Heating and cooling in Michigan: licenses, permits, climate and rebates

Licensing: who may install a furnace or air conditioner

Mechanical contractor licensing is Article 8 of the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407), MCL 339.5801 to 339.5819, in effect since April 4, 2017. Nobody may install, alter or service regulated mechanical work unless that person or an employee holds a mechanical contractor's license in the right classification, and the license holder secures the permit. The classes include HVAC equipment, ductwork, hydronic heating and cooling and process piping, refrigeration, limited and unlimited heating service, and limited and unlimited refrigeration and air conditioning service. Which class covers a furnace swap is our inference, because LARA has no page that maps a furnace or air conditioner to one class; ask the contractor which class they hold and why it fits.

An applicant needs at least 3 years or 6,000 hours of experience in a classification, and a 2-year HVAC program can be credited up to 1 year or 2,000 hours. As we read Article 8, the only license it issues is the contractor's, with no journey or apprentice HVAC license, so ask for the contractor's license number rather than a technician's card. An owner of a single-family home that is or will be their residence may install a heating or refrigerating system there personally, but must secure the permit and obtain the inspection afterward. Separately, EPA Section 608 requires anyone who adds or removes refrigerant to hold EPA technician certification.

Working without a license is a misdemeanor on a first violation, with a fine of up to $500 or up to 90 days, or both, and a third violation is a felony. A city may not set its own licensing rules, though a licensed contractor registers the license with the local enforcing agency for a fee of no more than $15. Our guide to checking a Michigan HVAC contractor's license walks through the LARA lookup.

Permits: the code, the exemption list and who enforces it

The Michigan Mechanical Code is Construction Code Part 9a, which adopts the 2021 International Mechanical Code (R 408.30901a, effective March 12, 2024). LARA has proposed rules to adopt the 2024 edition, and its page does not yet show them as final, so we give no effective date. For one- and two-family houses the provisions sit in the Michigan Residential Code, and LARA says a Court of Claims order of July 7, 2025 temporarily blocks it from implementing the 2021 residential code, so the 2015 residential code and its energy provisions stay in effect while the order stands. The ICC's Michigan page still lists the 2021 residential code, which looks out of date on this point.

Mechanical work may not start until a permit is issued, except replacement of minor parts. LARA's exemption list is short: portable equipment (heating, ventilation, cooling units, evaporative coolers and gas burners with less than 30,000 Btu/hr), self-contained refrigeration equipment and window-type air conditioners of not more than 1.5 hp, and oil burners that need no flue connection. A furnace, central air conditioner or heat pump replacement is not on that list, so it needs a permit; that is our inference from the list, not a sentence LARA wrote. LARA's mechanical FAQ adds that plans are required for a residential home when total heating input exceeds 375,000 BTU/H.

The Statewide Jurisdiction List says whether the state, a county or the city enforces the mechanical code, and the cities we researched, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Lansing, enforce it locally. Fees are local and change. Grand Rapids lists $21 for a furnace on top of a $52 application, Sterling Heights lists a $55 application and $57 for gas or oil equipment up to 75,000 BTU, and Westland lists a $100 administration fee and $83 for a residential furnace up to 75,000 BTU. Where LARA itself enforces, the state schedule is a $75 application and $30 for gas or oil burning equipment. If you disagree with a local inspector, you can appeal to the local construction board of appeals. The mechanical permit guide explains who pulls it.

Heating degree days and climate zones across Michigan

Heating degree days add up how far below 65 F each day's average falls over a year. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 annual normals put Detroit Metro airport at about 6,067, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek airport at about 6,326, Grand Rapids at about 6,408, Ann Arbor at about 6,501, Lansing at about 6,612, Saginaw's MBS airport at about 6,781, Flint at about 6,850 and Traverse City at about 7,104. Cooling is the smaller season: the same normals give Detroit Metro about 847 cooling degree days a year and Traverse City about 534.

The DOE and PNNL county table puts Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Genesee, Kent, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Saginaw and Midland counties in IECC climate zone 5 (cold) and Grand Traverse County in zone 6. Across the state it counts 35 counties in zone 5, 38 in zone 6 and 10 in zone 7, and the zone 7 counties are in the Upper Peninsula. The climate shows up in the equipment standards: ENERGY STAR gas furnaces must be 97% AFUE or higher on its North list, which includes Michigan, while the federal floor is 80% as we read the federal rule, and ENERGY STAR cold-climate heat pumps are tested down to 5 F. Our heat pump guide covers what that means in January.

Winter protections, gas and carbon monoxide, and rebates

The Michigan Public Service Commission lists shutoff protections rather than a single rulebook. The Low Income Winter Protection Plan protects income-qualified customers against shutoff from November 1 to March 31, if they pay at least 7% of the estimated annual bill each month and arrange to pay arrears before the next heating season. Senior Citizen Shutoff Protection covers customers 65 and older from November 1 to March 31, and Medical Emergency Protection gives a 21-day hold with a physician's certification. The Michigan Energy Assistance Program helps eligible low-income households pay heating fuel, with an income limit of 60% of state median income, and households apply through providers such as THAW at 1-800-866-8429. Our winter shutoff guide lists each program.

If you smell gas, leave right away, do not look for the source, and call 911 from a safe place. Then call your utility: DTE's gas leak hotline is (800) 947-5000, Consumers Energy is 800-477-5050, SEMCO is 888-427-1427 (its page does not mention 911) and Michigan Gas Utilities is 800-401-6451. The number (800) 477-4747 is DTE's electric and customer service line, not its gas emergency line. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave, get into fresh air and call 911. The Bureau of Fire Services advises a working CO alarm on every level, which is advice rather than code; we found no Michigan statute on CO alarms in existing homes, though Ann Arbor has an ordinance requiring carbon monoxide detection in rental properties. DTE, Consumers Energy and the CDC each advise annual servicing of a heating system, and ENERGY STAR recommends pre-season check-ups, but none of them is a Michigan legal requirement.

Rebate status as of Oct 19, 2026: DTE lists furnace, central air conditioner, heat pump, ductless and Wi-Fi thermostat rebates with a Limited Funds Available banner, first come, first served, and its heat pump rebates are only for electric customers replacing electric heat. Consumers Energy's 2026 chart is valid for installs from January 1 to December 31, 2026, and says amounts can change without notice. MiHER income-qualified applications are temporarily suspended in the Detroit, Warren, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Kalamazoo districts, and its page shows no per-unit heat pump amount. The federal 25C and 25D credits ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, according to the IRS; ENERGY STAR's own heat pump page still advertises a credit through 2032, and we follow the IRS. The rebate and tax-credit finder shows each program with its date, and the rebates guide explains how to apply.

What heating and cooling work costs in Michigan: the evidence we have

Our cost tables will add the prices Michigan heating and cooling companies publish on their own sites, with the number of companies and the date we read them, once we have collected enough. Until then this page shows what technicians are paid and the permit fees we could read, which are not what you are charged.

Estimates, not quotes. How we estimate costs is on the editorial policy page. Full method.

Questions about heating and cooling in Michigan

• DetroitWayne · 636,644 · 90% pre-1980
• Grand RapidsKent · 197,768 · 75% pre-1980
• WarrenMacomb · 138,128 · 83% pre-1980
• Sterling HeightsMacomb · 133,473 · 58% pre-1980
• Ann ArborWashtenaw · 121,179 · 64% pre-1980
• LansingIngham · 112,546 · 80% pre-1980
• DearbornWayne · 107,846 · 84% pre-1980
• LivoniaWayne · 94,058 · 78% pre-1980

Michigan guides

• Safety6 min read

  Carbon monoxide alarms and your furnace: what Michigan sources advise

• Permits and code7 min read

  Do you need a permit to replace a furnace in Michigan?

• Rebates8 min read

  DTE and Consumers Energy HVAC rebates: status as of Oct 19, 2026

• No heat6 min read

  Furnace won't turn on in a Michigan cold snap: what to check first

• Heat pumps7 min read

  Heat pump installation cost in Michigan: what we can and cannot source

• Heat pumps6 min read

  Heat pumps in Michigan winters: what the sources say about cold

• Licensing7 min read

  How to find a licensed HVAC contractor in Michigan

• Winter and emergencies6 min read

  Michigan winter utility shutoff protection: who qualifies and how to apply

• Heating costs8 min read

  What a new furnace costs in Michigan, and what we can and cannot tell you

• Cooling costs7 min read

  What air conditioner repair costs in Michigan, and what we can and cannot tell you

• Ducts and air7 min read

  What duct cleaning costs in Michigan, and what we can and cannot tell you

• Heating costs7 min read

  What furnace repair costs in Michigan, and what we can and cannot tell you