What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Washington County Mn?

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.

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.

Shared with other businesses in Washington County Mn

• Hazardous Waste Generator License — Washington County Public Health and Environment, Billed by the 2026 Hazardous Waste Generator Fee Schedule on the county's Hazardous Waste Generators page, according to the volume of hazardous waste generated in the previous year; the amount for a generator is stated on its renewal invoice. Contact PHE at PHE-HazWaste@washingtoncountymn.gov or 651-430-6655., 12 months, May 1 to April 30. Also required for auto repair shops, salons and barbers and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.