Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Commerce licenses residential builders and remodelers.

To find out if a company or individual is licensed in Minnesota, call (651) 296-6319 or (800) 657-3978 or click https://www.egov.state.mn.us/Commerce/license_lookup.do?action=lookupForm.  

For a list of licensed Residential Builders click here.

To find out if an electrician, alarm and communication contractor or elevator contractor is licensed, click http://www.electricity.state.mn.us/E_contrs/index.html. To find out if a plumbing contractor is licensed, click http://www.doli.state.mn.us/pe_license.html#lookup and scroll to the bottom of the page. 

To find out if a lead contractor is licensed, click http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/lead/prof/lead_party_query.cfm. 

• Asbestos Abatement Licenses and Certificates

• Lead Abatement Licenses and Certificates
   
• Electrician's Licenses

• Plumber's Licenses

• Department of Transportation (DOT)

• Out-of-State Corporations

To apply for a residential builder's or remodeler's license, contact:

Department of Labor and Industry (651) 284-5065 Fax: (651) 284-5746 E-mail:  DLI.Contractor@state.mn.us  http://www.doli.state.mn.us/contractor.html

If you want to build or remodel residential property in Minnesota and your company's gross receipts are over $15,000 in a calendar year, you must get a license. If you don't expect to gross more than $15,000, you must still file an affidavit with the Department. If you go over the limit you must get a license immediately.

You don't need a license from the Department if you work as a plumber, electrician, or mechanical contractor. Plumbers are licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health and electricians are licensed by the Board of Electricity. Mechanical contractors are licensed by cities or counties but not by the state.

If you work in only one of the following specialty trades (except roofing) you don't need a residential builder/remodeler license. However if you work in two or more specialty trades, you need a license. Here are the trades the Department uses:

Excavation
Masonry/concrete
Carpentry
Interior finishing
Exterior finishing
Drywall and plaster
Roofing
General installation specialties

If you work in the roofing business, your company must get a roofer license. You (or an employee you designate) must also pass the residential roofer trade exam to get a license.

You must have liability insurance for at least $100,000 per occurrence and at least $10,000 property damage coverage. You may need unemployment insurance and Minnesota workers' compensation insurance. The application will also ask you about your company's organization and management personnel.

You'll also have to pay a fee to the Contractor's Recovery Fund. The fee is based on your company's gross receipts:

You must pass a business and law exam and a trade exam to get a license. The exams are given by Experior. Each exam lasts two hours and has 50 multiple choice questions.

The business and law exam is closed book. Here's a table of the subjects on the exam and the percentage of questions on each subject:

The reference for the business and law exam is the Minnesota Contractors Reference Manual. You can buy this and/or practice exams from Experior by contacting them at:

Experior 1260 Energy Lane St. Paul, MN 55108 (800) 490-6421 http://www.experioronline.com

Here's a summary of the subjects on the Residential builder trade exam and the percentage of questions on the subject on the exam:

Here's the information on the Residential remodeler trade exam and the percentage of questions on each subject:

Here are the subjects on the Residential roofer trade exam and the percentage of questions on each subject:

Builder, Remodeler and Roofer license fees: It will cost you $45 to take the business and law exam. Trade exams are also $45. A license will cost you $100. All licenses expire on March 31 each year.

Currently the Department has no reciprocity agreements with other states for these licenses.

Asbestos Abatement Licenses and Certificates

To do asbestos work in Minnesota your business must be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health. All employees of an asbestos business must also be certified by the Department. To get an application, contact:

Minnesota Department of Health Asbestos Unit 121 East Seventh Place P.O. Box 64975 St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 (651) 215-0900 / Fax: (651) 215-0975 http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/index.html

To get an abatement contractor license you must employ a Department-certified site supervisor who will be responsible for the asbestos work your company does. You will also need to provide workers' compensation insurance and a Minnesota Business Identification Number.

Asbestos abatement license fee: The license will cost you $100 nonrefundable and it's good for one year.

Any individual working in asbestos abatement must be certified as a worker, site supervisor, inspector, management planner, or project designer. You must have completed the initial Department-approved asbestos training course associated with your trade before you apply for a certificate. You also need the following Department-approved education and/or experience requirements:

Worker
1. 1,000 hours in the general commercial construction trades; or,
2. 18-month vocational training program in construction; or,
3. two years in an apprenticeship program

Site supervisor
1. 2,000 hours in asbestos or general commercial construction trades; or,
2. bachelor's degree and 500 hours in asbestos or general commercial construction trades; or,
3. master's degree in environmental health, industrial hygiene or safety; or,
4. completion of an apprenticeship program

Inspector
1. 500 hours in building inspection, asbestos work, industrial hygiene, or hazardous materials control; or,
2. completion of an apprenticeship program; or,
3. Minnesota building official license; or,
4. bachelor's degree and 40 hours on-site asbestos inspection experience with a Minnesota-certified asbestos inspector; or,
5. registration as a professional engineer, architect, certified industrial hygienist, or certified safety professional

Management planner
1. 1,000 hours in building inspection, asbestos work, industrial hygiene, or hazardous materials control; or,
2. Minnesota building official license; or,
3. bachelor's degree and 500 hours in building inspection, asbestos work, industrial hygiene, or hazardous materials control; or,
4. registration as a professional engineer, architect, certified industrial hygienist, or certified safety professional; or,
5. master's degree in environmental health, industrial hygiene or safety and 250 hours in building inspection, asbestos work, industrial hygiene, or hazardous materials control

Project designer
1. 4,000 hours asbestos work or asbestos management; or,
2. registration as a professional engineer, architect, certified industrial hygienist, or certified safety professional

Asbestos abatement certificate fees: It will cost you $50 for a worker or site supervisor certificate, and $100 for any other certificate. A certificate is good for one year.

Lead Licenses and Certificates

To do lead abatement work in Minnesota your business must be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health. To get an application, contact:

Minnesota Department of Health Lead Program P.O. Box 64975 St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 (651) 215-0890 http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/lead/prof/index.htm

Any individual working in lead abatement must be certified as a worker, site supervisor, inspector, risk assessor, or project designer. You must have completed the initial Department-approved lead training course associated with your trade before you apply for a certificate. Click here for a list of training courses. Site supervisor, risk assessor and project designer candidates also need the Department-approved education and/or experience requirements outlined below.

Site supervisor- one of the following

• one year experience as a licensed lead worker;
• one year of experience in the childhood lead poisoning prevention program of a government agency; OR
• at least two years of experience in other environmental remediation or general commercial construction trades

Risk assessor- one of the following

• high school diploma/GED and 3 years experience in regulated lead work, asbestos abatement, environmental remediation, general construction, or in childhood lead poisoning prevention program of a government agency;
• bachelors degree and 1 year experience in regulated lead work, asbestos abatement, environmental remediation, general construction, or in childhood lead poisoning prevention program of a government agency; 
• associate's degree and 2 years of experience in regulated lead work, asbestos abatement, environmental remediation, general construction, or in childhood lead poisoning prevention program of a government agency; OR
• designation as a certified industrial hygienist, registered professional engineer, registered architect, certified safety professional, or registered public health sanitarian

Project designer- one of the following

• bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture, or an environmental or safety discipline and 1 year of experience in building construction, design, or a related field;
• designation as a registered architect, registered professional engineer, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, or a certified asbestos project designer;
• 2 years of work experience in regulated lead work, asbestos-related work, asbestos management activities, or other environmental remediation; OR
• 4 years of experience in building construction, design, or a related field

Lead abatement license fee: The license will cost you $50 nonrefundable and it's good for one year.

Electrician's Licenses

To do electrical work in Minnesota you need to be licensed by the State Board of Electricity. To get an application, contact:

Electrical Licensing and Inspection 443 Lafayette Rd. N. St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 284-5064 Fax: (651) 284-5743 http://www.electricity.state.mn.us/

The Board issues four types of contractor licenses – Class A Electrical, Class B Electrical Elevator, and alarm and communication. It also issues eight types of electrician licenses. Let's look first at the contractor licenses. To get either contractor license you must post a contractor's bond for $5,000. You must also have general liability insurance for $100,000 per occurrence, $300,000 aggregate, and property damage insurance for $300,000 per occurrence, $300,000 aggregate. There are no experience requirements for contractor licenses.

You don't have to pass an exam to get an electrical contractor license but you must either be a licensed master electrician or employ a licensed master electrician who will be responsible for all the electrical work your company does.

A master electrician license is not required to obtain an alarm and communication license, however, you or an employee you designate, must pass an exam to get an alarm and communication contractor's license. The exam is on the current National Electrical Code and general electrical theory. It will cost you $35 to take this exam.

Any of the contractor licenses will cost from $25 to $200, depending on when you get it. The electrical contractor licenses are good for two years, expiring the end of February each even-numbered year. The alarm and communication contractor license is good for two years, expiring June 30 each odd-numbered year.

Now let's look at the electrician licenses. Here's a summary of the requirements for each type of license and the annual license fee:

Electrician's exam license fee: The exam you have to pass to get an electrician license will be on licensing laws, the current National Electrical Code, and electrical theory. It will cost you $35 to take an exam. License fees for the various classifications are as follows::

Class A master and master elevator constructor, $40/yr
Class B master, $25/yr
Class A journeyman, Class B journeyman, Class A or B installer, elevator constructor, maintenance, lineman or special electrician, $15/yr
Electrical contractor and alarm communication contractor, $100/yr

Plumber's Licenses

To do plumbing work in any city in Minnesota with a population over 5,000, you must get a license from the Minnesota Department of Health. To see the Minnesota statutes on plumbing, go to http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/326/40.html

To get an application, contact:

Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Plumbing and Engineering 443 Lafayette Road N. St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 284-5067 Fax: (651) 284-5748 http://www.health.state.mn.us/index.html E-mail: dli.plumbing@state.mn.us

The Department issues master plumber, journeyman plumber, water conditioning installer and water conditioning contractor licenses. If this is the first time you're applying for a license, you must include three notarized references with your application.

You must pass an exam to get a license. To qualify for the master exam you must have at least five years of Department-approved plumbing experience and a Minnesota journeyman plumber license or a master plumber license in a state with requirements equal to those in Minnesota.

To qualify for the journeyman plumber exam you need four years of Department-approved plumbing experience. If you have a journeyman plumber license in another state you must have passed an exam and had four years of practical plumbing work experience to get the license.

The exams are based on the Minnesota Plumbing Code and Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4715. Part of the exams are open book from these references. You can get these books from:

Minnesota Bookstore 660 Olive Street St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 297-3000 (800) 657-3757 Fax: (651) 296-2265 http://www.comm.media.state.mn.us

Anyone contracting to do plumbing work must provide evidence of a $25,000 code compliance bond. You can get the bond application online at http://www.doli.state.mn.us/pe_license.html#bond. 

Plumber's license fees: It costs you $50 nonrefundable to take an exam. The master license costs $120 and the journeyman license is $55. A license is good for one year but they all expire on December 31 each year. The water conditioning installer license fee is $30 and the water conditioning contractor license fee is $70.

If you've passed a licensing exam in North or South Dakota and don't live in Minnesota, you can get a Minnesota license by reciprocity. Contact the Department for a reciprocity application.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

You don't have to be prequalified to bid on Minnesota Department of Transportation projects. However you may have to provide a written statement showing your experience, amount of capital, and equipment you have available for a project before you can get the contract for the job. The Department address is:

Department of Transportation 395 John Ireland Blvd., MS 650 St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 296-6256 Fax: (651) 296-8773 http://www.dot.state.mn.us/

Proposed projects are listed in the Construction Bulletin. For subscription information, contact:

Construction Bulletin 9443 Science Center Drive New Hope, MN 55428 (612) 537-1122 (800) 328-4827 ext. 1162 http://www.cmdg.com/products/construction_bulletin.html

Proposed project and bidding information is available on the department's bid letting site at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/bidlet.

You need to know about the Department's requirements for its construction projects before bidding on a project. You can get this information in their publication, Standard Specifications for Construction. The Department sells it for $20 hard cover or $17 soft cover plus tax, shipping, and handling. Here's the contact office:

Manual Sales Office Department of Transportation Mail Stop 260 395 John Ireland Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 296-2216 http://www.dot.state.mn.us/mapsales

Out-of-State Corporations

Out-of-state corporations should check with the Minnesota Secretary of State before doing business in Minnesota. You can contact them at:

Secretary of State 180 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 296-2803 http://www.sos.state.mn.us/

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