If you're hiring a contractor, you've probably seen people refer to themselves as 'licensed.' But what does that mean, and how can you check to make sure that the contractor you choose has the license they need?
In Minnesota, there are different types of license that are required for different types of contractors. Although there are more types than we can cover here, there are two general groups of licenses:
In addition, all contractors must register with the State of Minnesota, even if they aren't required to be licensed. Being registered doesn't make you licensed.
Let's talk a little more about these two groups of licenses.
In Minnesota, a person or company must be licensed if they do two or more 'special skills'. These special skills are:
In addition, all roofers must have residential building licenses, even if they do nothing else.
Let's take an example. If Company A only does carpentry and nothing else, they have to register, but they don't have to be licensed. However, if they do carpentry and install floors, then they do have to be licensed as a residential building contractor.
Certain trades also require a license in Minnesota. There are quite a few of them, but the ones that most residential homeowners are likely to run into are:
A plumber, for instance, doesn't need to have a residential building license, but they do need a plumbing license. On the flip side, having your residential building license doesn't allow you to do plumbing work; a residential building contractor who wants to do plumbing work will also need a plumbing license.
When you have a home built or remodeled, you're trusting one of your most valuable assets to another person. It's very important to choose a reputable company, and to have protection if something goes wrong.
Licensed contractors are required to carry insurance, which is vital if something goes wrong while working on your home. In addition, Minnesota residents can apply to the Contractor Recovery Fund for compensation if they've suffered losses because of fraud or failure to complete the work. This protection is only available if you hire a licensed contractor.
Checking a license is easy in Minnesota! Simply go to the Department of Labor and Industry's License and Registration Lookup page here: https://secure.doli.state.mn.us/lookup/Licensing.aspx. Click the round button next to "Business" and type in part of the business name in the search box.
Let's look at two examples.
This is a business license record for a residential building contractor. You can see that the license status is "Issued", which means it's a current license. You want to make sure a residential building contractor has a license that starts with BC, like the example below:
This is an example of an electrician's license (specifically, a Class A Electrical Contractor). Again, you can see that the license status is "Issued." Specific trade licenses can start with many different letters.
If you'd like to take a shortcut, you can look at our members at http://business.rochesterareabuilders.com/list. All of our members are required to be licensed (if applicable) and show proof of insurance.
