Plumbing Contractor License in Minnesota: Requirements, Qualifier, Bond and Exams
Yes: Minnesota licenses plumbing contracting businesses statewide.
To contract for plumbing, a business needs a plumbing contractor license from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) — or the restricted license valid only in towns under 5,000 — carried by a responsible licensed individual who holds an active master plumber license and qualifies no other plumbing contractor.
The business files a $25,000 surety bond, carries state-minimum liability insurance and workers' compensation, pays $188, and renews on the December 31 odd-year cycle.
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At a glance
Yes.
A plumbing contractor license from DLI is required to contract for plumbing in Minnesota; a restricted license covers towns under 5,000 population.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI).
Plumbing contractor, plus a restricted plumbing contractor license valid only in towns under 5,000 population.
A responsible licensed individual who holds an active master plumber license, is an owner, officer, member or W-2 employee of the business, is not employed as a plumber by any other contractor, and is not the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor.
No separate state exam for the contractor license was found in our research; the exam in the chain is DLI's master plumber exam, a step toward the master license your qualifier must hold — plumbing exams run 5.5 hours and cost $50 to apply.
A $25,000 surety bond; products liability insurance of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence; $10,000 property damage; plus workers' compensation.
$188 initial and renewal fee; licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years.
Our research found no license-for-license reciprocity: an out-of-state plumber's license from a jurisdiction that required four years of experience and an exam qualifies its holder to sit DLI's journeyworker exam, and an equivalent out-of-state master license is one experience route to the master exam.
The Minnesota plumbing license ladder
- Registered unlicensed plumberEntry level
The entry registration: no work experience is required, the holder must be a W-2 employee of a licensed plumbing contractor or registered plumbing employer, and they must be directly supervised at all times by a licensed journeyworker or master.
- Journeyworker plumberJourneyman
The journey-level license: DLI's journeyworker exam is open to a registered unlicensed plumber after four years and 7,000 hours of practical experience, or, alternatively, after completing a DLI-registered apprenticeship.
- Master plumberMaster
The credential your qualifier must hold; the experience routes to the master exam include at least one year as a licensed journeyworker.
- Restricted master / restricted journeyworker plumberSpecialty
Restricted individual licenses valid only in cities and towns with a population of fewer than 5,000.
- Plumbing contractorContractor
The business license: what a firm needs to contract for plumbing in Minnesota, carried through its responsible licensed individual.
- Restricted plumbing contractorContractor
The contractor license class for contracting in towns under 5,000 population.
Does Minnesota license plumbing contractors statewide, or only locally?
Yes — statewide.
Minnesota requires a plumbing contractor license to contract for plumbing, issued by the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), with a restricted contractor license for towns under 5,000 population.
The licensing runs through the crew as well as the business: only DLI-licensed plumbers, DLI-registered unlicensed plumbers, or people enrolled in a DLI-registered apprenticeship may do plumbing work, and unlicensed workers must be directly supervised at all times by a licensed journeyworker or master plumber.
The license your business holds and the credentials your workers carry therefore come from the same agency.
“Your work is directly supervised at all times by a licensed journeyworker or master plumber.”
Which agency issues the license, and what are the classes?
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) issues the plumbing contractor license.
There are two classes: the plumbing contractor license itself, and a restricted plumbing contractor license for contracting in towns under 5,000 population.
The restricted split repeats on the individual side — DLI also issues restricted master and restricted journeyworker plumber licenses, valid only in cities and towns with a population of fewer than 5,000.
Who can be the qualifier, and what experience do they need?
DLI calls the qualifier the responsible licensed individual, and the license rests on them.
They must hold an active master plumber license, be an owner, officer, member or W-2 employee of the business, must not be employed as a plumber by any other contractor, and must not be the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor — one master cannot qualify two firms.
The experience routes to the master exam: at least one year as a licensed journeyworker, an equivalent master license from another state, or a restricted master license plus five years as a Minnesota plumbing contractor.
Growing a qualifier from inside runs through DLI's ladder: a registered unlicensed plumber can take the journeyworker exam after four years and 7,000 hours of practical experience, including at least 2,000 hours of water distribution, 2,000 of drain-waste-vent and 1,000 of fixture installation, with no more than 1,750 hours counting in a calendar year.
“Not be the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor,”
Which exams must be passed: trade, and business and law?
For the contractor license itself, the requirements our research captured from DLI are the responsible master, the bond and the insurance — our research found no separate state exam for the business and none on the business-and-law side.
The exam in your chain is DLI's master plumber exam, the step toward the master license your qualifier must hold — DLI runs Minnesota's plumbing exams, including at its St. Paul office, all plumbing exams run 5.5 hours, the application fee is $50, and after failing you must wait 30 days to reapply.
“All plumbing exams: 5.5 hours”
What bond and insurance does Minnesota require?
A Minnesota plumbing contractor must file a $25,000 surety bond.
On the insurance side, the policy must provide products liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence, property damage coverage of at least $10,000, and the business must carry workers' compensation.
The bond and the insurance minimums are conditions DLI attaches to the license itself.
“Policy must provide products liability insurance with limits of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence and property damage insurance with limits of at least $10,000.”
What does it cost, and how often is it renewed?
The initial license application fee and the renewal fee are the same: $188, and licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years.
Budget for the qualifier's own credential too — journeyworker renewal is $53 and master renewal is $93, on the same December 31 odd-year expiry, and each licensed journeyworker and master must complete 16 hours of approved continuing education in each two-year license period, at least 8 of them on the State Plumbing Code.
“The initial license application and license renewal fee is $188.”
Does Minnesota have reciprocity with other states?
Our research found no reciprocity arrangement for the plumbing contractor license itself.
What Minnesota offers an out-of-state plumber is exam eligibility, not license-for-license recognition: a current plumber's license from another state whose licensing jurisdiction required at least four years of practical plumbing experience and an exam qualifies the holder to sit DLI's journeyworker exam, and an equivalent master license from another state is one of the experience routes to the master exam.
So a master plumber you recruit from another state can sit Minnesota's master exam and, once licensed and meeting the employment rules, become your qualifier.
No license-for-license reciprocity was found; confirm any specific situation with DLI.
“Have a current plumber's license from another state where the licensing jurisdiction requires at least four years of practical plumbing experience and an examination to qualify for licensure.”
What happens if your qualifier leaves?
Report it: the business must notify DLI in writing within 15 days of the loss of its responsible licensed individual.
Our research did not find a state deadline for naming a replacement, so the practical move is to recruit before your qualifier gives notice and to ask DLI what happens to the license in the meantime.
Plan around the one-contractor rule when you do: whoever replaces them cannot be the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor, and cannot be employed as a plumber by any other contractor.
“Notify DLI in writing within 15 days of the loss of your responsible licensed individual.”
Is there a job-size threshold below which no license is needed?
Our research captured no job-value threshold that excuses a plumbing business from the license.
The carve-out it did find runs on scope instead: a general contractor who subcontracts all plumbing to licensed firms does not need its own plumbing contractor license.
The restricted license for towns under 5,000 population is a geography-based class, not a small-job exemption.
What other credentials and code rules apply in Minnesota?
Beyond the contractor license, DLI issues specialty credentials a plumbing business can build service lines around: medical gas certifications, which carry four hours of approved continuing education each license period; backflow (RPZ) tester and rebuilder credentials, which require current ASSE 5110/5130 certification; and water conditioning licenses.
The work your crews perform is governed by the 2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code (chapter 4714), effective December 17, 2021, based on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code with Minnesota amendments.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Minnesota board pages, statutes, rules and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state plumbing contractor licensing series, current as of September 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Minnesota, see HVAC contractor licensing in Minnesota and plumbing licensing in Minnesota.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Minnesota plumbing business really need a master plumber on board?
Yes.
Each plumbing contractor needs a responsible licensed individual who holds an active master plumber license and is an owner, officer, member or W-2 employee of the business.
They must not be employed as a plumber by any other contractor, and they cannot be the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor.
The experience routes to the master exam include at least one year as a licensed journeyworker.
Can one master plumber qualify two plumbing contractors in Minnesota?
No. DLI's rules make each responsible licensed individual exclusive to one plumbing contractor: they must not be the responsible licensed individual for any other plumbing contractor, and they must not be employed as a plumber by any other contractor.
If you run two firms, each needs its own master to carry the license.
How much does a Minnesota plumbing contractor license cost?
The initial application fee and the renewal fee are both $188, and licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years.
Beyond the fee, the business must file a $25,000 surety bond and carry products liability insurance of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence, $10,000 property damage coverage, and workers' compensation.
The qualifier's own master renewal is $93.
Do my employees need their own plumbing licenses in Minnesota?
Yes — Minnesota's rule covers workers as well as businesses.
Only DLI-licensed plumbers, DLI-registered unlicensed plumbers, or people enrolled in a DLI-registered apprenticeship may do plumbing work, and unlicensed workers must be directly supervised at all times by a licensed journeyworker or master.
Registering as a registered unlicensed plumber requires no work experience, and the holder must be a W-2 employee of a licensed plumbing contractor or registered plumbing employer.
Is there a restricted plumbing contractor license in Minnesota?
Yes.
Alongside the standard license, DLI issues a restricted plumbing contractor license for towns under 5,000 population, and the same restricted split exists for individuals: restricted master and restricted journeyworker plumber licenses valid only in towns that size.
Outside towns under 5,000 population, the standard plumbing contractor license is the one that applies.
More Minnesota Resources
Sources
- Minnesota DLI: Plumbing contractor licensing basics (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: Plumbing license basics (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: Registered unlicensed plumbers (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: Plumbing license experience requirements (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: License exam schedule (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: Continuing education requirements for plumbers (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: Plumbing license types and credentials (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Minnesota DLI: 2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI).