Minnesota DLI license renewal runs through the Department of Labor and Industry’s online system, iMS, and opens 60 days before your license expires. Most trade licenses sit on a two-year cycle, and you need your continuing education finished, your insurance and bond documentation current if your license requires them, and your renewal fee paid before the expiration date. Miss it and municipalities will stop issuing building permits for your work.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Contractor, Remodeler License Renewals
When Renewal Opens and How to Submit
The 60-day window before expiration is your working period. Log into iMS with your existing account credentials, select your license, and move through the screens that verify your contact information, continuing education, and insurance on file. Pay by credit card or e-check at the end and save the confirmation number.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. iMS Basics
If you’d rather file on paper, download the renewal form for your license type from the DLI website and mail it with a check or money order to PO Box 64217, St. Paul, MN 55164-0217. Paper takes longer to process than online submissions, so build in extra time if you go that route.
One note on terminology: the current system is iMS. Older guides referring to iBOLT are out of date.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. iMS Basics
Finish Your Continuing Education First
Every DLI trade license requires continuing education during each two-year renewal period, and the hours must be done before the expiration date. Renewing without completing them can bring a license suspension and a $1,000 fine.3Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Continuing Education – Electrical
Master and journeyworker electricians need 16 approved hours per period, with 12 on the National Electrical Code and 4 on other industry topics.3Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Continuing Education – Electrical
Master, journeyworker, and restricted plumbers also need 16 hours, split as at least 8 on the State Plumbing Code and 8 more on technical plumbing topics, the Minnesota State Building Code, or the governing statutes. Water conditioning licensees need 4 hours. Medical gas certificate holders need 4 hours focused on medical gas systems.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Continuing Education for Licensees
Licensed residential builders, remodelers, and roofers need 14 hours. One hour must cover energy codes or residential energy conservation, one hour must cover business management, and the remaining 12 cover general residential construction topics including applicable federal and state law.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Continuing Education for Licensees After the state adopts a new residential code, the commissioner can require up to 7 of those 14 hours to focus on new or existing State Building Code provisions.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 326B.821 – Continuing Education; Hours
Renewal Fees
Base renewal fees under Minnesota Statutes Section 326B.092 run on a two-year cycle:6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 326B – Construction Codes and Licensing
- Entry level: $20
- Journeyworker: $40
- Master: $80
- Business: $180
Add a $5 continuing education fee if your license requires CE. Licenses issued under the plumbing statutes (Sections 326B.31 to 326B.59) or the residential contractor statutes (Sections 326B.90 to 326B.925) include an $8 board fee for a two-year license. Residential contractor licenses also carry a contractor recovery fund fee. A journeyworker electrician’s two-year renewal lands at roughly $45, while a master plumber’s runs around $93 after the add-ons.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 326B – Construction Codes and Licensing
Documentation to Have Ready
Before you start, pull together your license number, your Social Security Number or FEIN, and proof of CE completion from state-approved providers. The application also asks for your current business address, the name of any designated qualifying individual, and disclosure of recent legal judgments or disciplinary actions.
Insurance and Bond for Business Licensees
Business licensees in the residential trades must keep insurance and bonding active as a condition of renewal. Licensed residential roofers, for example, must carry a surety bond with a penal sum of at least $15,000.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 326B.86 – Residential Roofer Licensing The bond must be a corporate surety bond written by an insurer licensed in Minnesota and stays effective continuously unless the surety gives the commissioner 30 days’ written cancellation notice.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 326B.0921 – Bond Requirements
Roofers’ commercial general liability coverage must meet minimums of $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury, plus at least $25,000 in property damage coverage. A single-limit policy of $300,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate covering both bodily injury and property damage also satisfies the requirement. A certificate of insurance must be on file with the commissioner at all times.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 326B.86 – Residential Roofer Licensing
Workers’ Compensation
If you have employees, you generally need workers’ compensation insurance. Even if you work solo or don’t treat your workers as employees, DLI notes that carrying coverage can protect you from liability in some situations.9Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Work Comp Compliance
What a Late or Lapsed Renewal Costs
The DLI must receive your complete renewal application before your license expires. If it arrives late, you owe a late fee equal to half your total renewal fee, not counting the contractor recovery fund fee. For a master plumber paying around $93 to renew, that’s roughly $43 added on top.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 326B – Construction Codes and Licensing
If your license sits expired for months and you apply within two years, you owe renewal fees covering the entire lapsed period, plus the late fee, plus the current renewal fee for the new period.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 326B – Construction Codes and Licensing While your license is expired you are unlicensed, and municipalities will not issue building permits to contractors whose renewals have not been processed and approved. Projects stop.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Contractor, Remodeler License Renewals
Confirming Your Renewal Went Through
Online renewals usually reflect updates within a few business days; paper applications can take two to three weeks. Check your status through the DLI’s public lookup; a current, active license shows as “Issued” with the new expiration date. That record serves as proof of licensure until your updated card arrives.10Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. License and Registration Lookup
A Separate Federal Deadline for Pre-1978 Work
If your firm works on homes or child-occupied buildings built before 1978, the EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting program requires a separate firm certification good for five years. Apply for recertification at least 90 days before it expires. Every crew member who disturbs painted surfaces must be a certified renovator or have been trained by one, and a certified renovator must be assigned to each job.11US EPA. Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Firm Certification This runs on its own timeline, independent of your DLI license.