Construction contractor registration

Construction contractor registration renewals and applications are processed in the order received. The applicant will receive email communication when the renewal or application is processed and approved. Renewals may take up to 30 days for processing. Complete applications may take up to 10 business days to issue. For help with questions, contact us at dli.register@state.mn.us or 651-284-5074.

Most contractors who provide residential or commercial building construction or improvement services are required to register with us through this Contractor Registration Program if they do not hold a contractor’s license.

Contractors who are already licensed or bonded by us should not register.

Have the following documents ready before your register or renew as a construction contractor

You will be instructed to upload documents as a single or separate upload.

1. The Minnesota Secretary of State active business filing for the legal business entity.
2. The Minnesota Secretary of State active assumed name filing – if applicant is using a dba.
3. Workers’ Compensation Certificate of Insurance – if applicant has employees.
4. Proof of Unemployment Insurance account with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development – if applicant has employees.

Do I have to register?

An individual or business that performs commercial or residential building construction or improvement services must register with us unless they:

• have a current license, certificate or registration issued by the agency;
• are an employee of a business performing construction services;
• have a current residential building contractor or remodeler certificate of exemption; or
• are excluded from registration requirements under Minnesota Statutes 326B.701.

Contractors who hire unregistered subcontractors, misclassify workers or fail to register are in violation of the law and can be charged with monetary penalties.

• Nine-factor test: What are the nine criteria that must be met to be considered an independent contractor in the construction industry?
• Contractor registration enforcement actions

If a license is required, do not register

If contractors are performing any construction work for which a license, certification or separate registration is required (i.e. boiler, electrical, elevator, high-pressure piping, plumbing or residential building contractor), they must apply for a license and may not submit a contractor registration. Contact us at 651-284-5034 or dli.license@state.mn.us for more information about licensing.

A contractor registration is not a license

Being registered does not authorize you to contract with homeowners to perform construction or remodeling work of any kind. It is a violation of state law for a registered contractor to hold him or herself out as a licensed contractor or to imply that a registration number is a license number.

Why is registration important?

• The Contractor Registration Program was created by the legislature to assist us while investigating worker misclassification (treating employees as independent contractors) in the construction industry.
• By law, an unregistered subcontractor is presumed to be an employee of any contractor that hires them.
• Hiring an unregistered individual is a violation of law, though the monetary penalty is forgiven for the first violation.
• Even if your subcontractors are registered, they must meet the nine-factor test or they will be deemed to be employees of your company even if they operate as a business entity (corporation or LLC) and maintain their own liability and workers’ compensation insurance.