Checking a roofer's license in Michigan, and cancelling a roofing contract

Published October 23, 2026

Do roofers need a license in Michigan?

Yes, for most jobs. Michigan's Occupational Code licenses residential builders and residential maintenance and alteration (M&A) contractors, and roofing is one of the trades an M&A license can cover. LARA says a Residential Builder license also covers M&A work. The license names the trades its holder is qualified for, and it runs for three years.

Michigan's roofing license rules

From the Michigan Compiled Laws as published by the Michigan Legislature, checked October 22, 2026. This is a summary, not legal advice.

How to look up a roofer's license on LARA

• Get the license number. A roofing contract needs the license statement and number for the contractor to have lien rights on your home (MCL 570.1114), and LARA says contractors and their salespeople must carry a pocket card you can ask to see
• Open LARA's license search and search by name, business name, license type, license number or city
• For a roofer, the license types are Residential Builder Company or Individual, and Residential Builder M and A Company or Individual. Salespeople have their own license type
• Check the license is current, and on an M&A license, that roofing is one of the listed trades
• Search the business name and the person's name, as the Attorney General suggests, and look for any disciplinary action

If a contractor can't show you a license, LARA's homeowner page says to check its database or call the Residential Builders' Section at 517-241-9309.

What happens if a roofer isn't licensed

• They can't sue you for payment. A contractor has to allege and prove it was licensed while doing the work before it can bring a court action to collect (MCL 339.2412(1))
• They can't put a lien on your home. Only a contractor licensed during the work can impose a lien (MCL 339.2412(3))
• It's a crime. Working without a required license is a misdemeanor, and the prosecutor or Attorney General can also seek a civil fine of $5,000 to $25,000 (MCL 339.601, 339.2412(4))

That protects you from being chased for payment, but it doesn't by itself get your money back or fix the roof, which is why checking first matters.

Insurance isn't part of the license

Michigan's builder license law doesn't make insurance a condition of the license. So ask for certificates of liability insurance and workers' compensation, and read what they cover. The Attorney General warns that a contractor's insurance "may not mean that the insurance will cover poor workmanship, failure to properly complete the construction, or even damage that might be caused to your property", and suggests asking "insured - for what?"

Door-to-door roofers in Royal Oak

Royal Oak's peddling ordinance (City Code Chapter 526) covers anyone going house to house taking orders for work to be done later, which includes roofing salespeople after a storm. Under it:

• A door-to-door seller needs a city peddler's license, issued after a police check, and must carry it
• They can't call before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. unless you've arranged it
• They must stay off properties with a "No Solicitation" sign or on the city's Do Not Knock Registry, and leave when asked
• A city license isn't an endorsement by the city, and it isn't a contractor's license. Ask to see both

You can join the Do Not Knock Registry through the City Clerk's online form; it's renewed every five years. For a re-roof, your roofer normally pulls the city building permit; the Attorney General warns that a contractor asking you to pull the permit yourself "is often a sign that the contractor is not licensed".

Cancelling a roofing contract signed at home

Michigan's Home Solicitation Sales Act covers a sale of more than $25 where the seller solicits you at your home and you sign or agree there. If it applies:

• The deadline: you can cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign. Business days are Monday to Friday, not counting New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. By our arithmetic, a contract signed on a Friday can be cancelled until midnight the following Wednesday, or later if one of those holidays falls in between
• How: mail or deliver the notice of cancellation form, or any written notice saying you don't want to be bound, to the address on the form. A mailed notice counts once it's in the mailbox, properly addressed and stamped. Keeping a copy and proof of mailing is sensible
• The paperwork: the contract must carry a statement of your right to cancel near your signature, and a notice of cancellation form in duplicate. Until the seller provides them, you can cancel "in any manner and by any means"
• Refunds: the seller must return your payments within 10 days of cancelling (the required notice form says 10 business days)
• Work already done: if the seller started work before you cancelled, the Act says it isn't entitled to payment for it
• The seller's side: a seller that hasn't complied with the Act can't sue to collect on the contract

When the three-day right may not apply: Mills v Rosario (2026)

On June 22, 2026 the Michigan Court of Appeals decided Mills Siding and Roofing, LLC v Rosario, a published 2–1 decision. After a 2021 hailstorm, a roofing company's door knocker offered a free inspection; weeks later, after the insurer approved the claim, the homeowner called the company back and signed the replacement contract at home. The contract had no cancellation notice.

The majority held the Act didn't apply, because the agreement has to be given "at the same time and place as the solicitation of the sale", and here "at least two weeks—possibly more—had elapsed". It declined to set a bright-line rule on how much time is too much. The dissenting judge would have applied the Act, since the homeowner was solicited, shown the contract and signed it at home.

So under current Michigan law, a contract you sign during the salesperson's visit is covered; one you sign on a later visit, especially after calling them back, may not be. The safe course works either way: don't sign on the doorstep, get your own estimates, and check the license before you sign anything.

The federal Cooling-Off Rule

The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule is separate from Michigan's Act. It covers door-to-door sales of $25 or more at your home ($130 or more elsewhere), including sales that follow an invitation from you, with three business days to cancel; for the FTC, Saturday counts as a business day. The FTC's own consumer page names a new roof sold door to door as a sale the rule covers. Its exclusions include a visit you asked for to carry out "repairing or performing maintenance upon the buyer's personal property" (extra goods or services sold during that visit stay covered), and a genuine emergency where you made the contact and waived the right in a signed statement in your own handwriting. The rule leaves in place state laws that give you the same or a greater right to cancel.

Deposits, payments and storm chasers

• The Attorney General's advice: pay only part up front ("generally one-third of the total contract price should suffice") and the rest when the work is complete to your satisfaction
• Never pay in cash or in full up front. A credit card gives you the right to dispute a charge if the work isn't finished
• Get the contract in writing with no blanks or check boxes that could be filled in later, the license number, start and finish dates, permits and a cost breakdown
• For an insurance job, the Attorney General advises having your insurer make the check out in your name only
• DIFS warning signs: rushing you to sign, claiming to work for "the government" or specific insurers "all the time", asking for payment in advance, in cash or by a peer-to-peer app, or refusing to show their license

Before an insurance-paid roof, read the hail damage and insurance claim guide. If the roofer offers financing, see your rights when you pay a roofer in installments.

Where to complain about a roofer

• LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes, Enforcement Section: 517-241-9309 or LARA-BCC-Compliance@Michigan.Gov, for unlicensed work, work without a permit, negligence or fraud. Complaints must be in writing. LARA says it has no authority over contractual, monetary or warranty disputes
• Michigan Attorney General, Consumer Protection: 877-765-8388 or the online complaint form
• Michigan DIFS for suspected insurance fraud: 877-999-6442
• City of Royal Oak Building Division (248-246-3210) for permit questions in Royal Oak

Questions about roofer licenses and contracts