Michigan licenses hearing aid selling and fitting in two tiers under Article 13 of the Occupational Code: the Hearing Aid Salesperson, the entry dispensing license earned through a licensed traineeship and two state PSI examinations — a theory paper and a performed ear-impression practical — and the Hearing Aid Dealer, the senior license earned after two years of salesperson practice and a theory paper of its own. Neither tier is examined by the International Licensing Examination (ILE). The PassProfessor Michigan Hearing Aid Salesperson and Hearing Aid Dealer program, described on the companion program page at /michigan-hearing-instrument-specialist-exam-prep/, prepares candidates for that examination set.
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The licenses at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Michigan Hearing Aid Salesperson (the entry dispensing license) and Michigan Hearing Aid Dealer (the senior license), under Article 13 of the Michigan Occupational Code, MCL 339.1301–339.1309 |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Professional Licensing; examinations administered by PSI under contract to the Department |
| Examination — Salesperson | Hearing Aid Salesperson Theory Examination (100 scored questions, plus 5–10 non-scored questions; 120 minutes) and Hearing Aid Salesperson Practical Examination: Ear Impression (60 minutes; one impression on a candidate-provided live model) |
| Examination — Dealer | Hearing Aid Dealer Theory Examination (65 scored questions, plus 5–10 non-scored questions; 90 minutes); no Dealer practical |
| Passing standard | As PSI publishes it: Passing Score – 70% on each Theory Examination; 80% on the Practical Examination (Ear Impression) |
| Eligibility — Salesperson | At least 18 years of age, good moral character, accredited high school or secondary school graduation, Department-required additional training and education, and at least 6 months as a licensed Hearing Aid Trainee |
| Eligibility — Dealer | Over 18 years of age, good moral character, accredited high school or secondary school graduation, and 2 years as a licensed Hearing Aid Salesperson under a licensed dealer’s direction and supervision |
| Route | Trainee license (12 months) → 6 months minimum as trainee → Salesperson Theory + Practical → Salesperson license → 2 years licensed practice → Dealer Theory → Dealer license |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with LARA or PSI. Michigan’s examinations are state examinations, not the ILE |
Michigan rewards candidates who read the ladder as Article 13 built it: a supervised traineeship that produces a dispensing licensee, and a dispensing license that, held for two years, produces a dealer. The examinations sit at the two landings of that ladder, and they are different instruments — a 100-question clinical paper and a single performed impression for the salesperson; a shorter, regulation-heavy paper for the dealer. The guide below takes each verified element in turn.
Reading the verified facts
Every fact in the table above was pinned to the Department’s own examination document — the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin the Department links its candidates to — and to Article 13 of the Occupational Code, during this program’s research pass. Three reading rules apply throughout the guide. First, the passing standards are printed only in the form PSI publishes them: 70% for each theory examination and 80% for the practical, stated as PSI states them and converted into nothing else. Second, the three Michigan licenses — trainee, salesperson, dealer — are never merged: the traineeship’s 12-month term, the salesperson’s six-month traineeship requirement, and the dealer’s two-year salesperson requirement each belong to their own tier, and no figure is borrowed across tiers. Third, the ILE is named only to be excluded: Michigan’s papers are Michigan papers, built on Michigan outlines and Michigan references, and material written for the ILE states is background reading here, not the syllabus.
The route, step by step
Step one — secure the traineeship before anything else. The trainee works for a licensed Hearing Aid Dealer; find the dealer first, because the trainee license the Department grants names that dealer and provides that the trainee works for and under that dealer’s direction and supervision. Step two — the trainee license and the six months. The license is valid for 12 months; the salesperson application requires at least six of those months served. A trainee who changes dealers applies to transfer the license rather than working under the wrong name. Step three — apply to the Department for the salesperson license; the Department alone determines eligibility, and on approval issues the authorization to test that PSI also receives. Step four — register with PSI — online at any hour or by telephone — paying the examination fee at registration, and schedule the Theory and Practical Examinations in whichever order suits, since PSI does not require the written paper first. Step five — sit both examinations: one government-issued photo identification bearing your signature at the theory sitting, and at the practical your own model, materials, impression box, and the signed Model Certification and Waiver. Step six — the license and the two years. PSI notifies the Department electronically of passes; the Department issues the license. The dealer’s step then runs on the same machinery two years later: fresh application, Dealer Theory Examination, and — for that tier only — the two statutory alternatives to the written paper described below.
The outline in full
The Michigan set has three examinations and three sources of truth: PSI’s two published content outlines for the theory papers, and PSI’s published test specifications for the practical. They are stated here in full, in the order a candidate meets them, because they interlock — the traineeship teaches what the practical performs, the salesperson theory paper tests the same craft as knowledge, and the dealer paper re-examines the senior licensee on the law and business of the practice the two salesperson examinations admitted them to.
The Salesperson Theory Examination: 100 scored questions, 120 minutes
PSI’s outline follows the client encounter in order, and its weights reward candidates who prepare in that order. Client History and Information (7) opens the paper: the record the fitting will stand on. Ear Examination (16) is the second-largest block — otoscopy and the ear’s presentation examined as knowledge before the practical examines them as performance. Audiometric Assessment of Hearing (18), the largest block, covers the basic audiometric test the statute names: air and bone conduction, speech measures, and the masking judgements that keep thresholds honest. Evaluation of Client/Patient Suitability for Hearing Instruments (11) is the referral block — the prescribed rules in fitting and referral for otologic examination that MCL 339.1308 writes into the examination’s purpose live here. Selecting and Evaluating Hearing Instruments (10) and Fitting and Dispensing Hearing Instruments (10) carry the instrument work itself. Orienting and Educating Clients and Follow-Up Care (14), the third-largest block, is the paper’s quiet rebuke to candidates who study only measurement: the examined salesperson is expected to make a fitting survive contact with a wearer’s real life. Repair of Hearing Instruments (6) and Sales and Administrative Regulation (8) close the paper. PSI’s suggested references match the outline: the IHS distance-learning course for professionals in hearing health sciences, Sandlin’s Hearing Instrument Science and Fitting Practices, Martin and Clark’s Introduction to Audiology, Donaldson on masking, the federal hearing aid labeling and conditions-of-sale rules at 21 CFR 801.420–801.421, and the Occupational Code itself.
The Salesperson Practical Examination (Ear Impression): 60 minutes, one impression
The practical’s specifications, published by PSI as sections A through K, describe a single clinical act examined end to end. Set-up (A): hands sanitized, equipment sanitized, all items accounted for and in working order. Otoscopic examination (B): the otoscope used with proper positioning and handling, and proper bracing — which PSI defines exactly: the hand bracing the model’s head must also be in contact with the piece of equipment being inserted into the ear. Characteristics (C): the candidate indicates what to look for during the otoscopic examination. Impression procedure (F): material properly mixed, properly inserted, bracing demonstrated again, proper set-up time allowed. Contraindications (G): the candidate indicates the things that would prevent taking an impression. Client explanation (H): the sensations the client may experience are explained before they are felt. Removal (I): the impression removed in a safe manner, and the ear examined with the otoscope after removal, bracing included. Outcome (J and K): the things that determine a good outcome, judged on the finished piece — canal adequately filled beyond the second bend, no blow-by, helix and anti-helix well filled, tragus, anti-tragus, and bowl well defined. Two structural facts govern preparation. The candidate gets one impression, not a best-of series. And the examiner may stop the demonstration where improper procedures, materials, or equipment may cause injury or discomfort — an ear infection or a canal occlusion, the very findings the otoscopic sections examine, can end the sitting on safety grounds before any material is mixed.
The Dealer Theory Examination: 65 scored questions, 90 minutes
The dealer paper inverts the salesperson paper’s centre of gravity. Audiometric Assessment of Hearing and Hearing Aid Modifications (34) — over half the paper — keeps the senior licensee’s clinical hand in: assessment at dealer depth, together with the modification work a dealer performs and answers for. Michigan Regulatory and Statutory Requirements (15) examines Article 13 and its surrounding Occupational Code articles as working law. Federal Regulation of the Hearing Aid Industry (10) covers the federal labeling and conditions-of-sale framework. Contracts (4) and Liability Insurance (2) are small in count and large in signal: PSI’s dealer reference list adds Michigan’s Home Solicitation Sales Act, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, the Workers’ Disability Compensation Act, the Uniform Commercial Code’s sale-of-goods article, the wage and payment-of-wages acts, and federal employment-eligibility rules. The dealer is examined as an employer and a contracting business, because that is what the license makes them.
How Michigan reports results — and the re-score
The two examination kinds report differently, and the candidate should know both mechanics before sitting either. The theory result is immediate: a written result report is provided at once on completion. A passing candidate receives only an indication of PASS — passing numeric results are not available. A candidate who does not pass receives a diagnostic score report detailing an individual score for each major category in the content outline and the overall numeric score, which PSI directs the candidate to use in studying for the re-examination; a duplicate report can be requested by email. A candidate who receives a failing theory score may also request verification of the score — a re-scoring, requested in writing to PSI with the candidate’s identifying details and test date. PSI is explicit about its limits: re-scoring verifies the score, not the content or accuracy of specific items, and it includes no investigation of comments about items, although comments entered through the theory screen’s Comments link during the sitting are analyzed by PSI’s development staff and can lead the Department and PSI to re-evaluate results. The practical result is mailed: a written report reaches the candidate by mail within 7 business days, on the same PASS-only terms for passers and diagnostic terms for non-passers, and results cannot be released by telephone to either the Department or PSI. In both cases the pass that matters travels without the candidate’s help: PSI notifies the Department electronically, and the Department issues the license.
The sittings themselves
Theory examinations run on computer at PSI centres across Michigan — the bulletin lists Dearborn, Holt-Lansing, two Southfield centres, Grand Rapids, Gaylord, and Marquette — while the practical sits on scheduled dates at named centres. Arrive at least 30 minutes early; late arrival can mean non-admission and a forfeited fee. One form of valid, unexpired government-issued identification bearing your signature and photograph is required; failure to produce it ends the sitting and the fee with it. An introductory tutorial of up to 15 minutes precedes the theory paper and does not count against examination time, and one question at a time appears on screen with the minutes remaining displayed, answers changeable until time runs out. The 5–10 non-scored experimental questions inside each theory paper are not identified, are not scored, and PSI states the time taken on them does not count against the candidate. Cancellation discipline is mechanical: cancel or reschedule at least 2 days before the appointment — a Monday appointment needs notice by the previous Saturday — and voicemail or email is not an acceptable cancellation; a missed appointment, a late arrival, or missing identification forfeits the fee. Alternative delivery is published and priced: extra time at time-and-a-half, or a reader together with extra time, each for an additional fee of $50 per examination, arranged through PSI in advance, with accommodated candidates scheduling by telephone. Guests may not wait at a PSI centre — the only other person the practical admits is the model, whose own rules are strict: at least 18 years old, a signed Model Certification and Waiver brought to the site, government photo identification matching the form, and no current licensure in the field and none within the past 3 years, verified by PSI after the sitting, with invalidation of the examination as the published consequence of getting it wrong.
A study plan built on how these examinations are actually put together
Build the plan in the order the evidence weights the risk. First, the impression as a performance — the single-attempt, 80% practical: full runs on a real person, against the 60-minute allowance, with bracing executed as PSI defines it and the finished piece inspected against the published outcome criteria — canal past the second bend, no blow-by, helix and bowl defined — until a good impression is the routine product rather than the good day. Second, otoscopy as a safety gate — positioning, bracing, the characteristics to look for, and the findings that stop a procedure, rehearsed until the decision to not proceed is as practised as the procedure itself. Third, the theory paper’s heavy blocks — audiometric assessment, ear examination, and follow-up care, 48 of the 100 scored questions between them, studied against the traineeship’s performed memory. Fourth, the outline’s tail — suitability and referral rules, selection, fitting, repair, and Michigan sales and administrative regulation, the blocks a measurement-focused candidate under-builds. Fifth, the dealer horizon, for candidates already licensed: Michigan regulatory requirements and the federal framework read as the law of a running business, with contracts and liability carried as the small-count, high-signal topics they are. Leave the final days for the administrative rehearsal — authorization confirmed, model eligible and consented, waiver signed, materials complete, identification in order — the details that void sittings without testing knowledge at all.
The working method: turning the outline into a performance
Michigan preparation fails most often as a sequencing problem wearing a knowledge problem’s clothes, and in one characteristic second way: candidates study a one-impression performance examination by reading about impressions. The working method that answers both has four parts. Perform weekly, from the traineeship onward. The six supervised months are the raw material; deliberate full-sequence rehearsals — set-up, otoscopy, explanation, impression, removal, re-inspection, boxing — refine them into the performed chain PSI’s specifications describe, with every deviation named and corrected on the spot. An error log keyed to the three examinations. Every missed theory item, shallow fill, blow-by, and skipped contraindication filed under salesperson theory, practical, or dealer theory, so the log — not confidence — assigns the remaining study. Bracing as a named drill. The head-bracing hand in contact with the instrument being inserted, practised for otoscope and impression syringe alike, because PSI publishes the standard and examiners examine to it. Administrative dry runs. Before each sitting, walk its checklist cold: Department authorization received, PSI registration paid, model verified unlicensed for three years and briefed, waiver and identification ready, cancellation deadline calendared. Michigan voids candidacies through models and paperwork at least as reliably as through audiometry.
The errors these examinations are built to catch
The Michigan set catches a recognisable set. Preparing with ILE material as the syllabus — the ILE is a fine general text and the wrong examination; Michigan’s outlines, references, and law blocks are Michigan’s. Treating the dealer license as the entry license, or the traineeship as a credential, misreads the ladder in both directions. Rehearsing impressions without the safety gate — mixing material for an ear that should never have been impressed — meets an examiner empowered to stop the sitting. Arriving with an ineligible model: a colleague licensed last year invalidates the examination after the fact, under PSI’s published rule. Studying measurement and skipping follow-up care concedes 14 of 100 theory questions, and skipping the regulation block concedes 8 more. And cancelling by voicemail — expressly not accepted — converts a reschedule into a forfeited fee.
The licenses in one view
Michigan’s two licenses in one view are a chain of answered-for trust. A dealer takes responsibility for a trainee, in writing, by name; the state then tests the trainee two ways — what they know across the whole client encounter, and whether their hands can produce, once, under observation, the impression every custom fitting stands on; the new salesperson practices as a dealer’s employee under the conduct rules Article 13 names; and two years later the state tests the senior step on the law, the federal frame, and the business instruments of the practice they will now answer for. The examinations sit at the two hinges of that chain, and each is built in its hinge’s image: the salesperson set certifies a clinician-seller, the dealer paper certifies the proprietor that clinician-seller becomes. The candidate who studies them as one career told in three sittings finds the parts reinforcing each other — the practical’s otoscopy explains the theory’s ear-examination block, the theory’s regulation explains the dealer’s statute block, and the traineeship explains why the state insists on supervision before it will examine at all.
After the sittings: the license and the ladder’s top
Passing changes the candidate’s title, not their employer: the new Hearing Aid Salesperson sells and fits as an employee of a dealer, inside a business Article 13 structures — annual licensee lists filed by the seller, an established physical place of business, branch offices under a qualified licensee’s personal direct supervision. The conduct frame examined in the regulation blocks now governs daily: no sale to a person 16 or younger without the otologic examination, physician approval, and audiologic evaluation the statute requires; no house-to-house canvassing without prior referral or request; no referral payments to medical professionals or institutions; a dealer who sponsors trainees answers for their actions. The salesperson who keeps the dealer horizon in view treats the two licensed years as the dealer paper’s practicum — regulatory requirements, contracts, liability, and federal rules learned from inside a running practice — so that when the Dealer Theory Examination comes, its heaviest blocks are a description of work already understood. The statutory alternatives for that tier — the National Hearing Aid Society basic home study course accepted in place of the dealer written examination, or waiver on a substantially equal out-of-state examination — are the Department’s to grant, and a candidate relying on either confirms it with the Department rather than assuming it.
Frequently asked questions
Which documents govern the Michigan route?
Article 13 of the Occupational Code (MCL 339.1301–339.1309) for the licenses and their qualifications, and the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin for the examinations’ content outlines, specifications, and sitting rules. The Department directs candidates to its hearing aid dealers pages at michigan.gov for applications and licensing requirements.
Why does Michigan call the entry dispensing license “salesperson”?
Because Article 13 defines the occupation that way: a hearing aid salesperson is the individual who engages in the retail sale of hearing aids as an employee of a hearing aid dealer, and a dealer is the individual who engages in that sale as the principal. The salesperson license is the full entry dispensing license; the dealer license is the senior tier above it.
What does MCL 339.1308 say the written examination tests?
Knowledge, and a practical demonstration of the candidate’s ability in giving a basic audiometric test, in taking an ear mold impression, and in following the prescribed rules in fitting and referral for otologic examination. PSI’s modern papers divide that statutory territory into a computer-based theory examination and a separate performed ear-impression practical.
How are the theory examinations scored and reported?
PSI publishes a passing score of 70% for each. The result report is provided immediately on completion: passers receive only a PASS indication and no numeric score; non-passers receive a diagnostic report with a score for each major content-outline category and the overall numeric score.
What if I believe my failing theory score is wrong?
You may request a verification re-scoring in writing from PSI. It verifies the score only — it does not review the content or accuracy of individual items. Comments entered during the sitting through the Comments link are separately analyzed by PSI’s development staff.
When do practical results arrive?
By mail, within 7 business days of the examination, on the same terms: PASS only for passers, a diagnostic category report for non-passers. Results are not released by telephone.
What exactly is “proper bracing” on the practical?
PSI’s published standard: the hand that is bracing the model’s head must also be in contact with the piece of equipment being inserted into the ear. It is examined in the otoscopic examination, the impression procedure, and the post-removal examination alike.
Can the examiner stop my practical?
Yes. PSI states the examiner may stop the demonstration if improper procedures, materials, or equipment may cause injury or discomfort to the model, and that an ear infection, an occlusion of the ear canal, or another condition may also cause the examiner to stop the procedure.
How many impressions do I make at the practical?
One. You are allowed to take only one impression, you provide all materials and a retention box for the finished impression, and the finished piece is judged against PSI’s published outcome criteria.
What are the dealer examination’s alternatives?
For the dealer tier only, MCL 339.1305 permits the Department to accept successful completion of the National Hearing Aid Society basic home study course in place of the dealer written examination, or to waive that examination where the applicant passed a substantially equal examination given by another state’s official hearing aid examining board. Both are Department decisions, confirmed with the Department — neither applies to the salesperson examinations.
What happens if I miss an appointment or cancel late?
The fee is forfeited. Cancellation or rescheduling requires notice received at least 2 days before the appointment, through the PSI website or by speaking with a representative — voicemail and email do not count as cancellation.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with LARA or PSI?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. LARA alone licenses; PSI administers the examinations under contract to the Department.
When does enrollment open for the PassProfessor program?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address on this page and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.