Minnesota — statewide
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division
In short
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division issues 4 permits we publish for Minnesota — statewide, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Building Contractor or Remodeler Licenseonly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division | $500–$700 for two years, banded by gross annual receipts, including the recovery fund contribution | 2 years, on a cycle ending 31 March | 2026-09-03 |
| Mechanical Contractor Bond Filingonly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division | $100 every two years to file the bond | 2 years | 2026-09-03 |
| Automotive Repair Shop License — Minnesota state positiononly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-03 |
| Electrical Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division | $188 every two years | 2 years — expires the last day of February in even-numbered years | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Residential Building Contractor or Remodeler License
Minnesota requires no surety bond of a residential contractor, which is unusual — instead the license fee itself funds a contractor recovery fund, and the contribution is banded by turnover: $320 under a million dollars of gross receipts, $420 to five million and $520 above, on top of a $180 base. The fund compensates homeowners up to $100,000 a claim and $550,000 against any one licensee. Insurance is still required, at $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate. The license is needed by anyone contracting directly with an owner of one to four residential units across more than one of eight skill areas, anyone building for resale, and anyone doing roofing at all. Under fifteen thousand dollars of residential receipts you can hold a certificate of exemption for ten dollars instead. Since July 2023 residential solar installers need this license too, expressly so homeowners can reach the recovery fund. Every license needs a qualifying person who passes an exam and does fourteen hours of continuing education per cycle, and the license cannot be renewed if that person's registration has lapsed.
Mechanical Contractor Bond Filing
This is the one people get wrong. Minnesota licenses electricians and plumbers, and the Department of Labor and Industry's own bond page states 'there is no state license required for mechanical contractors' — and yet an HVAC business still cannot lawfully contract for gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work without filing a $25,000 bond with the department, at a hundred dollars for two years. The department says so plainly and adds that mechanical contractors must also comply with local licensing requirements. Individual HVAC workers likewise need no state license, but cities may require a competency card the department neither issues nor tracks. So the practical position is a state bond filing on top of a patchwork of city rules.
Automotive Repair Shop License — Minnesota state position
Minnesota regulates repair by conduct rather than by entry, so there is no state license fee for a repair shop. The Truth in Repairs Act (§§ 325F.56 to 325F.66) reaches any shop doing repairs over a hundred dollars and imposes written estimates on request, a cap of a hundred and ten per cent of the estimate, authorisation before additional work and a proper invoice — but it creates no license, no registration, no bond and no fee, and it defines a shop by what it does rather than as a licensed class. The state's own directory of business licenses carries no auto repair, garage, mechanic or body shop entry; its only motor vehicle entries are dealer, sales finance and salvage, all of which turn on selling rather than repairing. Three things can still apply: environmental permits, since the state names auto body and coating facilities among activities with air quality obligations; a municipal license, which many Minnesota cities do require of repair garages; and a dealer or salvage license if the shop also sells or dismantles.
Electrical Contractor License
A $25,000 surety bond is required here where the residential builder license needs none, along with $100,000 of liability cover per occurrence. The company must designate a responsible licensed individual holding an active master electrician license, who has to be an owner, officer, member or salaried employee actively engaged in the company's electrical work, and who cannot serve as the responsible individual for any other contractor. A licensed electrician may supervise no more than two unlicensed employees. Plumbing contractors pay the same $188 but on a different clock, expiring on 31 December of odd-numbered years, and carry their own $25,000 bond.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Minnesota — statewide
- Phone
- (651) 284-5034
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- A Guide To Starting a Business in Minnesota, forty-third edition, January 2025 — the state's own start-up guide and directory of licenses and permitsMinnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry — mechanical contractor bond requirements, confirming there is no state HVAC licenseMinnesota Department of Labor and Industry · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry — residential contractor licensing, fees and insuranceMinnesota Department of Labor and Industry · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Statutes section 325F.58 — the Truth in Repairs Act's estimate duties, which create no licenceMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Statutes section 326B.89 — the contractor recovery fund, its per-license fees and its payout capsMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other Minnesota statewide offices
- Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division
- Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services
- Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners
- Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners
- Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine
- Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business Registration
Minnesota jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.