Moving to Minnesota as a residential contractor: every state's rule

Minnesota licenses homebuilders statewide through the Department of Labor and Industry, which issues a Residential Building Contractor (BC) license for new construction and remodeling, a Residential Remodeler (CR) license for work on existing structures only, and a narrower Residential Roofer (RR) license for roofing alone. The license is required of anyone who contracts directly with the owner of residential real estate, meaning a building constructed for habitation by one to four families including detached garages, to provide work in more than one of eight statutory special skills, and of an owner who builds or improves homes for resale or speculation. It is the business that holds the license, not the person: every company designates a qualifying person who must be an owner, officer, member, general partner, chief manager or managing employee, and that individual personally passes DLI's written exam and carries the resulting QB or QC registration number, which the company's license depends on. Minnesota attaches no experience, apprenticeship or education prerequisite to that exam. In place of a surety bond, licensees pay into the Contractor Recovery Fund, which repays homeowners who win a judgment against a licensed contractor, and they must carry commercial general liability and workers' compensation insurance and keep an active Minnesota Secretary of State filing. Cities and counties may not require a separate local license for work that the state license covers.