How to Renew a Qualifying Person Registration in Minnesota
Written by Kacie Goff
Maintaining a contractor, remodeler, or roofer license in Minnesota can be a little tricky. That’s because the state technically issues the license to the company and requires company renewals. At the same time, though, every licensed contractor company has to maintain an individual who acts as a qualifying person (QP) — and that QP needs to take steps to renew, too.
If you’re the qualifying person for your contractor license, you need to take continuing education (CE) to maintain your registration. So you can maintain your registration — and your contractor license — let’s look into the details.
Are you a QP?
First up, you need to confirm your QP status. If you’re not the QP for your contractor license, you don’t need to worry about continuing education.
To find out if you’re the qualifying builder (QB), qualifying remodeler (QC), or qualifying roofer (QR), use the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI)’s lookup tool. You might be able to find yourself by simply searching your last name.
If you have trouble, though, type the name of your business. Click into the record when you find it and scroll to the bottom. The last section, titled “Business Relationship Requirements,” will show the QP for your contractor license. If it’s you, you’re on the hook for CE.
You can also check your registration number in general. If it starts with a Q, you’re the QP.
The QP renewal deadline
When’s the deadline for meeting your registration renewal requirements? It varies depending on the date your QP registration was issued, so when you’re in that lookup tool, check the “Expire Date” listed by your Q license.
Your registration renewal is due every two years. It might not be the same deadline as your contractor license renewal, so make sure you get clear about both expiration dates.
How to renew a QB, QC, or QR registration
The DLI recently adjusted the renewal requirements for QPs. Fortunately, they didn’t add more to the process — you just need to focus your CE hours in a slightly different direction.
In order to renew, you need to take 14 hours of DLI-approved CE during each two-year renewal cycle.
As of April 2020, two of those hours need to focus on specific categories:
The remaining 12 hours can be electives, provided they come from a CE provider with DLI approval.
Fortunately for you, the state has approved some CE courses to be offered on-demand online. That lets you take your hours whenever you’ve got time. Plus, you can take them from your smartphone, tablet, home or office computer, or wherever else you want.
More good news. The process to renew is pretty easy from there. Assuming you choose a CE provider that’s working with the DLI, they’ll report your hour(s) completion on your behalf. Once the DLI has evidence that you’ve completed your 14 hours, they’ll automatically renew your registration. You don’t need to worry about any sort of renewal application or fee (although you will need both for your contractor license renewal).
You can choose to take seven hours a year or to knock out all 14 hours at once. If you spread out your hours, you might lose track of how many you’ve taken. Fortunately, you can check how much CE you’ve completed this renewal cycle using this tool.