mail (MCL 445.112(2)-(4)). The app should follow the statute.
  • Until the seller provides the required cancellation statement and notice form, the buyer may cancel by notifying the seller in any manner (MCL 445.113(4)). MCL 445.113(5) exempts sales covered by sections 505-507 of the Michigan Telecommunications Act from section 445.113. Those sections (MCL 484.2505-484.2507) deal with switching a customer's telecommunications provider and adding optional telecom services, so the carve-out does not reach home improvement sales. The statute does not say whether the right applies when the homeowner invited the contractor first. The AG's cancellation page says the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule may also apply; the federal definition of a door-to-door sale includes sales made in response to or following an invitation by the buyer (16 CFR 429.0(a)).
  • Second, shorter right: under the Home Improvement Finance Act, a buyer who agrees to pay the contractor in installments (cash price over $300) may cancel until 5 p.m. on the next business day (MCL 445.1202(c), 445.1203(l)). The statute itself says to give written notice at the contractor's place of business stated in the contract, or to mail it there by certified letter; the AG page also says to use certified mail. The act does not cover loans the buyer gets directly from a lender (MCL 445.1102(l)(v)), property used for business purposes, or free-standing appliances such as a stove or refrigerator (MCL 445.1102(l)(i), (iii)).
  • License number on the contract: MCL 339.2404a requires the licensee to provide 'information relating to' their license as part of the contract, and does not literally say 'number'. LARA's homeowner page and the AG's building and remodeling page both list the license number among the items a contract should show. numberMustAppearOn therefore lists only advertising: R 338.1532 requires the name, license number and actual business address in all advertising.
  • Contract items such as start and completion dates, who pulls permits, warranties, insurance and cleanup appear on LARA's homeowner page and the AG's page as recommendations, not legal requirements. They are left out of contractMust.
  • Agency name: the AG's building and remodeling page still says builders are licensed by LARA's Bureau of Professional Licensing. LARA's current residential builders page, its homeowner page, and its 2019 and 2025 releases place the program in the Bureau of Construction Codes, which is used here.
  • Article 24 covers only 'residential structures': detached one- or two-family homes and townhouses of up to three stories (MCL 339.2401(c)). Work on larger multifamily buildings is outside this license. LARA's residential builders page lists the Homeowner Construction Lien Recovery Fund as abolished in August 2010. The Construction Lien Act was not researched.
  • A person who needed an Article 24 license but was not licensed during the work cannot sue in a Michigan court to collect payment for that work, and cannot put a lien on the property (MCL 339.2412(1), (3)).
  • Electrical: a municipality with its own licensing ordinance at least as strict as the state's may license electricians locally instead, and electrical contracting requires a license from the state board or that municipality (MCL 339.5733, 339.5737(1)). Mechanical (HVAC): municipalities may not set their own licensing (MCL 339.5811). Homeowners doing their own electrical work on a single-family home they own and occupy are exempt (MCL 339.5737(3)(g)), as are homeowners doing their own plumbing with a permit (MCL 339.6107(2)(d)).
  • Trade coverage left undetermined: windows_doors (the M&A trade list has only 'screen or storm sash installation'), painting, flooring, landscaping, fencing, garage doors and similar trades are not on the M&A trade list (MCL 339.2404(3)), and no official page found says whether they need a residential builder license. The AG's page says only 'If the contractor you hired is not required to be licensed', implying some contractors need no license, without saying which; LARA's residential builders page and BCC FAQ pages checked on 2026-10-04 do not address it. These slugs are left out of both lists. Installing domestic water treatment equipment does not require a plumbing license if a permit is obtained (MCL 339.6107(2)(c)). septic-well is left out: MCL 339.5737(3)(j) refers to water well pump installers registered under Part 127 of the Public Health Code, but septic work was not determined.
  • Web search was unavailable during verification. Official pages were fetched directly and found by following links from LARA's own pages. No figure here came from a non-official page.

General information from official Michigan sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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