What Continuing Education Do Minnesota Contractors Need?

Getting your Minnesota contractor’s license isn’t a one-and-done thing. Instead, you have to continually do work to keep your license active. Fortunately, it’s not a ton of work and you can knock it out with just one day of effort every year.

Still, though, it’s important to stay on top of it. Without completing the required continuing education by the required time, you could risk your Minnesota contractor’s license.

So what, exactly, do you have to do to keep your license active? Let’s take a look.

Getting the hours you need to keep your Minnesota contractor’s license

Every two years, the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) requires that all residential builders (QB), remodelers (QC), and roofers (QR) complete 14 hours of continuing education. You can choose to take 7 hours each year or wait to take all 14 hours in one fell swoop. However you go about it, make sure you mark your calendar to remind yourself to start your hours in time. You need to complete them before your license is slated for renewal.

Choosing the right Minnesota contractor continuing education for you

Don’t just run a quick Google search and assume the continuing education provider you find is good to go. You need to take your hours from a DLI-approved provider or they won’t count towards your license renewal.

To prevent you from wasting your time with an unapproved provider, the state keeps a directory of approved course options. More good news: many of them offer online classes. That gives you the flexibility to knock out your 14 hours whenever it’s convenient for you from any location where you have a computer and internet access.

Once you choose a state-approved Minnesota contractor continuing education provider, it’s time to decide what you want to learn during your continuing education hours. You’re required to take one hour on the Minnesota Energy Code, but other than that, you can choose the topics you want to cover. Some of the available topic options include:

Drywall Installation & Maintenance
Project Management
Estimating & Job Costing
Liability & Risk Management
Construction Safety
Marketing & Sales
Business Contracts

If there’s a specific skill you’ve been wanting to brush up on or a new technique you’re interested in learning, your continuing education hours are the perfect opportunity. You have to take the hours anyway, so you might as well find topics that interest you or will help you grow your business.

These courses are broken into 7-hour sections. As long as you’re taking a 7-hour course once a year, you’re covered for the biennial 14-hour requirement. Or you can wait and take two courses back-to-back every other year to hit the total number of required hours.

Whenever you finish a course, you get a certificate of completion. Save it for your records, but you don’t necessarily need to submit it to the state. Your course provider should report your course completion to DLI, ensuring you can keep your license active without any hiccups.

Need additional CE for your Minnesota electrician's license? Then you'll need to take approved electrical continuing education classes to satisfy those needs, however those licenses are regulated separately from your contractor license.

See? Keeping your Minnesota contractor’s license doesn’t have to be a headache. As long as you make sure you’re on top of the required continuing education hours, it’s easy to prevent any lapses in your licensure.