# What a closet visit can and cannot touch

Short answer: the switch and the patch cords, yes. A new outlet, anything on the fire alarm system, and new cable drops are not part of a swap or repatch visit.

## Swapping the switch and moving patch cords (Inside the visit)

Replacing an access switch and repatching cords is work on telecommunications equipment. Michigan's Skilled Trades Regulation Act lists, among work that does not need an electrical licence, the construction, installation, maintenance, repair and renovation of telecommunications equipment and related systems by a person primarily engaged in the telecommunications and related information systems industry (MCL 339.5737(3)(o)).

Both conditions sit in that item: what the work is, and who does it. The same item says it does not include fire alarm systems. A licence or exemption is something the person doing the work must meet; this page does not decide it for any particular person.

## A new outlet or circuit for a UPS or switch (Outside the visit: electrician)

Adding a circuit or a receptacle is electrical wiring, not telecom equipment work, so the telecom item above does not reach it. A licensed electrician does it.

If your note mentions one, the proposal lists it as a separate item for your client to arrange, ideally before the visit so the new switch or UPS has power on the day.

## A fire alarm dialer or communicator plugged into the switch (Left exactly as it is)

A dialer or communicator that reports a fire alarm panel is part of the fire alarm system, and the telecom item expressly leaves fire alarm systems out.

The visit does not move, unplug or repatch it. It photographs where it plugs in, and the proposal raises any move as a question for your client and their alarm company before the cutover. If the dialer must change ports, the alarm company arranges that.

## New cable drops (A separate item)

Pulling new cable to a desk is a cabling job: a run, a jack, termination and testing. It is not a repatch, and it changes the length and price of the visit.

The proposal scopes new drops as their own line with their own price, or leaves them out if you prefer. It never folds them into the repatch.

## Switch configuration, VLANs and firmware (Your engineer)

Your engineer keeps configuration, firmware and acceptance from the bridge. The person on site cables, powers, labels and photographs.

If the new switch does not come up on the management network, the person on site can connect a console cable and type what your engineer reads out, or share a session if you arrange one. They do not change settings on their own.

## Carry your decisions into the draft

On the page you can tick: leave the new outlet to the client's electrician; list new drops as a separate item; flag the fire alarm dialer for the alarm company. The choices go into the request on the front page.

Source: [Michigan Compiled Laws 339.5737 (Skilled Trades Regulation Act), 2025 compilation as published by Justia](https://law.justia.com/codes/michigan/chapter-339/statute-act-407-of-2016/article-7/section-339-5737/), viewed November 9, 2026. A plain summary, not legal advice.

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