Minnesota Residential Contractor Licensing & the $15,000 Exemption
Minnesota licenses residential building contractors and remodelers through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), which also administers the exam directly. This chapter covers who issues the license, the gross-receipts and single-skill exemptions, the license classifications, and the DLI-administered open-book exam.
The DLI and Minn. Stat. Chapter 326B
Residential contractors in Minnesota are licensed by the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Construction Codes and Licensing Division, under Minn. Stat. Chapter 326B. Unlike most states, Minnesota does not outsource its contractor exam to PSI or Prometric — DLI administers the licensing examination itself. DLI sets qualification standards, runs the exam, issues Residential Building Contractor and Residential Remodeler licenses, manages continuing education, and administers the Contractor Recovery Fund that protects homeowners.
Who needs a license — and the exemptions
A license is required for a person who contracts directly with a homeowner to build or remodel residential real estate and who works in more than one special skill (for example, both carpentry and concrete). Two key exemptions appear in Minn. Stat. 326B.805. First, a person whose gross annual receipts from residential building or remodeling are $15,000 or less is exempt. Second, a person who performs work in only a single special skill and does not coordinate other trades may fall under a specialty exemption rather than needing the general residential contractor license. A contractor whose volume grows past $15,000, or who begins coordinating multiple skills, must be licensed.
Classifications and the DLI-administered open-book exam
Minnesota issues a Residential Building Contractor license (new construction and additions) and a Residential Remodeler license (improvements to existing dwellings), among related categories. To qualify, the license applicant designates a qualifying person who passes the DLI examination: one open-book exam of 110 questions in 330 minutes (5.5 hours), requiring 70% to pass. Candidates may use the 2020 Minnesota Residential Code and a DLI-provided reference manual during the test. Minnesota does not accept the NASCLA exam. Roughly 60% of the questions test the Minnesota Residential Building Code and about 40% test statutes, licensing, and business law.