Minnesota handyman license rules: what your residential building contractor or remodeler license lets you do, and where a handyman must stop

Published November 3, 2026 · Law checked November 3, 2026

• Free to read, nothing to download. The "can I take this job?" table below is the tool.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Every rule here links to the statute, rule or agency page it comes from. Ask the Department of Labor and Industry or a Minnesota attorney before you bet a job on my reading.

Minnesota has no handyman license. It has a residential license from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), and you need it when you contract directly with a homeowner for work in two or more of the eight "special skills" the law lists, on a home of one to four units.^1,2 Your residential building contractor license has no dollar ceiling, per job or per year. It covers new homes and remodels; the remodeler license covers existing homes only.³ The handyman line sits below you: one special skill at any size, or two or more skills only with gross receipts of $15,000 a year or less and a certificate of exemption.² Electrical and plumbing work is licensed separately at any job size, and HVAC and gas work takes a $25,000 state bond and often a city license.^7,10,12

That $15,000 number trips people up. In a Minnesota handyman thread this spring, the original poster settled on the wrong answer: "I thought it was 15k a year to but it's actually 15k per contract" (r/handyman). Weeks later another member came back after calling the state: "once you reach the $15k point accrued within a year you must file for a license. Not just a project that exceeds $15k" (r/handyman). The second one is right, and the statute says so. You hold the license now. Here's what it lets you take, where it stops, and what crossing each line costs, with the source behind every rule. What has to be in the contract itself is its own article: the Minnesota residential construction contract template.

What your Minnesota contractor license covers

DLI issues three residential licenses. For the first two, "All licensing requirements are the same for both licenses – only the exams are different."⁴ The difference is scope.

Sources: the definitions in Minn. Stat. 326B.802, DLI's licensing page and DLI's FAQ.^1,3,4

The eight special skills

Minnesota sorts residential work into eight categories. Your license covers all of them. The handyman line (next sections) is about how many of them someone else touches.¹

• Excavation: excavation, trenching, grading.
• Masonry and concrete: drain systems, poured walls, slabs and poured-in-place footings, masonry walls, fireplaces and veneer, waterproofing.
• Carpentry: rough framing, finish carpentry, doors, windows and skylights, "porches and decks, excluding footings," wood foundations, hanging drywall.
• Interior finishing: floor covering, wood floors, cabinets and countertops, insulation, painting, tile, prefabricated stairs and railings, wallpaper.
• Exterior finishing: siding, soffit, fascia and trim, stucco, painting, gutters and downspouts.
• Drywall and plaster: hanging, taping, finishing, plaster, painting, wallpaper.
• Residential roofing.
• General installation: garage doors and openers, pools, spas and hot tubs, fireplaces and wood stoves, asphalt paving and seal coating.

Nothing on that list is electrical, plumbing or HVAC. That's deliberate, and it's the next section.

No dollar limit, but four other edges

• Size. Minnesota doesn't cap the size of a job or your yearly volume. Your receipts only set the recovery fund fee you pay on top of the $180 base license fee: $320 under $1 million, $420 from $1 million to $5 million, $520 above.³
• One to four units. "Residential real estate" is a building "constructed for habitation by one to four families," detached garages included.¹ A six-unit building or a storefront is outside your license. No state license covers that building work, but cities can require a local license for commercial work.⁴
• New construction, if you hold CR. New homes and detached garages are BC work. An addition is harder to call: DLI draws the line at "existing structures," and an addition attaches to one, but I found no DLI statement either way. If you hold a remodeler license, ask DLI before you bid one.
• Structural work. There's no separate structural license. Moving a bearing wall is carpentry inside your license, with a permit.

The insurance your license depends on

Every licensee must carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, or a single $300,000 limit, with a certificate on file at DLI. If the policy is cancelled, the insurer tells DLI at the same time it tells you.⁶

Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and gas: what you sub out

Minnesota's residential license exempts "a plumber, electrician, or other person whose profession is otherwise subject to statewide licensing" when doing that work.² The flip side is that your license doesn't include those trades. Here's where each one sits.

Electrical: a license at any job size

Unless you're an employee of a licensed electrical contractor, you need an electrical contractor license to "perform or offer to perform electrical work with or without compensation." Electrical work means "installing, altering, repairing, planning, or laying out" wiring, apparatus or equipment.⁷ There's no dollar floor and no handyman exception. DLI's bulletin on minor repair work settles the question people ask most. Swapping a worn switch or receptacle for an identical one is minor repair, which is exempt from permits and inspection. Is it exempt from licensing? DLI's answer is one word: "No." Replacing a light fixture isn't even minor repair, so it needs a permit as well as an electrician.⁸

The contract side is easier. "General contractors and construction management firms that contract with licensed subcontractors to perform electrical work are not required to have their own electrical contractor license."⁹ So your kitchen contract can include the wiring, as long as a licensed electrical contractor does it. The exception that matters on a house is the owner: someone who lives in the home, on its own electric service, can wire it without a license.⁷

Plumbing: the same, plus one sump pump

Same pattern. "No person shall perform or offer to perform plumbing work with or without compensation unless the person obtains a contractor's license," and the people doing it must be licensed plumbers, or registered and supervised by one.¹⁰ DLI counts "all plumbing fixtures and traps" as part of the plumbing system, so a faucet or a toilet is plumbing. General contractors who sub to licensed plumbing contractors don't need their own plumbing license.¹¹ An owner can plumb the home they live in, unless a city ordinance forbids it.¹⁰

One carve-out is written for you. A licensed residential contractor doing waterproofing "may install in existing single-family dwellings a single sump pump, which receives subsurface or seepage water through a subsoil drain and discharges to grade," following the plumbing code.¹⁰ One pump, one existing house, water out to the yard. Anything more is a plumber's job.

HVAC and gas: a state bond, then the city

There's no state HVAC license in Minnesota. DLI: "While there is no state license required for mechanical contractors, businesses must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI in order to contract to perform gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work." Filing the bond costs $100 and lasts two years, and DLI adds that "mechanical contractors must comply with local licensing requirements."¹² Cities do license them. Minneapolis issues HVAC Class A licenses (install, fix and clean) and gas fitter licenses. St. Paul requires business trade licenses and competency cards for trades that include warm air and ventilation, and plumbing and gas fitting.^27,28 The furnace or condenser itself isn't covered by the electrical law, but "the installation of electrical wiring to the unit is covered" by it.¹³

So a furnace, an AC unit, a gas line for a range or a gas fireplace goes to a bonded mechanical contractor who holds the license of the city where the job is, with an electrician for the circuit. You could file the bond yourself. In Minneapolis or St. Paul you'd still need the city license, and DLI says cities may license the individual workers too.¹²

Look up every electrician, plumber and mechanical contractor on DLI's license and registration lookup before they start. The lookup shows licenses, bonds, certificates and registrations.

What can a handyman do without a license in Minnesota?

If you're licensed, this section is about the people around you: helpers, subs, the guy who used to do your punch lists and wants to go out on his own. It's also your answer when a homeowner asks why the handyman down the street is cheaper.

One special skill: no state license, any size

The license requirement doesn't apply to "specialty contractors who provide only one special skill," at any job size.² Roofing is the exception: roofing alone still needs a roofer, remodeler or building contractor license.³ The catch is how fast a handyman leaves one skill. Hanging a door is carpentry. Tiling the floor next to it is interior finishing. That's two. Decks are a quieter trap: carpentry covers "porches and decks, excluding footings," and "poured-in-place footings" belong to masonry and concrete.¹ On a plain reading, a deck on poured footings is two skills. I found no DLI ruling on that point.

Two or more skills: the $15,000 line, counted the way Minnesota counts it

• Per calendar year, not per job. The exemption covers "a person whose total gross annual receipts for performing specialty skills for which licensure would be required under this section do not exceed $15,000."² One $9,000 bathroom is under the line. Two aren't.
• Labor and materials together. Gross annual receipts "must not be reduced by cost of goods sold, expenses, losses, or any other amount."¹
• Everywhere. Receipts count "regardless of where the activities are performed," so the jobs across the river in Wisconsin count too.¹
• Splitting a job doesn't help. The line is a yearly total, so two invoices for one kitchen add up exactly like one.
• Only with the paper. Staying under $15,000 without a certificate of exemption is still unlicensed work. The certificate takes a notarized affidavit, costs $10, and expires March 31 every year.^2,5
• Passing it ends it that day. "If a person, operating under the exemption in clause (5), exceeds $15,000 in gross receipts during any calendar year, the person must immediately surrender the certificate of exemption and apply for the appropriate license." They then stay licensed until a calendar year comes in under $15,000.²
• At exactly $15,000, the statute says "do not exceed," so that's still inside; DLI's own page says "less than $15,000."^2,3 Nobody should plan a business around the last dollar.

One commenter in that Minnesota thread put the practical point well: "You would be surprised how quickly you get up to $15,000 level" (r/handyman). Another, in Bemidji, went the other way from the start: "I have a residential remodelers license, am insured, and have an LLC. It's working well for me" (r/handyman).

The certificate isn't a license, and its holder signs a sworn statement saying so: they're "prohibited from advertising as a licensed contractor unless I or my company holds a municipal license." A city can also require a local license before it issues them a permit.⁵

Minnesota contractor registration: the step one-skill contractors miss

Minnesota makes "any person who provides or performs building construction or improvement services in the state" register with DLI first. People holding a license, certificate or registration under chapter 326B are exempt, and so are mechanical and plumbing bond holders and employees.¹⁴ DLI sums up who's left: the program "is for those who provide one specialty skill for residential projects and for all commercial projects, if they do not hold a residential contractor's license."¹⁴

You're exempt. Your subs may not be. A contractor may not "engage another person to provide or perform building construction or improvement services if the other person is required to be registered under this section and is not registered," and each day someone works unregistered is a separate violation.¹⁴ DLI's FAQ adds that "an unregistered subcontractor is presumed to be an employee of any contractor that hires them," and that the penalty for hiring one is forgiven the first time.¹⁴ Check the drywall taper's registration the same way you check the electrician's license.

The other exemptions

The full list is in Minn. Stat. 326B.805, subdivision 6. These are the ones that come up:^2,3

• Employees of a licensee, working for the licensee.
• Owners building or improving a home they live in or will keep as a rental. Flippers aren't exempt: an owner who builds or improves "more than one property within any 24-month period" is presumed to be speculating, unless they keep the properties as rentals.
• Suppliers who sell materials but don't install them.
• Landlords "performing work other than plumbing or electrical work on their residential rental units," in DLI's words.

There's no small-job exemption, no hourly loophole, and an LLC isn't a license.

Lead paint and asbestos: credentials your license doesn't include

Lead paint: EPA's rule, made part of your license

Minnesota doesn't run its own renovation program yet. EPA administers the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule here; Minnesota isn't on EPA's list of states authorized to run their own.¹⁶ The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has been writing state rules to take it over, with its latest draft posted on May 13, 2025, and its page for lead contractors still says MDH is "working toward the implementation" of a state program.¹⁷ Until that happens, here's what applies on a house built before 1978:

• Your license makes it a state duty. A licensed contractor renovating a pre-1978 home "must be certified" under the federal firm rule and must be able to give DLI proof.¹⁵ Skip it and you've broken Minnesota licensing law as well as EPA's rule.
• The firm and the person both certify. EPA's program covers "all firms, even sole proprietorships."¹⁶
• Minor repair is small: 6 square feet of painted surface per room inside, 20 outside, never window replacement, and jobs in the same room within 30 days count as one job.¹⁶
• No paint chip testing. MDH: "In Minnesota, paint chip sampling may only be performed by a licensed lead-based paint inspector or risk assessor." An EPA-certified renovator can't use it here.¹⁷
• Abatement is a different license. Permanent lead removal is "regulated lead work," and doing it takes an MDH-certified lead firm.¹⁷

One owner's post opens with the line nobody wants to write: "I recently got caught scraping and painting a small area on pre 1978 house" (r/Contractor). The federal civil penalty behind the rule is up to $49,772 per violation at EPA's January 2025 inflation adjustment.¹⁸

Asbestos

MDH licenses asbestos work, and in a house the threshold is low. Removing, enclosing or encapsulating more than 10 linear feet of friable asbestos on pipes, or more than 6 square feet on other surfaces, is "asbestos-related work," and only a licensed asbestos contractor may do it or cause it to be done.¹⁹ The owner of a single-family home they live in is exempt. You aren't. A popcorn ceiling in a 1965 rambler gets tested before anyone scrapes it.

Can I take this job? A table for Minnesota residential building contractors and remodelers

The verdicts assume you hold a BC or CR license, the building has one to four units, and the city enforces the State Building Code. The code applies statewide, but permits and inspections happen where a city or township has adopted it.²⁰ The permit column follows the code's list of exempt work; your building official has the final word.

Sources for the table: special skills and license scope,^1,3 electrical,^7,8 plumbing and the sump pump,^10,11 HVAC and gas,^12,13,27,28 lead,¹⁶ asbestos,¹⁹ permits (Minnesota Rules 1300.0120).²⁰

What happens if you cross the line

Working without the license

This is the handyman who does two or more skills above $15,000, or under it without a certificate.

• It's a crime. "A person whose company is required to be licensed and who performs unlicensed work as a residential building contractor or remodeler is guilty of a misdemeanor."^4,21 In Minnesota that's up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.²⁹
• DLI fines. The commissioner can order "a monetary penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation," and can issue a stop work order covering all business operations. Working through a stop work order costs $5,000 a day.²¹ Violating a commissioner's order is a gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days and $3,000.^22,29
• No lien. "An unlicensed person who knowingly violates sections 326B.802 to 326B.885 has no right to claim a lien under section 514.01 and the lien is void."²²
• No permit. A city "shall not issue a building permit to an unlicensed person who is required to be licensed," and it reports the attempt to DLI.²²
• Getting paid. The statutes take away the lien and the permit. I found nothing in them that voids the contract itself, and I didn't research how Minnesota courts treat an unlicensed contractor's claim for payment. Without a lien, you're an unsecured creditor chasing a homeowner who can report you.
• The homeowner loses the recovery fund. It pays only on judgments against licensed building contractors and remodelers, up to $100,000 per owner and $550,000 per contractor.²⁴ That's a sentence worth saying when you're the higher bid.

Licensed, but doing the trade work yourself

Plumbing or wiring without the trade license breaks the plumbing or electrical law. DLI enforces those under the same statute: up to $10,000 per violation, and a misdemeanor.²¹ It reaches your residential license too, which can be sanctioned for violating "any other law, rule, or order related to the duties and responsibilities entrusted to the commissioner."²³

Lending your license

Someone will ask you to pull a permit for a job you're not running. Minnesota lists it as grounds to discipline your license: having "knowingly allowed an unlicensed person to use the licensee's license number for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining a building permit," or having "applied for or obtained a building permit for an unlicensed person."²³ The best answer to the question came from a GC on Reddit: "Never attach your name to anything in a legal way that you don't have control over... Just a recipe for disaster" (r/GeneralContractor).

Insurance

Your liability policy is a license condition, so a cancellation reaches DLI.⁶ I found no Minnesota rule on what doing work outside your license does to your coverage. That's in your policy. Ask your agent in writing: "Does my policy cover work that needs a license I don't hold?" Keep the reply.

Where your license number has to appear

• Every building permit and permit application. Where the city hasn't adopted the building code, it goes on the site plan review or zoning permit.²⁵
• Every contract, which "must state that the person is licensed and must state the license number."²⁵ The contract article has the rest of what a Minnesota contract needs.
• Business cards.²⁵
• All advertising, "including but not limited to signs, vehicles, business cards, published display ads, flyers, brochures, websites, and Internet ads."²⁵ That means the truck and the website.
• Lien notices and statements, per DLI. "The law does not require a specific size print or location for the license number."⁴

A certificate of exemption holder may not advertise as licensed without a city license.⁵ Hold your subs to the same standard: a mechanical bond isn't a license either.¹²

Local licenses: Minneapolis, St. Paul and the rest of Minnesota

Cities can't make you buy a second license for the work your state license covers. A political subdivision "may not require a person licensed under sections 326B.802 to 326B.885 to also be licensed or pay a registration or other fee related to licensure." Septic installers are the exception, and permit fees still apply.²⁶ DLI spells out what cities can license: certificate of exemption holders, specialty contractors, and licensed contractors working outside the state license, such as "HVAC installation or maintenance, or commercial work."⁴

• Minneapolis issues a residential specialty contractor license for one-skill contractors, with a $10,000 bond. "If you have a State of Minnesota Residential Building license, you do not need" it, and roofers need the state license instead. HVAC and gas fitter licenses are separate, each with the state's $25,000 bond.²⁷
• St. Paul requires a city building contractor license from certificate of exemption holders and one-skill contractors, with a $2,500 bond and $500,000 of insurance. "The City honors the State of Minnesota Residential Building Contractor License." Trades such as warm air and ventilation, plumbing and gas fitting, and concrete and masonry have their own business trade licenses and competency cards.²⁸
• Everywhere else, call the building department in the city where the job is. Permits are local even when licenses aren't.

Before the next job

1. Look your company up on DLI's lookup. BC or CR? That's your scope. Check the expiry date, and your qualifying person's Q registration, which needs 14 hours of continuing education every two years.³
2. Put your license number on every quote, contract, business card, ad, truck and web page.
3. Line up a licensed electrical contractor, a licensed plumbing contractor and a bonded mechanical contractor now, and look each one up. Don't wait for the first bathroom.
4. Check every sub's license or registration before they start.
5. If you'll touch paint in pre-1978 homes, get the firm EPA-certified and put a certified renovator on those jobs.
6. Call the building department in each city you work in. Ask what needs a permit and which trades it licenses.
7. If you hold a remodeler license and someone asks for a detached garage or a new house, that's building contractor work.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know Minnesota licensing. It won't flag a line item that needs an electrician, track a helper's receipts against $15,000, or check a sub's registration. What it does help with: the shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every new quote and shows under "Terms" on the customer's quote page, and the invoice footer is copied onto every new invoice. So "Licensed by the State of Minnesota, license BC" and your number go on every document without retyping. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (pricing).

Still choosing an app? Eleven free handyman apps are compared on their free-plan limits, card fees and which popular ones are only trials.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to be a handyman in Minnesota?

Minnesota has no handyman license. If you contract directly with a homeowner for work in two or more of the state's eight special skills (carpentry, interior finishing, drywall and plaster and so on) on a home of one to four units, you need a residential building contractor or residential remodeler license from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). Two exceptions matter to handymen: a contractor who does only one special skill needs no state license (roofing excepted), and a contractor whose gross receipts stay at $15,000 a year or less can work under a $10 certificate of exemption. Electrical and plumbing work needs its own license at any job size.

How much can a handyman charge without a license in Minnesota?

$15,000 a year, not $15,000 a job, and only with a certificate of exemption from DLI. The law counts gross annual receipts from residential contracting for the calendar year: labor and materials together, with nothing deducted, wherever the work was done. The moment receipts pass $15,000 in a calendar year, the holder must surrender the certificate and apply for a license. A contractor who does only one special skill has no dollar limit at all.

What is the difference between a contractor and a handyman in Minnesota?

Minnesota law doesn't use the word handyman. It counts special skills. A contractor who does one special skill (only painting and drywall finishing, say) is a specialty contractor and needs no state license, though they must register with DLI and Minneapolis and St. Paul license them. A contractor who does two or more is a residential remodeler or building contractor and needs the state license, unless they stay at $15,000 a year or less under a certificate of exemption. Hanging a door is carpentry and laying tile is interior finishing, so most handymen cross into two skills quickly.

Can a handyman do plumbing in Minnesota?

Not for pay. Anyone who performs or offers to perform plumbing work, with or without compensation, needs a plumbing contractor license, and the people doing the work must be licensed plumbers or registered and supervised. There's no small-job exemption, and DLI counts fixtures as part of the plumbing system, so a faucet is plumbing. On a house, the exception is the owner working on the home they live in. Electrical work follows the same pattern, down to replacing a light fixture.

Do painters need a license in Minnesota?

Not from the state, if painting is all you do. Painting is one special skill, and one-skill contractors are exempt from the residential license. You still have to register with DLI's construction contractor registration program, and Minneapolis and St. Paul both require a city license from one-skill contractors who work on homes. On a house built before 1978, EPA lead-safe certification applies too.

What is the difference between a residential building contractor license and a residential remodeler license in Minnesota?

Scope. A residential building contractor license (numbers start with BC) covers building new homes and detached garages plus everything a remodeler does. A residential remodeler license (CR) covers work on existing structures only. Both cover all eight special skills, roofing included. DLI says the requirements are the same and only the exams differ. Neither license has a dollar limit, and neither covers electrical, plumbing or HVAC work.

Does Minnesota have an HVAC license?

Not at the state level. To contract heating, cooling, ventilation, gas or refrigeration work, a business files a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI, with a $100 filing fee that lasts two years. Cities add their own licenses: Minneapolis licenses HVAC contractors and gas fitters, and St. Paul requires business trade licenses and competency cards for warm air, ventilation and gas work. The electrical wiring to a furnace or condenser is electrical work and needs a licensed electrical contractor.

Sources

1. Minnesota Statutes 326B.802, definitions: subdivision 3 ("gross annual receipts" means "the total amount derived from residential contracting or remodeling activities, regardless of where the activities are performed, and must not be reduced by cost of goods sold, expenses, losses, or any other amount"), 11 (residential building contractor), 12 (residential remodeler), 13 (residential real estate, one to four families, detached garages included), 14 (residential roofer), 15 (the eight special skills, including carpentry's "porches and decks, excluding footings" and masonry and concrete's "slabs and poured-in-place footings") and 16 (specialty contractor). revisor.mn.gov, 2026 Minnesota Statutes, read November 3, 2026.
2. Minnesota Statutes 326B.805, licensing requirements: subdivision 1 (who must be licensed; roofers), 1a (pre-1978 renovation), 3 (prohibition) and 6 (exemptions: employees of a licensee; suppliers who don't install; owners, with speculation presumed for "more than one property within any 24-month period"; receipts that "do not exceed $15,000" with a certificate of exemption, surrendered "immediately" on passing $15,000 in a calendar year; mechanical contractors; "a plumber, electrician, or other person whose profession is otherwise subject to statewide licensing"; "specialty contractors who provide only one special skill"). revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
3. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Residential contractor licensing": who needs a license; remodelers "cannot build new homes or detached garages"; a licensed roofer "cannot contract to provide the installation of gutters, downspouts, soffit, or fascia"; who doesn't need one, including subcontractors (who must register), landlords "performing work other than plumbing or electrical work on their residential rental units," and certificate holders "less than $15,000"; specialty contractors exempt "except residential roofers"; 14 hours of continuing education for the qualifying person; insurance minimums; $180 base fee and $320, $420 or $520 recovery fund fee. dli.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
4. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Residential contractor FAQs": license numbers begin with BC, CR, RR or MI; "All licensing requirements are the same for both licenses – only the exams are different"; license number on business cards, contracts, lien notices and statements and all advertising, with no size rule; unlicensed work "is guilty of a misdemeanor"; cities "can require a local license for Certificate of Exemption holders and specialty contractors, and state licensed contractors performing work outside the scope of the state license." dli.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
5. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Certificate of Exemption application packet: $10 new or renewal; "this certificate expires March 31 of each year"; surrender on passing $15,000 "regardless of where the activities are performed"; a municipality may require a local license before a building permit; "a Certificate of Exemption is NOT a license and that I am prohibited from advertising as a licensed contractor unless I or my company holds a municipal license." dli.mn.gov (PDF), read November 3, 2026.
6. Minnesota Statutes 326B.86, subdivision 2: commercial general liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury and $25,000 property damage, or $300,000 single limit; certificate on file; insurer notifies the commissioner of cancellation. revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
7. Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 17 ("electrical work" means "the installing, altering, repairing, planning, or laying out of electrical wiring, apparatus, or equipment"), and 326B.33, subdivision 14 (contractor license required to "perform or offer to perform electrical work with or without compensation") and subdivision 21(f) (owner-occupant exemption, separate electrical service). 326B.31, 326B.33, revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
8. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Minor Repair Work for Electrical or Technology Systems," bulletin revised June 13, 2023: "Minor repair work is exempt from permits and inspections"; exempt from licensing? "No. All electrical work and technology work, including 'minor repair work', is required to be performed by licensed contractors and their licensed or registered employees"; not minor repair: "Replacement of existing lighting fixtures with new or repaired units" and "Extension of any electrical wiring." dli.mn.gov (PDF), read November 3, 2026.
9. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Electrical contractor licensing basics": "General contractors and construction management firms that contract with licensed subcontractors to perform electrical work are not required to have their own electrical contractor license." dli.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
10. Minnesota Statutes 326B.46: subdivision 1(a) (owner-occupant may do plumbing "unless otherwise forbidden to do so by a local ordinance"), 1(c) ("no person shall perform or offer to perform plumbing work with or without compensation unless the person obtains a contractor's license"), 1a(e) (licensed residential contractors doing waterproofing may install "a single sump pump" in existing single-family dwellings) and 2 ($25,000 bond). revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
11. Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Plumbing contractor licensing basics": plumbing systems include "all plumbing fixtures and traps"; "General contractors and construction management firms that contract with licensed subcontractors to perform plumbing work are not required to have their own plumbing contractor license." dli.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
12. Minnesota Statutes 326B.197 ($25,000 bond for "gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning, or refrigeration work"), revisor.mn.gov; Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Mechanical contractor bond requirements" ("there is no state license required for mechanical contractors"; $100 filing, "valid for two years"; "mechanical contractors must comply with local licensing requirements"; cities "may require licensure or a competency card for workers"), dli.mn.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.
13. Minnesota Statutes 326B.38, subdivisions 2 and 3: appliance units such as furnaces and water heaters, and HVAC units, are not covered by the electrical act, but "the installation of electrical wiring to the unit is covered." revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
14. Minnesota Statutes 326B.701, construction contractor registration: subdivision 2 (registration required; exemptions for 326B license, certificate or registration holders, 326B.197 and 326B.46 bond holders, employees) and 5 (no engaging an unregistered person who must register; each day a separate violation), revisor.mn.gov; Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, "Construction contractor registration" ("for those who provide one specialty skill for residential projects and for all commercial projects, if they do not hold a residential contractor's license"), dli.mn.gov, and "Frequently asked questions about contractor registrations" ("an unregistered subcontractor is presumed to be an employee"; first-violation penalty forgiven), dli.mn.gov (PDF). All read November 3, 2026.
15. Minnesota Statutes 326B.106, subdivision 14: licensed residential building contractors, remodelers and roofers renovating a pre-1978 residential structure "must be certified in accordance with Code of Federal Regulations, title 40, section 745.89" and able to provide proof to the commissioner. revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
16. U.S. EPA, "Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program" (authorized state programs: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin and one Minnesota Chippewa band; "all firms, even sole proprietorships"), epa.gov; 40 CFR 745.83, "minor repair and maintenance activities" (6 square feet per room inside, 20 outside, no window replacement, same room within 30 days is one job), law.cornell.edu. Both read November 3, 2026.
17. Minnesota Department of Health: "Minnesota Lead Renovation, Repair, and Paint (RRP) Rulemaking" (proposed rules May 13, 2025, that "would allow Minnesota to become a state authorized by the federal government"; page updated March 4, 2026), health.state.mn.us; "Information for Lead Contractors" ("currently working toward the implementation of a Minnesota Lead Renovation, Repair, and Paint (RRP) program"), health.state.mn.us; "Pre-Renovation Education (PRE) Program and the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule" ("In Minnesota, paint chip sampling may only be performed by a licensed lead-based paint inspector or risk assessor"), health.state.mn.us; Minnesota Statutes 144.9505, subdivision 1g (lead firm certification for regulated lead work "with the exception of renovation"), revisor.mn.gov. All read November 3, 2026.
18. 40 CFR 19.4, Table 1, civil monetary penalty inflation adjustments: 15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1) (TSCA), $49,772 for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025. law.cornell.edu, read November 3, 2026.
19. Minnesota Statutes 326.71, subdivision 4 ("asbestos-related work," which in single or multifamily residences includes more than 10 linear feet of friable asbestos-containing material on pipes or more than 6 square feet on other facility components), and 326.72, subdivision 1 (license required "whether directly performing asbestos work or causing it to be performed through subcontracting"; owner-occupant of a single-family residence exempt; project permit). 326.71, 326.72, revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
20. Minnesota Rules 1300.0120, permits: subpart 1 (permit required), subpart 4 (work exempt from permit, including one-story detached sheds up to 200 square feet, decks not more than 30 inches above grade and not attached to a structure with frost footings, and "painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops, and similar finish work"), subpart 6 (ordinary repairs exclude opening or removing walls, cutting structural members, and replacing piping or wiring), revisor.mn.gov; Minnesota Statutes 326B.121 (the State Building Code "applies statewide"; municipal enforcement), revisor.mn.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.
21. Minnesota Statutes 326B.081, subdivision 3 ("applicable law" includes chapter 326B), and 326B.082, subdivision 7 ("a monetary penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation"), subdivision 10 (stop work orders; "$5,000 per day" for operating in violation of one) and subdivision 16 ("a person who violates an applicable law is guilty of a misdemeanor"). revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
22. Minnesota Statutes 326B.845 (subdivision 1, violating an order of the commissioner is a gross misdemeanor; subdivision 2, an unlicensed person who knowingly violates the licensing law "has no right to claim a lien under section 514.01 and the lien is void") and 326B.85, subdivision 1 (no building permit to an unlicensed person required to be licensed; reported to the commissioner). 326B.845, 326B.85, revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
23. Minnesota Statutes 326B.84, grounds for sanctions: clause (5) (violating "any other law, rule, or order related to the duties and responsibilities entrusted to the commissioner") and clause (12) (letting an unlicensed person use your license number to get a permit, or obtaining a permit for an unlicensed person). revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
24. Minnesota Statutes 326B.89, contractor recovery fund: subdivision 1(c) ("licensee" means a licensed residential contractor or residential remodeler), subdivision 5 (no more than $100,000 per owner or lessee and $550,000 per licensee) and subdivision 6 (final judgment against a licensee required). revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
25. Minnesota Statutes 326B.87, license number; advertising: on building permits and applications (site plan review or zoning permit where the code isn't adopted), business cards and contracts; in all advertising "including but not limited to signs, vehicles, business cards, published display ads, flyers, brochures, websites, and Internet ads"; contracts "must state that the person is licensed and must state the license number." revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
26. Minnesota Statutes 326B.835, local licenses: a political subdivision "may not require a person licensed under sections 326B.802 to 326B.885 to also be licensed or pay a registration or other fee related to licensure," except for on-site sewage treatment installers; building permit charges allowed. revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
27. City of Minneapolis: "Residential specialty contractor license" (one of excavation, masonry, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, or general installation; $10,000 bond; "Roofers do not need a Minneapolis license. You must have a State of Minnesota license."; "If you have a State of Minnesota Residential Building license, you do not need a Minneapolis Residential specialty contractor license"), minneapolismn.gov; "HVAC Class A/B" (Class A installs, fixes and cleans; "HVAC Class A and B requires a State of MN $25,000 bond"), minneapolismn.gov; "Gas fitter" ("Gas burning equipment work in Minneapolis requires a license"), minneapolismn.gov. Pages last updated September 3, 2026, read November 3, 2026.
28. City of Saint Paul: "Contractor License" (city license required for state exemption holders and one-skill contractors; "The City honors the State of Minnesota Residential Building Contractor License"; $2,500 bond; $500,000 combined single limit insurance), stpaul.gov; "Business Trade License, Competency Cards, and Trade Worker Registration" (certificates of competency for skilled trades; business trade licenses including warm air/ventilation, plumbing/gasfitter, concrete masonry/cement and plastering/stucco), stpaul.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.
29. Minnesota Statutes 609.02, subdivisions 3 and 4, and 609.03: misdemeanor, not more than 90 days or $1,000; gross misdemeanor, not more than 364 days or $3,000. revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.