STATE LICENSE
ConditionalMinnesota Department of Labor and Industr…
Residential roofing is one of Minnesota's eight special skills, and DLI applies the roofing rule as an exception to the one-skill exemption: a contractor who contracts directly with a homeowner for roofing alone must hold a residential roofer, remodeler, or building contractor license (§ 326B.805, subd. 1). The roofer license covers roofing only — gutters, downspouts, soffit, and fascia require a building contractor or remodeler license.
Roofer licensees post a $15,000 surety bond (§ 326B.86, subd. 1), carry liability insurance, and designate a qualifying person who passes DLI's exam and completes continuing education. The license is $180 ($185 to renew) and DLI's fee schedule shows no recovery-fund fee for roofers. Roofing subcontractors who don't contract with the homeowner, and commercial roofers, don't need the license but must register with DLI.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
The roofer license is statewide; reroof permits and inspections are local under the State Building Code, and DLI notes cities and counties may require local licenses from exemption holders and from contractors doing commercial work.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Minnesota county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
The roofer license does not cover gutters, downspouts, soffit, or fascia. Selling those with the roof needs a building contractor or remodeler license.
DLI's bond form makes the $15,000 penalty cumulative over each two-year period the bond stays in force.
A roofing crew working under a licensed contractor registers with DLI; the license attaches to whoever contracts with the homeowner.
A practical sequence for a new roofing contractor in Minnesota. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
DLI may issue administrative and licensing orders against unlicensed or unregistered contracting; each day a violation continues past a correction deadline counts separately.
Violating an applicable law under DLI's jurisdiction is a misdemeanor unless another statute provides otherwise.
DLI may order business operations stopped at one or more worksites; operating in violation of a final stop order carries a daily civil penalty.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: Stale-page conflict: DLI's roofer license page lists liability insurance of $300,000 per occurrence with $10,000 property damage, while § 326B.86, subd. 2 sets $100,000 / $300,000 bodily injury plus $25,000 property damage (or $300,000 single limit) — the statute is followed here · The statutory basis for DLI treating roofing-only contractors as outside the one-special-skill exemption (§ 326B.805, subd. 6 does not name roofers; DLI's pages and subd. 1 require the license) · Whether residential roofer licenses expire March 31 like builder/remodeler licenses, and how many CE hours the qualifying roofer owes per term · The specific lead-safe work practices required by § 326B.106, subd. 14 for pre-1978 renovation (§ 326B.805, subd. 1a cross-references it; the subdivision text was not retrieved) · The substance of the 2024 amendments to § 326B.082 and § 326B.701 (2024 c 127 art 10) — the revisor history lists them, but the changed provisions were not compared line by line
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.