Radon in a Michigan home: test it, then decide who fixes it

What a radon system does

Radon is a gas that moves from soil into a house. A mitigation system draws it from under the floor or from a crawl space cover and vents it outdoors through a pipe and fan. EPA says the common approaches are sub-slab, drain-tile, sump-hole or block-wall suction in basements, and a high-density plastic sheet over the earth with a vent pipe and fan in crawl space homes, which it calls the most effective crawl space method. A sump can be capped to serve as the suction point.

EGLE says sealing floor cracks alone will generally not take care of the problem, though sealing may be enough when levels sit close to 4 pCi/L. EPA says some systems reduce radon by up to 99 percent. University of Minnesota Extension notes that a system beneath the slab also helps with moist air and soil gases.

What radon testing and mitigation cost in Michigan: EGLE's ranges

These are the ranges Michigan EGLE publishes, not quotes we collected. EGLE gives different mitigation ranges on different pages, so each row names its page, and those Michigan figures come before our own estimate of $1,075 to $2,425 per system, installed. Ours is a model built from one published national range, adjusted by Michigan's construction laborer wage ratio (1.05). Wages are what workers are paid, not what you are charged.

How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row is a model, not a quote. It takes one published national range for this job (a cost guide from a third-party site that we have not verified and do not cite) and multiplies it by Michigan's construction laborer median wage ratio to the US (1.05, BLS 2025 data read through O*NET OnLine). No permit fee is added: the city permit rows below are shown as printed. The wage and permit rows are what workers are paid and what a city's own schedule charges, and neither is a price. Your soil, water and the repair method move a real quote well outside any range, so get an independent diagnosis first. We have not collected quotes, and we found no Michigan foundation company that publishes a price we could count. Michigan EGLE's own radon price ranges are shown in their own rows and are not a model input. Full method. Prices as of Oct 19, 2026.

Test with someone who has nothing to sell

The independent step in this trade is the test. A company that tests and also sells systems has a reason to read a borderline result high. EPA says the only way to know is to test. A short-term screening test lasts at least 48 hours, under closed-house conditions, best in the heating season, placed on the lowest livable level and not in a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, closet, utility room or crawl space. EGLE recommends retesting every two years because homes settle and new cracks form.

EPA recommends fixing at 4 pCi/L or higher and says to consider fixing between 2 and 4. If you test yourself, EGLE prices short-term kits at $10 to $20 and long-term kits at $20 to $50 (EGLE radon FAQ). Hire a tester separate from the company that quotes the system when you can, and when you cannot, run a second test after the system is in. EGLE calls this market buyer beware and says to get more than one estimate and ask for references.

Where Michigan counties fall on EPA's zone map

EPA's 1993 zone map puts nine Michigan counties in Zone 1, predicted average indoor level above 4 pCi/L: Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lenawee, St. Joseph and Washtenaw. Those are the same nine counties where EGLE says the Michigan Residential Code requires radon-resistant new construction. Kent, Ingham and Oakland are Zone 2, and Wayne and Macomb are Zone 3, below 2 pCi/L.

A zone is a county prediction. EPA says all homes should be tested regardless of zone, and EGLE says the Michigan average is almost twice the U.S. average and that any home, old or new, with or without a basement, can have high radon. Our radon guide lists the full county table.

Hiring a radon contractor when the state does not license one

EGLE says radon testers and mitigators are not licensed or regulated in Michigan. Two national bodies, NRPP and NRSB, offer voluntary certification, and EGLE and EPA point to them; we have not opened their listings, so treat that as a pointer, not a check we made. EPA recommends a qualified mitigation contractor, and says that if you do the work yourself you should get training information from the state radon office.

A system also needs a fan wired to power, and where it touches a sump or floor drain, plumbing work. Those trades have their own licenses, but that part is our inference. Sterling Heights is the one city we found that prints a radon line on its plumbing permit chart ($125), so a radon system is a permitted item there; for other cities, ask the building department.

Radon and a home sale

EGLE says radon testing and mitigation are not required in a real estate transaction and that a system can be installed before or after purchase, a point to negotiate. We read that through a partial page, so confirm it with EGLE. The Michigan Seller Disclosure form asks about environmental hazards such as radon.

What counts as a radon emergency

What to do before you call a radon company

1. Buy or request a test kit, place it on the lowest livable level, and keep windows closed as the kit directions say.
2. Retest if the result is close to 4 pCi/L, and keep both results.
3. Ask each company to state in writing the post-install test and what happens if the number stays high.

Permits and licensing for radon work

Michigan has no radon license. Whether a system needs a building or electrical permit is not stated on any state or city page we read, apart from Sterling Heights, so ask your building department.

Ask for the contractor's license number and check it with your state licensing agency before you sign anything.

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Questions people ask

Keep reading

Guides

• Radon in Michigan: EPA zones by county, test kits and what a fix involves
• Which residential code applies to Michigan foundation work, 2015 or 2021
• Crawl space encapsulation and what the 2015 code actually requires

Related services

• Crawl space encapsulation
• Sump pump
• Foundation inspection

Michigan licensing, code and permit facts · How to check a builder's license · Report a wrong price or rule