Minnesota HVAC Business Registration — Requirements, Fees & Exam

Minnesota licenses the business, not individuals. Requirements, exam, fees, renewal and continuing education — verified from Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI).

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Construction Codes and Licensing Division (state mechanical contractor bond); individual competency is licensed by cities, not the state (official site) and last verified July 24, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

The one statewide step: a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond filed with DLI (there is NO state HVAC license): Minnesota does not issue a statewide HVAC or mechanical CONTRACTOR license and does not license individual HVAC technicians. The single statewide requirement is a surety bond. DLI: 'While there is no state license required for mechanical contractors, businesses must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI in order to contract to perform gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work.' The statute is Minn. Stat. 326B.197(a): 'A person contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning, or refrigeration work must give and maintain bond to the state in the amount of $25,000 for all work entered into within the state. The bond must be for the benefit of persons suffering financial loss by reason of the contractor's failure to comply with the requirements of the State Mechanical Code. A bond given to the state must be filed with the commissioner of labor and industry and is in lieu of all other bonds to any political subdivision required for work covered by this section.' The DLI filing fee is $100 for a two-year filing (326B.197(b)); the $25,000 is the penal sum of the bond written by a corporate surety.
No state license or competency card for individual workers - competency is licensed by CITIES: DLI: 'Minnesota also has no state license requirement for individual employees of mechanical contractors. However, cities may require licensure or a competency card for workers performing mechanical work. These licenses, or "comp cards," are not issued by DLI. Questions about individual licenses or comp cards should be directed to the city requiring them.' In practice the individual credential - the thing a technician actually carries - is a municipal Certificate of Competency, and a business must hold the city's contractor license in addition to filing the state bond. DLI also states: 'In addition to filing a bond with DLI, mechanical contractors must comply with local licensing requirements.'
Minneapolis - HVAC Class A / Class B contractor license and a Certificate of Competency: In Minneapolis, contractors who 'Install, Fix, Clean' heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems need an HVAC Class A license, which requires a State of MN $25,000 bond; contractors who only CLEAN HVAC systems need an HVAC Class B license, which requires a $10,000 bond from the City. Minneapolis Construction Code Services also issues Certificates of Competency (comp cards) - 'proof that a trades person has the required qualifications to install, alter, repair, and service equipment and systems' - for trades including Fuel gas fitter, Refrigeration, Warm air/ventilation, and Steam and hot water. An applicant needs 'a minimum of four years of work experience before applying to take the certification exam.'
St. Paul - Warm Air / Ventilation business trade license and a Certificate of Competency: St. Paul's Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) issues a Warm Air Business Trade License ('allows the holder to install any equipment used in an environmental heating system') and a Ventilation Business Trade License ('allows the holder to install any equipment used in the process of supplying or removing air by natural or mechanical means to or from any space'). To apply, the business must have a current City of Saint Paul Certificate of Competency (Master Warm Air and/or Ventilation) OR proof of a current City of Minneapolis Master's Card, AND a current $25,000 Mechanical Bond on file with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. The annual trade license fee is $188.00 per license (Warm Air and Ventilation are separate licenses).
Minneapolis-St. Paul competency-card reciprocity: The two cities honor each other's competency cards. Minneapolis: a professional holding a Saint Paul Certificate of Competency can obtain the equivalent Minneapolis card by submitting a copy of both sides of the Saint Paul card, a note indicating the desired trade(s), and a $30 fee per trade - no retest. St. Paul likewise accepts a current Minneapolis Master's Card in lieu of its own competency certificate when issuing the Warm Air / Ventilation trade license.
A mechanical contractor is EXEMPT from Minnesota's residential building contractor license: Minnesota's residential building contractor / remodeler license (Minn. Stat. 326B.802 to 326B.885) does NOT cover HVAC work. 'Residential building contractor' means a person building or improving residential real estate 'by providing two or more special skills,' and the eight statutory 'special skills' (326B.802, subd. 15) are excavation; masonry and concrete; carpentry; interior finishing; exterior finishing; drywall and plaster; residential roofing; and general installation specialties - HVAC/mechanical is not among them. Removing any doubt, Minn. Stat. 326B.805, subd. 6, lists the exemptions from that license and clause (6) is simply 'a mechanical contractor.' So an HVAC/mechanical contractor is governed by the state mechanical bond (326B.197) plus local rules, not by the residential building contractor license.
State Mechanical Code and permits: HVAC work in Minnesota is performed under the Minnesota State Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code (Minnesota Rules chapter 1346), and the mechanical bond exists to protect against a contractor's 'failure to comply with the requirements of the State Mechanical Code' (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(a)). A mechanical/HVAC permit from the local building official is generally required before work begins; permit administration and any homeowner permit allowances are set locally.
Federal EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification (separate and additional): Under the federal Clean Air Act and 40 CFR part 82, subpart F, a technician who maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 certification (Type I, II, III, or Universal). This is a FEDERAL credential held by the individual technician; it is neither issued by DLI nor a substitute for the Minnesota mechanical contractor bond or a city competency card. A technician may need the EPA certification, a city competency card, and work for a bonded contractor.

Legal basis

Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Construction Codes and Licensing Division (state mechanical contractor bond); individual competency is licensed by cities, not the state administers HVAC technician licensing in Minnesota. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.

What it’s called

There is no single ‘Minnesota HVAC license.’ The statewide credential is a $25,000 MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR BOND filed with the Department of Labor and Industry (Minn. Stat. 326B.197) - filed by the contracting business, not issued to a technician - and the state issues no HVAC technician license at all (’there is no state license required for mechanical contractors,’ DLI). The credential a technician actually carries is a CITY-issued Certificate of Competency (a ‘comp card’), and the business also needs the city’s contractor license: in Minneapolis an ‘HVAC Class A’ (install/fix/clean) or ‘HVAC Class B’ (clean only) license, in St. Paul a ‘Warm Air’ and/or ‘Ventilation’ business trade license. So a search for a ‘Minnesota HVAC license’ maps to the state mechanical bond plus a municipal competency card and contractor license. Separately, EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification is a FEDERAL credential, not a Minnesota license. ‘HVAC license,’ ‘AC license,’ ‘mechanical license,’ ‘warm air license,’ and ‘comp card’ are common informal names for these state-bond-plus-city-license requirements.

License types & fees

Type	Experience	Exam	Fee	Scope
Mechanical Contractor Bond - the mandatory STATEWIDE credential (a surety bond filed with DLI, not a competency license)	None. There is no state experience, education, or examination requirement to file the mechanical contractor bond. DLI states plainly: 'While there is no state license required for mechanical contractors, businesses must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI in order to contract to perform gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work.' The bond is held/filed by the contracting business, not by each technician.	None at the state level. (Individual competency is examined by cities that issue competency cards - see the local license type below.)	The fee for filing the bond with DLI is $100, and the filing is valid for two years; the renewal fee for a bond filing is also $100 (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(b) authorizes a biennial bond filing fee of $100). The $25,000 is the penal sum of the surety bond itself, obtained from a corporate surety licensed in Minnesota (the premium is paid to the insurer, not to DLI). The bond must be on the form approved by DLI.	Required of a person contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning, or refrigeration work (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(a)). The bond 'is in lieu of all other bonds to any political subdivision required for work covered by this section' - so the state bond preempts local BOND requirements, but it does NOT replace a city's competency card or municipal contractor license.
Municipal HVAC / mechanical contractor license + Certificate of Competency (issued by CITIES, not the state)	Set by each city. Minneapolis requires 'a minimum of four years of work experience' before an applicant may take the certification exam for a competency card (Fuel gas fitter, Refrigeration, Warm air/ventilation, Steam and hot water). St. Paul requires a City of Saint Paul Certificate of Competency (Master Warm Air and/or Ventilation), or proof of a current City of Minneapolis Master's Card.	Yes, at the city level. A Certificate of Competency card in Minneapolis 'is proof that a trades person has the required qualifications to install, alter, repair, and service equipment and systems,' earned by passing the city's competency examination. St. Paul issues its own Master Warm Air / Ventilation competency certificate by examination.	Minneapolis: the HVAC Class A or Class B contractor license fee is set on the city license fee schedule; the Minneapolis-St. Paul competency-card reciprocity fee is $30 per trade. St. Paul: the Warm Air and the Ventilation business trade licenses are $188.00 each, per year. Minneapolis HVAC Class A requires a State of MN $25,000 bond; Class B (cleaning only) requires a $10,000 bond from the City. (Fees other than these verified figures are set by each city's schedule and are omitted here rather than guessed.)	Minneapolis issues an 'HVAC Class A' license for contractors who 'Install, Fix, Clean' heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and an 'HVAC Class B' license limited to contractors who CLEAN HVAC systems only. St. Paul issues a Warm Air Business Trade License (install any equipment used in an environmental heating system) and a Ventilation Business Trade License (install equipment that supplies or removes air). Refrigeration and gas fitting are separate municipal licenses. Cities other than Minneapolis and St. Paul set their own rules; confirm with the city where the work will be performed.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

Minnesota does not issue a state HVAC/mechanical LICENSE, so the statewide requirement to be ’exempt’ from is the mechanical contractor BOND under Minn. Stat. 326B.197, which by its terms reaches only ‘a person contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning, or refrigeration work.’ That scope creates the natural carve-outs: (1) EMPLOYEES - an individual who performs mechanical work as an employee of a bonded contractor is not the person ‘contracting to do’ the work and does not file a bond of their own; DLI confirms ‘Minnesota also has no state license requirement for individual employees of mechanical contractors.’ (2) HOMEOWNERS ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY - a property owner doing mechanical work on their own home is not contracting to do the work for others; homeowner permit allowances are set by the local building official under the State Mechanical Code (Minn. Rules ch. 1346). The bond statute (326B.197) contains no enumerated exemption subdivisions - these follow from the ‘person contracting to do… work’ trigger, and were confirmed by reading the section in full. Separately, the RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONTRACTOR license (a different credential) expressly does not reach HVAC: Minn. Stat. 326B.805, subd. 6 lists that license’s exemptions, and clause (6) is ‘a mechanical contractor,’ clause (8) exempts a ‘specialty contractor’ providing only one special skill, clause (1) exempts ‘an employee of a licensee performing work for the licensee,’ clause (2) exempts a material person/manufacturer/retailer who does not install, clause (3) exempts an owner-occupant (not one building for resale/speculation - presumed if more than one property in any 24-month period), clause (5) exempts a person whose total gross annual receipts for the licensable work do not exceed $15,000 (by certificate of exemption), and clause (7) exempts ‘a plumber, electrician, or other person whose profession is otherwise subject to statewide licensing, when engaged in the activity which is the subject of that licensure.’ Finally, the state bond ‘is in lieu of all other bonds to any political subdivision required for work covered by this section’ (326B.197(a)) - i.e., it exempts the contractor from having to post a separate LOCAL bond, though not from a city’s competency-card or contractor-license requirement. City competency-card and homeowner exemptions vary by municipality and should be confirmed with the city where the work is performed.

Fees

STATE: filing the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI costs $100 for a two-year filing, and renewal is $100 (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(b)); the $25,000 is the bond’s penal sum, and the surety premium is paid to the insurer, not to DLI. LOCAL (examples, not statewide figures): in St. Paul the Warm Air and the Ventilation business trade licenses are $188.00 each per year; the Minneapolis-St. Paul competency-card reciprocity fee is $30 per trade. Minneapolis HVAC Class A and Class B license fees are set on the city license fee schedule (Class A requires a State of MN $25,000 bond; Class B requires a $10,000 City bond). Exam fees and other municipal license fees vary by city and are omitted here rather than guessed. EPA Section 608 certification (a federal credential) carries its own separate cost paid to an approved certifying organization.

Exam

There is NO Minnesota state examination for HVAC/mechanical contractors - the statewide requirement is a $25,000 surety bond filed with DLI, which involves no exam, education, or experience test (Minn. Stat. 326B.197). Examination happens at the CITY level, where a technician earns a Certificate of Competency. In Minneapolis, the competency card ‘is proof that a trades person has the required qualifications to install, alter, repair, and service equipment and systems,’ issued by exam after a minimum of four years of work experience, in trades including Warm air/ventilation, Refrigeration, and Fuel gas fitter. St. Paul issues its own Master Warm Air / Ventilation Certificate of Competency by examination, and accepts a Minneapolis Master’s Card in lieu of its own. Because there is no statewide exam, the specific exam content, passing score, and fee are set by each city and are omitted here rather than stated as a single statewide figure.

Renewal & continuing education

The state mechanical contractor bond filing is valid for two years and renews on a $100 biennial filing fee (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(b)); the surety bond itself must be kept continuously in effect. Municipal contractor licenses and competency cards renew on the city’s own cycle - St. Paul’s Warm Air / Ventilation business trade licenses are annual ($188 each). There is no statewide renewal exam or continuing-education step for the bond. None at the state level. The Minnesota mechanical contractor bond (Minn. Stat. 326B.197) carries no continuing-education condition - there is no state HVAC license to attach CE to. Any continuing-education requirement is a matter of municipal competency-card rules and varies by city; confirm with the city that issues the competency card. (Separately, EPA Section 608 certification does not expire and has no CE requirement.)

How to apply

Applications are handled by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Construction Codes and Licensing Division (state mechanical contractor bond); individual competency is licensed by cities, not the state. Start at the official application page .

Frequently asked questions

Does Minnesota require an HVAC license?

Not a statewide HVAC license - Minnesota issues none, and it does not license individual HVAC technicians at the state level. What the state DOES require is a bond: the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) says ’there is no state license required for mechanical contractors,’ but a business ‘must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI in order to contract to perform gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work’ (Minn. Stat. 326B.197). Beyond that bond, individual competency and the contractor license are handled by cities - Minneapolis and St. Paul, among others, require a Certificate of Competency and a municipal HVAC/mechanical license. So a working HVAC contractor in the Twin Cities typically needs three things: the state bond, a city competency card, and a city contractor license.

What is the Minnesota mechanical contractor bond and what does it cost?

It is a $25,000 surety bond that a mechanical contractor must give to the state and file with DLI before contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel-burning, or refrigeration work (Minn. Stat. 326B.197(a)). The bond protects customers against the contractor’s ‘failure to comply with the requirements of the State Mechanical Code.’ The DLI filing fee is $100 and the filing is valid for two years, with a $100 renewal (326B.197(b)); the $25,000 is the bond amount, and you pay a premium for it to a licensed surety company. The state bond is ‘in lieu of all other bonds to any political subdivision’ - it replaces local bond requirements, but it does not replace a city’s competency card or contractor license.

Do individual HVAC technicians need a license in Minnesota?

Not from the state - ‘Minnesota also has no state license requirement for individual employees of mechanical contractors’ (DLI). But ‘cities may require licensure or a competency card for workers performing mechanical work,’ and those comp cards ‘are not issued by DLI.’ In Minneapolis, a Certificate of Competency (for warm air/ventilation, refrigeration, or fuel gas fitting) is earned by exam after a minimum of four years of work experience; St. Paul issues its own Master Warm Air / Ventilation competency certificate. Separately, any technician who handles refrigerant must hold federal EPA Section 608 certification, which is not a Minnesota credential.

Do I need the Minnesota residential building contractor license to do HVAC work?

No. Minnesota’s residential building contractor / remodeler license is for people who provide ’two or more special skills,’ and the eight statutory special skills are excavation, masonry and concrete, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, residential roofing, and general installation specialties - HVAC is not among them. And Minn. Stat. 326B.805, subd. 6(6) flatly exempts ‘a mechanical contractor’ from that license. HVAC/mechanical contractors are covered by the state mechanical bond and local rules instead.

How do the Minneapolis and St. Paul HVAC licenses work?

Minneapolis issues an HVAC Class A license for contractors who ‘Install, Fix, Clean’ HVAC systems (requires a State of MN $25,000 bond) and an HVAC Class B license for contractors who only CLEAN HVAC systems (requires a $10,000 City bond), plus a Certificate of Competency for the trade. St. Paul issues Warm Air and Ventilation business trade licenses ($188.00 each, per year), each requiring a Saint Paul or Minneapolis master competency card and the $25,000 state mechanical bond on file. The two cities honor each other’s competency cards - a St. Paul cardholder can get the Minneapolis card for a $30-per-trade fee without retesting.

Is EPA 608 the same as a Minnesota HVAC license?

No. EPA Section 608 certification is a FEDERAL credential under the Clean Air Act (40 CFR part 82, subpart F) that a technician needs to handle refrigerants anywhere in the country. It is held by the individual technician and is completely separate from Minnesota’s mechanical contractor bond and from any city competency card or contractor license. Depending on your work you may need all of them.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Minnesota.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: July 24, 2026.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.