Best Plumbers in Michigan (2026)
Five companies graded A to C+ — and every licence checked against the Michigan state register, with the number printed so you can confirm it yourself.
NSP Plumbing is the highest-graded plumber on this list, at A — but it is a Grand Rapids company and serves West Michigan, roughly 150 miles from Detroit. If you are in metro Detroit, the highest grade that actually covers you is Universal Plumbing and Sewer at A-, out of Clinton Township, covering Macomb and Oakland County.
All five hold a current Michigan plumbing contractor licence. Every number, the name it is held under, the licence city and the expiry date are printed below. One of the five — NSP Plumbing — publishes its own licence number on its own website. The other four do not, which is normal and is not a mark against them, but it does mean this page is the place you can see it. 2,891 plumbing contractor licences were unexpired statewide as of September 14, 2026, out of 6,185 records on the register.
How this page is put together
- Who grades them
- Grade A Plumber. The letter grades are our editorial judgement. They are not a computed average and not a customer-review score.
- What IS verified here
- The licence. Every number was checked against the Michigan LARA licence export and is printed so you can confirm it against the state lookup yourself.
- Phone numbers and addresses
- Read off each company's own website. Never copied from a directory — directory listings carry stale and cross-wired numbers, and publishing a wrong number for a real business is the failure this site exists to avoid.
- Review scores
- Deliberately not reproduced. Those numbers belong to the platforms that collected them. This page publishes its own grade and nothing else.
- Based in vs serves
- Stated separately for every entry. Several of these companies are licensed at one address and operate from another, and the page says so rather than implying a local office.
- Can placement be bought
- No. Nothing on this site is for sale, no company has been offered a position, and none has paid for one.
- How current
- Licence data pulled July 16, 2026; licences re-checked and every company website read September 14, 2026.
- The known limit
- The state export is a snapshot. A licence issued after the pull date, or held under a different legal name, would not appear — which is exactly what happened with Universal Plumbing and Sewer, and is disclosed on its entry below.
The graded list
Grades convert to stars on a 5-point scale: A+ = 5.0, A = 4.7, A- = 4.3, B+ = 4.0, B = 3.7, C+ = 3.0, C = 2.7, C- = 2.3.
- A
1. NSP Plumbing
Grade A · 4.7 of 5 on our scale
A 24/7 plumbing group serving West Michigan. Everyday residential fixes, drain issues and emergency calls.
- Michigan licence
- 8004990 — held by Nathan Paggeot, Middleville, MI 49333. Renews 04/30/2027. Published on their own site.
- Address
- 3455 Byron Center Ave SW, Wyoming, MI 49519
- Phone
- (616) 207-9960
- Serves
- Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Kentwood, Rockford, Ada — Kent County
What we found: The only company on this list that publishes its own licence number — #8004990 on their site, an exact match to the state register. Two locations on record: the licence is held at a Middleville address, the business operates out of Wyoming. Both are West Michigan. This is a Grand Rapids company, roughly 150 miles from Detroit — it does not serve metro Detroit.
Their website · Verify licence 8004990 with the State of Michigan
- A-
2. Universal Plumbing and Sewer
Grade A- · 4.3 of 5 on our scale
A large residential plumbing and structural contractor in Metro Detroit. Heavy on the major technical work — water line repiping, main sewer backups, backup sump pumps.
- Michigan licence
- 8003173 — held by Leslie Nelson, Clinton Twp, MI 48035. Renews 04/30/2028.
- Address
- 35640 Gratiot Ave, Clinton Township, MI 48038
- Phone
- (586) 459-0040
- Serves
- Macomb and Oakland County — Warren, Sterling Heights, Clinton Twp, Mt Clemens, Troy, Bloomfield Hills, Novi, Southfield
What we found: The trading name and the licence name are different, which is why a plain search for "Universal Plumbing and Sewer" finds nothing in the state register. The licence is held as UNIVERSAL PLBG by Leslie Nelson in Clinton Township — and the company’s own site credits founder "Les Nelson, licensed master plumber": same name, same city. Same business. The ZIP differs between the two: 48035 on the licence, 48038 on their site. They also list an Oakland County showroom at 4266 Dixie Hwy, Waterford.
Their website · Verify licence 8003173 with the State of Michigan
- B+
3. Putman & Son’s Plumbing Inc
Grade B+ · 4.0 of 5 on our scale
A family-run plumbing company in Rochester Hills. Regular home plumbing, but stands out on complex underground layouts, commercial work and medical gas piping.
- Michigan licence
- 8001322 — held by Ralph Putman, Rochester Hills, MI 48306. Renews 04/30/2028.
- Address
- 2175 Crooks Rd, Rochester Hills, MI
- Phone
- (248) 652-0990
- Serves
- Rochester Hills and metro Detroit
What we found: Three Putmans hold records at the same Rochester Hills address. Only Ralph Putman’s #8001322 is current — Lowell’s (#8004243) and Mark’s (#8004266) contractor records both expired 12/31/2015, though Lowell holds a current master licence. The company licence is the live one. They advertise State Certified Backflow Inspectors but do not print a licence number on their site.
Their website · Verify licence 8001322 with the State of Michigan
- B-
4. Lakeside Pro Services
Grade B- · 3.3 of 5 on our scale
An all-in-one home maintenance outfit. Rather than plumbing alone they run several trades at once — irrigation, outdoor lighting, lawn care and remodelling alongside the plumbing division.
- Michigan licence
- 8004115 — held by Michael Kohne, Royal Oak, MI 48067. Renews 04/30/2027.
- Address
- 28279 Groesbeck Hwy, Roseville, MI 48066
- Phone
- (586) 445-2100
- Serves
- Southeastern Michigan — 29+ communities incl. Roseville, Troy, Warren, Sterling Heights, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Grosse Pointe
What we found: The licence is held at a Royal Oak address; the business operates out of Roseville and says it was founded in Grosse Pointe in 1998. Three different cities across the licence, the office and the origin story — all real, none contradictory, but worth knowing before you assume a Royal Oak shop. Plumbing is one of five divisions here, not the whole company.
Their website · Verify licence 8004115 with the State of Michigan
- C+
5. Motor City Plumbing and Drain
Grade C+ · 3.0 of 5 on our scale
A high-volume emergency plumbing business. A large fleet built for same-day dispatch on urgent residential drain clogs and fast water heater turnarounds.
- Michigan licence
- 8004542 — held by Michael Kish, Roseville, MI 48066. Renews 04/30/2027.
- Address
- 30367 Gratiot Ave, Roseville, MI 48066
- Phone
- (586) 585-1862
- Serves
- Roseville, Macomb County and metro Detroit
What we found: The cleanest match on the list — licence city, licence ZIP and the address on their own website all agree. Note there is a second, unrelated MOTOR CITY PLUMBING LLC (#8001871, Chad Babcock) licensed in Pinckney. Different company, different county.
Their website · Verify licence 8004542 with the State of Michigan
How Michigan licenses plumbers
In Michigan, a plumbing contractor must hold a current licence from the state's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). State plumbing contractor numbers run 80xxxxx. Every company on this page has its number printed, and you can confirm each one against the state's public licence lookup in about a minute. The licence is pass or fail here: it does not move a grade up or down.
Water and sewer rules are local, so each city page carries its own permit office and service-line facts: Birmingham, Troy, Sterling Heights, and Macomb. Need someone now? 24/7 emergency plumbers.
Verify any of them in about a minute
Take the licence number to the State of Michigan licence lookup and confirm three things match: the business name, the licence class (“Plumbing Contractor”), and the expiry date. Michigan plumbing contractor numbers start with 80. If a company will not give you a number, that is the answer.
One caveat worth knowing: Michigan plumbing licences all expire on April 30. A licence stays valid until that date whether the business is still trading or not — so an active licence proves legal standing, not that the company still answers the phone.
Common questions
Who is the best plumber in Michigan?
Of the five companies graded here, NSP Plumbing scores highest at A — but it serves Grand Rapids and West Michigan, not Detroit. For metro Detroit, Universal Plumbing and Sewer grades highest at A-, operating out of Clinton Township and covering Macomb and Oakland County.
How do I check if a Michigan plumber is licensed?
Take the licence number to the State of Michigan licence lookup at aca-prod.accela.com and confirm the business name, the licence class and the expiry date all match. Michigan plumbing contractor numbers begin with 80. Every licence number on this page is printed for exactly that purpose.
How many licensed plumbing contractors are there in Michigan?
2,891 plumbing contractor licences were unexpired as of September 14, 2026, out of 6,185 records on the state register. 2,839 of those active licences carry a business name; the rest are held by individuals.
Do Michigan plumbing licences expire?
Yes, and they all expire on the same date — April 30. A licence stays valid until that date whether the business is still trading or not, so an active licence confirms legal standing, not that the company is still open.
Can a plumber pay to be ranked higher on this page?
No. Nothing on this site is for sale, no company has been offered a position, and none has paid for one. The grades are editorial opinion and the licence data comes from the state.
Are the grades on this page the same as customer reviews?
No. The grades are this site’s own editorial judgement, published on a stated scale. They are not an average of customer reviews, and no third-party review scores are reproduced on this page.
What this page does not claim. The grades are our opinion, not a measurement, and they are not customer reviews. Licensing is a floor, not a ceiling — it proves a company is legally allowed to do the work, not that the work is good. Use the licence to rule out anyone who cannot produce a number, then judge the rest on the quote, the warranty and how they answer the phone.