Michigan Fire Alarm and Sign Electrician Exams: Format

The two papers, side by side

The fire alarm specialty technician examination is 36 questions with 90 minutes. The sign specialist examination is 32 questions with 60 minutes. Both pass at 75 percent, the same standard as the journeyman and master papers.

Per question the fire alarm paper gives you two and a half minutes and the sign paper gives you a little under two. So the shorter paper is the tighter one, which is not the way most people assume it works.

The examination fee is $100 for either, paid to PSI at scheduling, not refundable and not transferable.

What the fire alarm paper covers

The fire alarm specialty technician outline names ten areas: grounding and bonding, overcurrent protection, wiring methods and installations, boxes and cabinets, special occupancies, load calculations, box and raceway fill, power limited circuits, general electrical trade knowledge and electrical theory.

Read that against the journeyman list of fifteen and five areas are missing: services, feeders, motors and motor controls, lighting and appliances. Power limited circuits stays, which is the area a fire alarm technician actually lives in.

The bulletin describes the paper as testing the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, the rules made under it, the Part 8 electrical code rules and the Stille-DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act, each as it relates to fire alarm systems. So the law is on it as well as the code, and this is the one specialty paper that names Stille-DeRossett-Hale.

What the sign paper covers

The sign specialist outline names eleven areas: grounding and bonding, overcurrent protection, wiring methods and installations, boxes and cabinets, special occupancies, load calculations, lighting, box and raceway fill, power limited circuits, general electrical trade knowledge and electrical theory.

It reads as the fire alarm list with lighting added, which fits a trade whose work is lit signs. The bulletin describes it as testing the Skilled Trades Regulation Act as it applies to electric signs, the Part 8 rules and the applicable code sections. It is the one outline of the four that does not name the Stille-DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act.

Neither outline carries an item count beside any area, so any count of grounding questions on either paper is a guess.

Who is eligible for each

The fire alarm specialty technician license needs you to be at least 20 and to hold a NICET certification at level II or higher in fire alarm systems installation or repair, or an ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician certification at level II or higher. That is LARA's requirement, not PSI's.

The sign specialist license needs you to be at least 18, to have 4,000 hours and at least 2 years in sign manufacturing, installation, maintenance, connection or repair, and to have completed an approved training course.

Both routes have a contractor license beside them that needs no examination: the holder either holds the specialty license or employs somebody who does, and that person can be associated with only one contractor at a time.

The attempt limits are not the same for the two

This is the one place the two papers separate sharply. The bulletin lists sign specialist candidates inside the two attempts within one year limit, alongside master and journeyman.

Fire alarm candidates are listed as unlimited, along with contractor candidates. So a sign specialist who fails twice in a year reapplies with the state and a fire alarm technician does not.

The same bulletin also carries a general line saying a failing candidate may retest unlimited. Read the retakes page for both sentences and what to ask.

The room rules do not change

The reference list, the marking rules and the conduct rules are the same for all four Michigan electrical examinations. Four documents in, nothing marked, factory tabs only, no Handbook.

The identification rule is the same too: one current government issued photo identification with a signature, and no temporary card.

Test day runs the whole sequence in order, and the book rules covers the four documents in detail.

Questions people ask

How many questions are on the Michigan fire alarm specialty technician exam, and how fast do you need to go?

Thirty six questions with 90 minutes to answer them, and 75 percent passes. That works out at two and a half minutes a question, which is more room than the journeyman paper gives you.

How many questions is the Michigan sign specialist exam?

Thirty two questions with 60 minutes, and 75 percent passes. Per question that is a little under two minutes, which makes it the tightest clock of the four Michigan electrical examinations.

What does the Michigan fire alarm exam cover?

The outline names ten areas: grounding and bonding, overcurrent protection, wiring methods and installations, boxes and cabinets, special occupancies, load calculations, box and raceway fill, power limited circuits, general electrical trade knowledge and electrical theory. Services, feeders, motors and motor controls, lighting and appliances are the five the journeyman outline carries and this one does not.

What do you need before you can sit the Michigan fire alarm exam?

LARA requires you to be at least 20 and to hold either a NICET certification at level II or higher in fire alarm system installation or repair, or an ESA Certified Fire Alarm Technician certification at level II or higher. The Licensing Section approves you before PSI will schedule you.

What do you need before you can sit the Michigan sign specialist exam?

LARA requires you to be at least 18, to have 4,000 hours and at least 2 years of experience in sign manufacturing, installation, maintenance, connection or repair, and to have completed an approved training course.

How many times can you take the Michigan fire alarm exam?

The bulletin lists fire alarm candidates as unlimited, alongside contractor candidates. Sign specialist candidates are inside the two attempts within one year limit with master and journeyman candidates, so the two specialty papers are not treated the same way.

How much do the Michigan specialty electrical exams cost?

The examination fee is $100 for either paper, paid to PSI at scheduling. It is not refundable and not transferable and it is valid for one year from the date of payment. An accommodation of time and a half adds $50.

What this page cites

• PSI's Michigan candidate information bulletin In effect from 20 August 2026 and read on 4 September 2026. The item counts, time limits, 75 percent passing standard, $100 fee, allowed references, book and conduct rules, attempt limit, score report and test center list cited on this site all come from it. source
• LARA exam and licensing page, Bureau of Construction Codes The state page naming the code each examination is based on and the experience each license calls for. Read 4 September 2026. source
• Part 8 Electrical Code rules, R 408.30801 to R 408.30880 Michigan's adopting rule, which puts the NEC into force in the state and writes in the state's own amendments. Read on the state administrative rules site, 4 September 2026. source