Minnesota: up to $15,000 a year before you need a contractor license (with a certificate)

The limit in Minnesota

The limit: Up to $15,000 a year, all jobs together (homes); only with a state certificate of exemption. You can earn up to $15,000 a year without the license: a 12-month total of all your jobs together, not a per-job limit. In short: up to $15,000 in total gross receipts per year (not per job), only with a state certificate of exemption; or no license at all if you offer only one special skill.

What counts: Annual, not per job: "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". A certificate of exemption is needed: "To qualify for the exemption in clause (5), a person must obtain a certificate of exemption from licensure from the commissioner." The state's words do not say whether materials count toward the limit.

Conditions: Must file an affidavit and hold a DLI certificate of exemption, renewed each year; If gross receipts go over $15,000 in a calendar year, the person must get a license; Specialty contractors who provide only one special skill are exempt from the residential license; The license applies to two or more special skills on residential real estate (residential remodeler / building contractor)

The $15,000 is a yearly total for the whole business, not a per-job amount.

Licenses in Minnesota

General contractors: State license, homes only · not fully confirmed. Residential building contractor / residential remodeler license for anyone contracting with an owner to build or improve residential real estate with two or more special skills; residential roofers also licensed. No per-job dollar floor (only the $15,000/year certificate-of-exemption route). No state general contractor license for commercial work found. Whether commercial work needs a state license is not stated on a state page that was opened.

Plumbing: State license. DLI licenses master, restricted master, journeyworker and restricted journeyworker plumbers.

Electrical: State license. DLI electrical contractor's license required to perform or offer electrical work, plus personal licenses (unlicensed individuals must register and be supervised).

HVAC: Local license (city or county). No state license for mechanical/HVAC contractors; they must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI and meet local (city) licensing.

Your license number in Minnesota

Your license number: Licensed residential contractors must show the number on contracts, business cards and advertising, including signs, vehicles and websites. None of these rules names invoices.

In the rule's words: “License numbers must be on all business cards and all contracts to perform work for which a license is required. ... The license number of a licensee must appear in any advertising by that licensee including but not limited to signs, vehicles, business cards, published display ads, flyers, brochures, websites, and Internet ads.” (Minn. Stat. § 326B.87, subds. 1-2)

Minnesota's board, and when this was checked

The board: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) - Residential contractors. As of November 6, 2026. Dates on the state's pages: 2026 Minnesota Statutes (revisor).

This is a summary of each state's own pages as of November 6, 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, and cities and counties add licenses of their own. Check with your state's board, linked on this page, before you rely on it.

Compare Minnesota with every state's limit.

Next door to Minnesota

• Iowa: under $2,000 a year
• North Dakota: up to $4,000 per job
• South Dakota: no statewide license found
• Wisconsin: no dollar limit; a certification to pull home permits

Official sources for Minnesota

8 of Minnesota's own pages, each quoted with its link:

• Minn. Stat. § 326B.805 - Licensing (residential contractors) (Minn. Stat. § 326B.805, subd. 6): “(5) 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; ... To qualify for the exemption in clause (5), a person must obtain a certificate of exemption from licensure from the commissioner.”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.805 - Licensing (residential contractors) (Minn. Stat. § 326B.805, subd. 6): “(6) a mechanical contractor; (7) a plumber, electrician, or other person whose profession is otherwise subject to statewide licensing, when engaged in the activity which is the subject of that licensure; (8) specialty contractors who provide only one special skill as defined in section 326B.802;”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.805 - Licensing (residential contractors) (Minn. Stat. § 326B.805, subd. 1): “A person who meets the definition of a residential remodeler as defined in section 326B.802, subdivision 12, must be licensed by the commissioner as a residential remodeler or residential building contractor.”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.802 - Definitions (Minn. Stat. § 326B.802, subd. 12): “"Residential remodeler" means a person in the business of contracting or offering to contract with an owner to improve existing residential real estate by providing two or more special skills as defined in this section.”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.87 - License number; advertising (Minn. Stat. § 326B.87): “License numbers must be on all business cards and all contracts to perform work for which a license is required. ... The license number of a licensee must appear in any advertising by that licensee including but not limited to signs, vehicles, business cards, published display ads, flyers, brochures, websites, and Internet ads.”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.46 - Plumbing license required (Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 1): “(a) No individual shall engage in or work at the business of a master plumber, restricted master plumber, journeyworker plumber, and restricted journeyworker plumber unless licensed to do so by the commissioner.”
• Minn. Stat. § 326B.33 - Electrical licenses (Minn. Stat. § 326B.33, subd. 14): “Except as otherwise provided by law, no individual other than an employee, partner, or officer of a licensed contractor ... shall perform or offer to perform electrical work with or without compensation unless the individual obtains a contractor's license.”
• Minnesota DLI - Mechanical contractor bond requirements: “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. ... mechanical contractors must comply with local licensing requirements.”

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