How to Start an Electrical Business in Minnesota: Contractor License, Master Electrician and Bond

Minnesota does not issue a general business license. Licensing is handled trade by trade, and an electrical business needs a license from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), which licenses electrical contractors under the Board of Electricity. Filing an LLC or corporation with the Secretary of State is a filing, not a license. Registering with the Department of Revenue is a tax registration, also not a license.

This guide covers the minnesota electrical contractor license from start to finish: the entity filing, the master electrician who sits behind the license, the $25,000 surety bond, insurance, fees and renewal. If you are an individual looking for an electrician license Minnesota workers need, the journeyworker and master tracks are covered in Step 3. The steps are in order because the bond, insurance and master electrician steps depend on your business already existing.

What Minnesota Requires Before You Take a Job

Minnesota has no general statewide business license. For electrical work, the agency that matters is DLI. Local rules may add permits or licenses on top. Minnesota has 87 counties, about 853 cities and about 1,780 townships, and requirements vary by place. Minneapolis and Saint Paul license by category, and neither city issues a general business license, so ask the city or township where you plan to work what applies to your category. To search for licenses by topic, agency or A to Z index, use License Minnesota at mn.gov/elicense.

Two registrations come before the license: your entity with the Secretary of State, and a Minnesota tax registration with the Department of Revenue before you make taxable sales.

What You Need Before You Start

• A business name that meets Secretary of State rules, plus a Minnesota street address for your registered office. A PO box alone is not accepted.
• Dated records of your electrical experience, such as employer letters, job lists and permit copies. Plan on 48 months for a Class A journeyworker, including 24 months of wiring, or 60 months for a master electrician.
• A surety company or bonding agent that can write a $25,000 bond for your business.
• Liability insurance that meets the limits in Step 5, and proof of workers’ compensation coverage.
• A budget that covers the fees in the table below, plus the bond premium, which is separate from the bond amount.
• A Minnesota Tax ID and Sales and Use Tax account if you will make taxable sales.

Step 1: Form Your Business Entity

Choose your structure first, because the contractor license is issued to the business and the entity name appears on your paperwork. Many small electrical contractors form an LLC. A corporation is also an option, but it brings a separate corporate tax layer that a pass-through LLC may avoid. Confirm your structure with a CPA before you file.

For an LLC, file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. The fee is $155 if you file online or in person, which the office treats as expedited service, or $135 by mail, which is not expedited. The name must contain “limited liability company” or “LLC.” It may not contain “corporation” or “incorporated,” and it must be distinguishable from every domestic LLC, LLP, corporation and limited partnership already on file (Minn. Stat. 322C.0108). Search the records at Business Filings Online before you file. If you need time to finish the license paperwork, a name reservation costs $55 and holds the name for 12 months, renewable in 12-month periods.

For a corporation, file Articles of Incorporation under Chapter 302A at the same $155 fee. Minnesota requires a registered office at a Minnesota street address, not a registered agent. Naming an agent is optional for a domestic entity.

Forming an LLC or corporation does not require a newspaper publication. The Annual Renewal is $0, but it is due December 31 every year. If you miss it, the LLC is terminated or revoked without further notice (Minn. Stat. 322C.0705). Reinstatement costs $65 by mail or $85 online or in person. Start at the Secretary of State home page, sos.mn.gov, for current forms.

On taxes, an LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity passes income through to its owners, who pay Minnesota individual income tax at 5.35 to 9.85 percent. An LLC that files federally as a C corporation pays the 9.8 percent corporation franchise tax. A minimum fee under Minn. Stat. 290.0922 applies to C corporations, S corporations and partnerships. For 2026 it is $0 below $1,280,000 of Minnesota property, payroll and sales, and it rises in brackets from there. Single member LLCs that report only on the owner’s individual return are exempt. This is general information, so confirm your treatment with a CPA.

Step 2: Register for Taxes and Any Assumed Name

Register with the Department of Revenue through the new business registration page. You need a Minnesota Tax ID and a Sales and Use Tax account before you make taxable sales. The state sales tax rate is 6.875 percent, and local taxes are added on top. Ask the Department of Revenue or your CPA which of your charges are taxable, because electrical invoices often mix labor and materials. The main Department of Revenue site is revenue.state.mn.us.

If you will operate under a name other than your legal entity name, such as a trade name on your truck, file a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State. The fee is $50 online or in person, or $30 by mail. After filing, the certificate must be published for two consecutive issues in the legal notices section of a qualified legal newspaper in the county of your principal place of business. Failure to publish may render the certificate invalid. Renewal is annual at no charge. This publication requirement applies to assumed names only, not to LLC or corporation formation. The assumed name page has the current forms.

Step 3: Qualify the Master Electrician

An electrical contractor license must name a master electrician as the responsible licensed individual. That person may be an owner, an officer or a member of the business, or a W-2 employee who is not employed by another contractor. Choose someone who will stay with the company, because the license depends on that person’s qualifications.

Qualifying takes documented experience. A Class A journeyworker needs 48 months of experience, including 24 months in wiring. A master electrician needs 60 months. Keep a dated log for each job, and get employer verification where you can. Confirm with DLI what documentation it accepts before you count on any period of work.

Each individual exam carries a $50 exam fee. The base license fee is $40 for a journeyworker and $80 for a master. Board and continuing education fees are added to those base figures, so your total will be higher than the base fee. Confirm the current total on dli.mn.gov.

The exam tests the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC). Permits filed on or after August 17, 2026 apply the 2026 NEC, and exams moved to it on September 8, 2026. If you study from an older code book, you are studying the wrong edition. Buy the 2026 edition and confirm the exam content with DLI.

Continuing education is 12 hours of code and 4 hours of non-code material per cycle. Keep the certificates for each course. Confirm your renewal cycle and which hours count toward your license class with DLI.

Step 4: Secure the $25,000 Surety Bond

An electrical contractor license requires a $25,000 surety bond. A surety bond is a three-party agreement. You, the principal, buy the bond from a surety company, which guarantees to the state and to customers that you will follow the licensing rules. If the surety pays a valid claim, you must repay the surety. The bond protects others, not your own losses, so it is not a substitute for insurance.

The premium is not the $25,000. It is a fraction of the bond amount, and your credit and business history typically set the price, so compare quotes from more than one bonding company before you file. Ask the surety to confirm the bond form DLI accepts, and check dli.mn.gov for current filing instructions.

Step 5: Carry Insurance and Workers’ Compensation

DLI requires liability coverage of $100,000 per occurrence, $300,000 aggregate and $50,000 for property damage. Ask your broker for a certificate that shows these limits, since you will submit proof with your application. You must also provide proof of workers’ compensation coverage. If you have no employees, ask your insurer and DLI what proof they accept before you assume you do not need a policy.

Step 6: Apply for the Electrical Contractor License

With the entity filed, the master electrician qualified, the bond in hand and insurance proof ready, submit your contractor application to DLI. The initial fee is $188, and the renewal fee is also $188. Confirm the current application method and any extra forms on dli.mn.gov before you submit.

Contractor licenses expire on the last day of February in even-numbered years. A license issued in 2026 runs to the next expiration, which is the last day of February 2028. February 29, 2028 is the date, since 2028 is a leap year. Put that date on your calendar the day the license is issued.

Step 7: Set Up Supervision for Your Crew

One licensed employee may supervise at most two unlicensed employees. Build that ratio into your hiring plan before you add helpers. A third unlicensed helper under one licensed employee exceeds the limit, and it is easy to do on a busy job when the crew grows without a plan. Keep a roster that shows which licensed employee supervises which helpers.

Step 8: Keep the License and Entity Current

• Renew the contractor license before the last day of February in each even-numbered year, and keep your bond and insurance active through the renewal.
• File the LLC Annual Renewal by December 31 each year. It costs $0 when the entity is active and in good standing.
• Complete 12 code and 4 non-code continuing education hours for each cycle, and keep the certificates.
• Renew your assumed name certificate each year at no charge.
• Check the code edition before you pull each permit, since permits filed on or after August 17, 2026 apply the 2026 NEC.

Fee Summary

Item	Amount	Agency
LLC Articles of Organization	$155 online or in person; $135 by mail	Secretary of State
Name reservation	$55 for 12 months	Secretary of State
LLC Annual Renewal	$0, due December 31	Secretary of State
LLC reinstatement	$65 by mail; $85 online or in person	Secretary of State
Certificate of Assumed Name	$50 online or in person; $30 by mail	Secretary of State
Individual exam	$50	DLI
Journeyworker base license fee	$40, plus board and continuing education fees	DLI
Master base license fee	$80, plus board and continuing education fees	DLI
Electrical contractor initial and renewal fee	$188	DLI
Surety bond	$25,000 bond amount; premium set by the surety	Surety company
Sales and use tax	6.875 percent state rate, plus local taxes	Department of Revenue

Fees are shown as of 2026. Confirm each one on the agency page before you pay.

Expected Results

When the paperwork is complete and approved, you may be able to bid and perform electrical contracting work in Minnesota under your company’s license, with a master electrician named as the responsible individual. Timing depends on how well your experience records hold up, how complete your application is and how quickly DLI processes it. The Secretary of State does not publish a guaranteed turnaround in business days on its filing forms either. Plan for the process to take longer than you expect, and start your experience documentation early.

Tips and Common Mistakes

• Treat the Secretary of State filing as a filing only. The LLC does not give you the right to contract electrical work. The DLI license is a separate application.
• Do not name a master electrician who is a W-2 employee of another contractor. The rules exclude that person.
• Do not count experience you cannot document. Keep dated job records from day one.
• Do not study from the wrong NEC edition. Use the 2026 code for exam prep and permit work.
• Do not buy the bond on price alone. Confirm the form and amount match what DLI requires before you pay.
• Do not forget the even-year February expiration. A lapsed license stops your ability to contract.
• Do not assume the $155 entity fee is your total cost. Budget for the license, exam, bond premium, insurance and tax registration.
• Do not skip the newspaper publication for an assumed name. A certificate that is not properly published may be invalid.
• Do not add a third unlicensed helper under one licensed employee.

Next Steps

Start with the Secretary of State name search, then build the experience log, then collect bond quotes. Those three tasks drive your timeline more than anything else. Once the entity is filed, the DLI application is the next gate.

This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax or licensing advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client or accountant-client relationship. Fees, deadlines and code editions can change. Confirm every figure on the agency page before you file or pay: dli.mn.gov, sos.mn.gov and revenue.state.mn.us. For a complex situation, such as several owners, a mixed-trade company or a question about your experience qualifications, talk with a qualified attorney and a CPA.