1.3 Personal Licenses, Scope of Work & Electrical Contractors
Key Takeaways
A Class A journeyworker license requires at least four years (48 months) of acceptable experience, with up to one year of credit for an approved two-year post-high-school electrical course.
A Class A master electrician applicant needs a four-year electrical engineering degree, one year as a licensed journeyworker, or five years of planning, layout, supervision, and installation experience.
Each electrical contractor must give a $25,000 bond and carry liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury plus $50,000 property damage, or a $300,000 single limit.
A responsible licensed individual may serve only one contractor or employer at a time (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 17).
No new Class B master or Class B journeyworker licenses have been issued since August 1, 1985.
Why license scope matters
Most Minnesota electrical work is done by three groups: licensed individuals, registered unlicensed individuals working under them, and licensed contractors that employ both. The exam tests whether you know what each license allows, how each is earned, and what a contractor must maintain. All of these rules are in Minn. Stat. 326B.33 and in Minnesota Rules chapter 3800, both of which are in the exam booklet.
Personal license classes
| License | What the holder may do | Qualifying experience (326B.33) |
|---|---|---|
| Class A master electrician | Perform and supervise any electrical work, including planning and layout | 4-year electrical engineering degree, or 1 year as a licensed journeyworker, or 5 years in planning, layout, supervision, and installation |
| Class A journeyworker electrician | Perform and supervise any electrical work except planning or laying out | 4 years (48 months); up to 1 year credit for an approved 2-year post-high-school electrical course |
| Maintenance electrician | Maintain and repair wiring, apparatus, and equipment for a contractor or as a full-time employee of one employer on its own property | 48 months; up to 1 year course credit |
| Power limited technician (PLT) | Install, alter, repair, plan, lay out, and supervise technology circuits or systems | Electrical engineering degree or 36 months; up to 12 months credit for approved training |
| Satellite system installer | Satellite broadcast communication systems only | Approved national certification program plus a DLI exam |
| Class A installer | Major home appliances on the load side of the service on farmsteads and in small towns | No new licenses since December 1, 2007 |
| Class B installer | Center pivot irrigation booms on farmsteads and other equipment DLI approves | 1 year experience or an approved post-high-school course |
| Lineman | Install, maintain, and repair transmission and distribution systems owned or leased by a utility | 48 months |
| Elevator constructor / master elevator constructor | Elevator and escalator wiring | 36 months / 60 months |
Class B master and Class B journeyworker licenses are grandfathered. No new ones have been issued since August 1, 1985. Existing holders may renew and work on single-phase systems of not over 200 amperes on farmsteads or single-family dwellings in towns with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants.
Where a journeyworker may work
Under 326B.33, subdivision 2, a journeyworker may perform and supervise electrical work only when the work is:
- for a contractor, and the journeyworker is an employee, partner, or officer of the licensed contractor; or
- performed under the supervision of a master electrician employed by the same employer on wiring, apparatus, or equipment the employer owns or leases on property it operates.
A journeyworker license does not authorize anyone to contract for electrical work with the public. Subdivision 14 requires a separate contractor's license for anyone who performs or offers to perform electrical work, other than an employee, partner, or officer of a licensed contractor.
Electrical contractors
License, bond, and insurance
| Requirement | Statute | Amount or rule |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor license | 326B.33, subd. 14 | Required to perform or offer electrical work for others |
| Bond | subd. 15 | $25,000 penal sum to the state |
| General liability insurance | subd. 16 | At least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury, plus $50,000 property damage; or a single limit of $300,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate |
| Certificate of insurance | subd. 16 | Kept on file with the commissioner; the insurer must notify DLI of cancellation |
Installers (Class A and B) give a separate $1,000 bond (subd. 6).
The responsible licensed individual
Every contractor must designate a responsible master electrician, power limited technician, or satellite system installer (326B.33, subd. 17). That individual is responsible for all electrical work complying with the Act, the rules, and DLI orders. The classes of work the contractor may perform are limited to those the responsible licensed individual is licensed to perform. Key limits:
- An individual may be the responsible licensed individual for only one contractor or employer.
- If the responsible person is a managing employee rather than an owner, partner, member, or officer, they must be actively engaged in electrical work for that contractor and may not work for any other contractor or employer.
- When the license is held by a business whose principal is not the responsible person, requests for inspection must be signed by the responsible licensed individual.
Minnesota Rules part 3800.3540 adds procedures. The responsible person must give the contractor and DLI at least 15 days' notice before resigning. After a termination or separation, the contractor has 30 days to file a replacement certificate; otherwise the contractor license becomes invalid and the contractor must stop electrical work.
Business conduct rules
- Advertising (3800.3560): Any advertisement offering electrical work must show the contractor's name as it appears on the license.
- Vehicle marking (3800.3570): Vehicles used for licensed electrical work must show the contractor's name and license number on each side in contrasting color, with characters at least 3 inches high and ½ inch wide.
- Keeping information current (3800.3530): Contractors must notify DLI within 30 days of changes in required information.
Employers that are not contractors
A business whose own employees maintain the business's electrical systems can operate without a contractor license. Under 326B.33, subdivision 21(a), its maintenance electricians may even be exempt from licensing when they maintain and repair equipment on the employer's property under a licensed master electrician, maintenance electrician, power limited technician, or electrical engineer. The employer must keep a current certificate of responsible person on file with DLI. Under 326B.33, subdivision 19(c), the filing fee is $100, and Minnesota Rules part 3800.3550 requires resubmittal every two years. "Maintaining and repairing" means fixing or replacing worn or defective parts, including defective receptacles and manual lighting switches. It does not include new wiring, additions, alterations, or extensions (Minn. R. 3800.3500, subp. 8).
License terms
Under 326B.33, subdivision 19:
- Master licenses expire March 1 of odd-numbered years. DLI describes this as the last day of February of each odd-numbered year.
- Contractor licenses expire March 1 of even-numbered years.
- All other personal licenses, including the journeyworker license, expire two years from original issuance and every two years after that.
- Registrations of unlicensed individuals expire one year from issuance.
For fee purposes, the journeyworker, installer, lineman, maintenance, satellite installer, and power limited technician licenses are all "journeyworker" class licenses. Section 1.4 covers renewal and continuing education.
Worked scenarios
Scenario 1 — Side job. A licensed journeyworker who works for a contractor during the week wires a basement for a neighbor on a Saturday for cash. The work is not for a licensed contractor, and the journeyworker holds no contractor license. This violates 326B.33, subdivision 14, even though the journeyworker is competent to do the wiring.
Scenario 2 — Small contractor. A master electrician forms an LLC and is its chief manager. The LLC needs a contractor license, a $25,000 bond, liability insurance on file, and a designation of the master as responsible licensed individual. The master may not also serve as the responsible person for another company.
Under Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subdivision 15, what bond must an electrical contractor give to the state as a condition of licensing?
$1,000
$10,000
$100,000
$25,000
Which applicant meets Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subdivision 1 for the Class A master electrician exam?
A registered unlicensed individual with 3 years of residential wiring experience
A licensed journeyworker who has worked one year as a licensed journeyworker
A journeyworker applicant who completed a 2-year electrical program and 2 years of field work
Any electrical contractor's office manager with 5 years of estimating experience
A master electrician is the responsible licensed individual for ABC Electric. A second company asks the same master to be its responsible licensed individual as well. What does Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subdivision 17 allow?
Only one contractor or employer may use the master as its responsible individual
Two companies are permitted if both are located in the same county
Up to three companies are permitted if the master personally supervises each job
Two companies are permitted if the second company holds its own $25,000 bond
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.