How to Hire a Roofer in Michigan: The Complete Consumer Guide

A certificate is a snapshot. It's issued "as a matter of information only" and doesn't change the policy. Policies get canceled for nonpayment, and anyone can edit a PDF.

Look up the agency's phone number yourself, call, and ask three things: Is this policy active today? Does it cover roofing operations? Will it still be active on the dates of my job? Agents take these calls every day.

Ask to be listed as the certificate holder. Some certificates include language about notifying holders of cancellation, but many limit that to a best-efforts promise, so a certificate is not a substitute for checking again before a big payment.

Michigan's Workers' Disability Compensation Act applies to private employers who regularly employ three or more employees at one time, or fewer than three if at least one has worked 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks or longer in the preceding 52 weeks (MCL 418.115). Employers covered by the act must insure through an authorized carrier or be approved to self-insure (MCL 418.611).

That means a very small roofing company can legitimately be exempt, for example an owner-operator who does the work himself. It also means the phrase "my guys are all subcontractors" deserves a follow-up question: who insures the people actually on your roof? Ask for the certificates of any subcontractor crew too.

A fall from a roof is a serious injury. If the injured worker's employer has no workers' comp, that worker (or their health insurer) will look for someone who can pay, and a homeowner with a homeowners liability policy is an obvious target. Whether your policy responds, and how much, depends on its wording and the facts. Call your own agent before the job starts and ask the question directly.

Property damage works the same way. If an uninsured contractor leaves a roof open before a storm, your homeowners insurer may pay and then try to recover from the contractor, but you may be the one paying the deductible and arguing about coverage. A contractor with real liability insurance puts another company between you and that argument.

Under the Michigan Construction Lien Act, a contractor, subcontractor, supplier or laborer who improves your property can have a lien on your interest in it (MCL 570.1107). That's true even for people you never hired directly, like the shingle supplier your roofer bought from on credit. The total of all liens can't exceed what you agreed to pay your contractor, less payments you properly made under a sworn statement or waiver of lien.

The practical risk: you pay your roofer in full, the roofer doesn't pay the supplier, and the supplier records a lien against your house. Michigan used to have a Homeowner Construction Lien Recovery Fund for this situation. It was abolished in 2010, so today your protection comes from the paperwork below.

Michigan's Article 24 license covers residential structures: detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses up to three stories with their own exits (MCL 339.2401). LARA's own builder FAQ says the Bureau of Construction Codes licenses residential builders, not commercial builders, and notes that some municipalities may add their own requirements. For a mixed-use building, ask LARA and your local building department which rules apply.

So on a strip center, warehouse, church or apartment building, a state license lookup may tell you little. That puts more weight on the checks below: insurance, bonding, safety program, references on similar roofs and manufacturer approval for the system you're buying.

Commercial owners and property managers usually require a certificate of insurance before a roofer steps on the building, naming the owner (and often the management company and lender) as additional insureds on the contractor's general liability policy. Being a certificate holder only means you get the certificate; being an additional insured means the policy itself extends coverage to you for claims arising from the contractor's work. Ask for the actual additional insured endorsement, not just a checked box on the certificate.

Your lease, loan documents or insurer may also require a waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, specific limits or an umbrella policy. Those requirements belong in your contract. Have your insurance agent or attorney review the requirements for your property; this guide can't tell you what your lease or policy demands.

Under MCL 418.171, when an employer that is subject to Michigan's workers' comp act contracts work to someone who has not secured workers' comp, the principal can be liable to pay compensation to that contractor's injured workers, with a right to recover from the contractor. Whether that applies to a given owner and job depends on the facts. The simple protection is the same as for homeowners: a verified workers' comp certificate for the roofer and any subcontractors, collected before work starts.

On public projects, Michigan law requires a principal contractor on a contract over $50,000 to furnish a performance bond and a payment bond before the contract is awarded (MCL 129.201). On private jobs, bonds are optional and negotiated. A performance bond protects you if the contractor doesn't finish; a payment bond protects against unpaid subs and suppliers. Bonds cost money, so decide whether the size and risk of your project justify one, and ask a bid to price it separately.

Michigan reinstated its prevailing wage law in 2023 (effective February 13, 2024). It applies to state projects bid through a state contracting agent, and since April 2, 2025 contractors and subcontractors on those projects must hold a state project registration (MCL 408.1101 to 408.1102). Ordinary private commercial reroofs aren't state projects. If public money is involved in your project, ask the funding agency which rules apply.

Michigan runs its own occupational safety program, MIOSHA, whose construction fall protection standard (Part 45) follows the federal OSHA rules. Workers doing residential-type construction 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems unless an alternative in the standard applies; low-slope commercial roofs have their own options (the federal rule it follows allows, for example, warning lines combined with safety monitors on low-slope roofs).

The contractor is responsible for its own workers' safety, but an owner still controls the site: roof access, skylights, rooftop equipment, tenants and the public below. Ask for the contractor's written safety plan for your building, including how they'll protect skylights and roof edges, where materials will be hoisted and how they'll keep people out of the drop zone.

A good shingle crew isn't automatically a good TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen or coatings crew. Ask for three references on the same system and a similar size of roof, completed at least a few years ago, with a contact you can call. Ask whether the contractor is an approved applicator for the membrane manufacturer, because many long-term commercial warranties require an approved applicator and a manufacturer inspection at completion. Ask to see a sample warranty before you sign.

For low-slope projects also ask about tapered insulation and drainage, code-required insulation levels, rooftop unit curbs and who coordinates with your mechanical contractor. Our commercial roofing overview and commercial roof cost guide cover the systems themselves.

Get the schedule, work hours, noise, odor (some adhesives and hot work), parking and dumpster placement in writing, and give tenants notice. Ask how the contractor handles daily dry-in if weather turns, and who is responsible for interior damage if a section is left open. The Construction Lien Act applies to commercial property too, so collect sworn statements and waivers with every payment.