A plumbing license in Minnesota comes from the state, not your city, and it covers you statewide. Minnesota also splits the person from the company. You hold a personal license, and the business holds a separate contractor license. Miss that second piece and you are not legal to sell work.
Who runs plumbing licensing in Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Construction Codes and Licensing Division. The Minnesota Plumbing Board writes the rules, DLI issues the licenses. Start here: dli.mn.gov plumbing license basics.
Cities can run their own plan review and inspections under agreement with DLI, but Minn. Stat. 326B.43 is blunt about it. No municipality can revoke, suspend, or restrict a state issued plumbing license. Local permits still apply.
The license tiers
Personal credentials:
- Registered unlicensed individual, plumbing, which is what DLI used to call an apprentice
- Journeyworker plumber (Minnesota does not use the word journeyman)
- Master plumber
- Add-ons: medical gas certification, backflow prevention tester, backflow rebuilder, certified pipelayer
Business licenses: plumbing contractor and restricted plumbing contractor.
One thing almost every other site gets wrong. Restricted journeyworker and restricted master licenses were only issued between 2007 and 2009. No new ones are being handed out. A business can still get a restricted plumbing contractor license if an existing restricted master owns or manages it, and restricted means communities under 5,000 population.
How to get to journeyworker
Register as an unlicensed individual first. No experience needed, but you have to be 18, a W-2 employee of a licensed plumbing contractor or registered plumbing employer, and supervised at all times. Registration runs $14 and renews every June 30, with 2 hours of code CE each year.
Then you qualify for the journeyworker exam through any one of these:
- Four years registered plus 7,000 hours of practical experience, including at least 2,000 hours water distribution, 2,000 hours drain, waste and vent, and 1,000 hours fixture installation
- Completion of a DLI registered plumbing apprenticeship program
- A current plumber license from a state that requires at least four years of experience and an exam
One year of experience means at least 1,750 hours, and DLI credits a maximum of 1,750 hours per calendar year, so you cannot bank overtime into a shortcut. Out of state experience caps at two years unless you were licensed there.
Master plumber
Hold a journeyworker license for at least one year, then pass the master exam. Out of state master licenses DLI considers equivalent also qualify.
DLI writes and administers the exams itself under Minn. Stat. 326B.49. There is no PSI or Prov in Minnesota. All plumbing exams run 5.5 hours, scheduled through the DLI system and given in St. Paul plus Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, St. Cloud, Virginia, Willmar and Winona. Fail and you wait 30 days to reapply. The application and exam fee is $50.
Opening a plumbing business in Minnesota
The contractor license has no exam, but it has a checklist:
- A responsible licensed individual holding an active master plumber license, as an owner, officer, member or W-2 employee, exclusive to your one company
- A $25,000 surety bond on a DLI approved form from a Minnesota licensed corporate surety
- Public liability insurance with products liability of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence, and property damage of at least $10,000, with DLI listed as certificate holder
- Minnesota workers compensation compliance
- $188 for the application, and the same $188 at renewal
Your license number has to appear on all company vehicles, and if you lose your responsible licensed individual you have 15 days to tell DLI in writing.
Continuing education
Masters and journeyworkers need 16 hours per two-year license period. At least 8 of those must be on the State Plumbing Code. The other 8 can be code, technical plumbing, the State Building Code, or Minnesota plumbing statutes. All 16 can be code if you want, and online counts. Registered unlicensed plumbers need 2 hours a year by June 30, code related, with no carryover. Sponsors report your attendance straight to DLI.
Renewals and fees
All the personal licenses are two-year. Contractor licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years, and unlicensed registrations expire June 30 annually. Journeyworker renewal is $53 and master is $93, with late fees of $20 and $40. Check your actual expiration date in the DLI licensing system rather than assuming a year, because the statute and the DLI page describe master expiration differently.
Reciprocity
Minnesota publishes reciprocity for journeyworker and master with exactly two states: North Dakota and South Dakota. The out of state license has to be state issued by examination (not through a city agreement), the same class or higher, held at least a year, and in good standing. You also cannot have failed the same or higher Minnesota exam. The application fee is $50, and you have 180 days after approval to pay the license fee. If your Minnesota license has been lapsed more than two years you cannot reciprocate back in, you retest.
Minnesota plumbing license FAQ
How long does it take? About four years and 7,000 hours to sit for journeyworker, then one more year as a journeyworker before master.
Do I need a contractor license to work for someone else? No. The personal license covers you as an employee. The contractor license is for the business selling the work.
Which code does Minnesota use? The 2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code is still in effect. The Plumbing Board is working toward adopting the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, but it is not adopted yet, so do not study to it.
Is there still an apprentice license? Not by that name. It is now the registered unlicensed individual registration.
Before you apply
Licensing rules change, sometimes mid-year. Confirm every requirement with the board directly before you pay a fee or schedule an exam. This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
More: our plumbing license guide, the full plumbing license by state index, and how to start a plumbing business once your license is in hand.
