How to Get an HVAC License in Minnesota (2026 Guide)

Minnesota has no state HVAC license to get, not for your company and not for any individual technician. What you actually need to do business legally is file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), add whatever competency card or trade license the city where you work requires, and get EPA Section 608 certification for anyone who touches refrigerant.

At a glance

• State license: none. Minnesota requires a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond instead, filed with DLI.
• State cost: a $100 bond filing fee, good for two years, then $100 to renew.
• City layer: Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington require a worker competency card and sometimes a company trade license; Duluth requires neither.
• Federal layer: EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerant work, which never expires.
• Timeline driver: the bond has no exam built into the law; a city comp card exam does.

This guide walks the whole path step by step: who needs what, the bond, the city cards and their exams, the state fees, the timeline, renewal, and what changes once your company wants a licensed qualifier or expands to a state that requires one. Every fact below was checked against DLI, the cities, the EPA and Minnesota's own statutes on 2026-10-05 (sources at the end); fees and rules change, so verify before you file. For the general contractor picture, start with our Minnesota contractor license guide; for a state by state comparison, see our contractor license pillar.

Who needs what: the three layers of HVAC compliance

Minnesota deliberately did not build a state HVAC license. DLI says it plainly: there is no state license requirement for mechanical contractors or their individual employees. That does not make the trade unregulated. It just moves the regulation to three layers.

• State: every company that contracts for gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI. No exam, no license, just the bond.
• City: many cities require a certificate of competency for the individual doing the work, and some also require a company trade license. Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington all require something; Duluth requires nothing beyond the state bond.
• Federal: anyone who connects gauges to a system, adds or removes refrigerant, or otherwise services equipment that could release it must hold EPA Section 608 certification under the Clean Air Act, with no Minnesota exemption.

Knowing which layer applies to your crew, and in which city, is where new and out of state HVAC companies most often get Minnesota wrong. A company that is fully legal in Bloomington can be missing a required card the moment it crosses into Minneapolis.

License types: what the "license" actually looks like city by city

Because there is no state license, the closest thing to an HVAC "license" in Minnesota is a set of city credentials. Think in two halves: a worker card for the individual, and in some cities a separate company license.

Notes:

• Minneapolis cards cover warm air/ventilation, refrigeration, fuel gas fitter, steam and hot water, and plumber/gas specific.
• St. Paul cards cover warm air/ventilation, refrigeration, gas burner, oil burner, and steam fitting/hot water, and expire December 1 each year.
• Minneapolis Class A covers install, fix and clean; Class B covers cleaning only. Both need the state $25,000 bond.
• The two cities recognize each other's card for a reduced per trade fee; St. Paul charges $24 per trade for a reciprocal card from a current Minneapolis Master card, and only reciprocates warm air/ventilation at the master level.
• Bloomington accepts a Minneapolis or St. Paul card, or its own $35 open book mechanical test, plus the state bond and a Minnesota Tax ID.

Experience and education: what it takes to sit for a city exam

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul gate their comp card exams behind real work experience, not just a test fee.

Notes:

• St. Paul's journey route runs through a state approved apprenticeship, or four years in the trade plus four years of related schooling, or seven years of experience with no schooling.
• St. Paul's master route needs a journey card held at least one year (or a registered mechanical engineer), plus two notarized master vouchers; a journey applicant needs one voucher.
• Minneapolis counts manufacturer training and supervised self-study toward its 576 hour requirement.
• Minneapolis's plumber/gas specific card needs 1,600 hours of fuel gas experience or training, plus a Minnesota plumbing license.

The exams: who gives them, fees, passing scores, windows

The exams are city administered, not run through a national testing vendor the way many states run trade exams through PSI or Pearson VUE.

Notes:

• St. Paul's 2026 mechanical windows: warm air/ventilation in January (29 to 30) and July (30 to 31); gas, refrigeration, oil and steam in April and October.
• St. Paul's exam fee is not refundable; an applicant who fails a portion of the exam gets one retake of that portion, which must happen within six months of the original exam date, and no applicant may sit for a given trade exam more than twice in any two year period.
• Minneapolis sends an authorization letter for the exam only after it approves your application; a passing result plus the $30 fee produces the card.
• Bloomington skips this structure for anyone who already holds a Minneapolis or St. Paul card and instead offers its own $35 open book test.

The state bond: fees and filing

The one truly statewide requirement is the mechanical contractor bond. Minnesota Statutes section 326B.197 requires any person contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning or refrigeration work to give and maintain a bond to the state in the penal sum of $25,000 for all work entered into within the state. The bond protects anyone who suffers a financial loss because the contractor's work violated the State Mechanical Code. By statute it stands in lieu of any other bond a city would otherwise require for that work.

It must be written by a corporate surety licensed in Minnesota, on DLI's approved form, signed and notarized, and filed with DLI's Construction Codes and Licensing Division.

DLI's bond packet includes more than the bond form itself: a disclosure of the company's owners, partners, officers and members, the certificate of workers' compensation compliance, and a business name and address change form you can use later if either changes. Keep copies of everything you file; a city such as St. Paul checks DLI's own records before it will issue a trade license, so a packet that is complete the first time avoids a second trip.

The $25,000 is the penal sum, the most the surety would pay on a valid claim, not your out of pocket cost. The premium you pay your surety each term is a small fraction of that and depends on your company's financials. Filing the bond does not excuse local licensing. DLI states directly that mechanical contractors must also comply with local licensing requirements.

Application steps: how to actually get compliant

1. Form the business and put workers' compensation in place. DLI's bond packet needs a certificate of workers' compensation compliance and a disclosure of every owner, partner, officer and member.
2. Have your insurance agent place the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond on DLI's approved form, written by a surety licensed in Minnesota, signed and notarized.
3. File the bond packet with DLI, online or by mail with a $100 check payable to the State of Minnesota. Once filed, it appears in DLI's license and registration lookup, searchable with no account, which is where a city such as St. Paul confirms your bond is on file before it issues a trade license.
4. Get EPA Section 608 cards for every technician who will handle refrigerant. Universal covers every equipment type and never expires.
5. Map your cities. Call the building department in every city where you will pull permits and ask whether it requires a comp card, a business trade license, or both.
6. Put a card holder on the payroll where a city requires one. St. Paul's company license needs a master warm air and ventilation card plus liability coverage; Minneapolis's Class A license needs the state bond, and the techs doing the work need the city card.
7. Decide how you will handle the electrical connection on replacements. Either employ a technician with a DLI personal license, usually power limited technician, so your crew can legally reconnect existing branch circuits, or contract a licensed electrical contractor for every job.
8. Pull the mechanical permit in every city and work to the 2020 Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code. The bond you filed is what answers for code violations.

Want the application done for you?

Steps 1 through 3 above, the business paperwork, the bond, and the DLI filing itself, are exactly the kind of state application work The Licensing Company's License Application Processing service handles. It is a flat $999 per state application, paid up front. State fees, exam fees, background checks and fingerprinting still go to the state, not to us.

For that flat fee, our team runs an eligibility audit before anything is filed, builds the document checklist and chases the pieces with you, prepares and reviews every state form line by line, and submits it the way the board requires. We answer and resubmit through the board's follow up questions until the board decides. We do not promise approval, we do not promise a timeline, and we do not take any exam for you.

If you would rather hand off the paperwork than track down DLI's bond packet yourself, call 615-219-2110 or start at License Application Processing.

State fees and bond and insurance, in one place

Beyond the $25,000 bond and its $100 filing fee, plan for these costs, all set by the state, the cities or the surety market and subject to change.

St. Paul's trade license shows what a city can demand beyond the state bond: the current master warm air and ventilation card, liability insurance (a $500,000 combined limit, or $500,000 bodily injury plus $200,000 property damage, with a 30 day cancellation notice naming DSI), a current workers' compensation form, and proof the state bond is on file. The state bond is the entry ticket to the city license, not a substitute for it.

A small example of how these layers stack: a two person crew doing warm air and ventilation work only in Minneapolis pays the $100 state bond filing, then $30 per trade for each technician's card, on top of the surety premium and insurance. Add a second city such as St. Paul to that same crew's territory, and the $188 annual trade license and its insurance requirement apply as well, stacked on top of the comp card fees already paid.

Timeline: how long this actually takes

There is no single answer, because the clock runs differently on each layer. The bond itself has no exam and no board meeting built into the law: once your signed, notarized DLI form and the $100 fee are filed, DLI's part of the process is a filing, not a review. EPA Section 608 testing is available on demand through approved providers, so that layer moves on your own schedule.

The city layer is where the calendar matters most. St. Paul only runs its mechanical trade exams in fixed windows (warm air/ventilation in January and July, other trades in April and October in 2026) and requires your application 45 days ahead of the exam date. A worker who is not yet experienced enough, or who misses a window, can be waiting for the next one on top of however long it takes to build the required years of experience.

Minneapolis issues an authorization letter after it approves your application, then schedules the exam, a process not tied to fixed calendar windows the way St. Paul's is. If you already hold a Minneapolis or St. Paul card, Bloomington's reciprocity, or its own $35 test, is the fastest city step available, since it has no fixed exam calendar. Build your timeline around whichever city card is your bottleneck, not around the bond, which carries no statutory waiting period.

None of these layers has to wait on the others. You can file the bond, enroll technicians in EPA Section 608 testing, and start the hour count toward a city comp card all in the same month. The only sequencing that matters is that a city will not issue its own trade license until your state bond is already showing in DLI's lookup.

Renewal and continuing education

• The state bond renews every two years for another $100 filing fee. Let it lapse and you cannot lawfully contract for covered work until it is refiled.
• City comp cards in both Minneapolis and St. Paul expire December 1 and renew annually; St. Paul's trade license expires the same date.
• EPA Section 608 certification never expires, for any of the four types.
• If your electrical crossover runs through a DLI personal license (see below), that license carries its own continuing education; the power limited technician license requires 16 hours every renewal period.

What changes for a business: the qualifying agent question

Minnesota never names a "qualifier" for HVAC, because it never issues the license that role would sit on. But the function exists in two places: the DLI personal license holder whose presence makes your crew's furnace change outs lawful, and the master comp card holder St. Paul requires before it issues a company trade license.

If your technicians are not yet individually credentialed and you need someone to carry that responsibility for the company, a qualifying agent can qualify the company instead, as a full time W-2 employee who actually supervises the work. See What Is a Qualifying Agent and Hire a Qualifying Agent.

This matters most the moment your company looks beyond Minnesota. Most neighboring, southern and western states issue a full state mechanical contractor license, with a trade exam, a business and law exam, and a named qualifier on the company's license who must be a full time W-2 employee actually supervising the work. Placing that qualifier is the gating requirement for a Minnesota HVAC company expanding into one of those states. The Licensing Company places qualifiers as full time W-2 employees; our contractor license pillar compares every state's structure.

The crossover rules: where HVAC meets electrical and plumbing

This is the section that keeps Minnesota HVAC contractors out of trouble, because the neighboring trades are state licensed even though HVAC is not.

Furnace and air conditioner replacement, the exemption. Minnesota Statutes section 326B.38, subdivision 4, removes the alteration, replacement or repair of heating, ventilating, air conditioning or refrigeration equipment, including the associated devices, controls and wiring in or on the equipment, from the electrical licensing chapter. The exemption applies when the work is performed by an employee of an HVAC or refrigeration contractor who holds either a certificate of completion from a Minnesota approved HVAC or refrigeration apprenticeship program, or any class of personal license issued by DLI. Registered apprentices may do the same work under that employee's direction. Installing new electrical wiring to the unit stays covered by the electrical licensing chapter.

DLI's bulletin on this, revised December 30, 2024, turns the statute into the field rule: an HVAC contractor may replace a furnace or air conditioner, including disconnecting and reconnecting the existing branch circuit connection, without hiring a licensed electrical contractor, but only if the circuit is not modified and the employee meets one of the two conditions above. No DLI approved HVAC apprenticeship program currently exists, which makes the personal license route the practical one. If those conditions are not met, or the branch circuit needs any modification, a licensed electrical contractor must be hired.

Which personal license counts. Minnesota Statutes section 326B.33 creates the classes: Class A and Class B master electrician, Class A and Class B journeyworker electrician, Class A and Class B installer, power limited technician, satellite system installer, elevator constructor, master elevator constructor, lineman and maintenance electrician. For most HVAC companies, the power limited technician license is the realistic target: at least 36 months of experience, with up to 12 months credited for a two year post high school electrical course or other technical training, then 16 hours of continuing education every renewal period. One technician on the crew holding it unlocks the exemption for the job. A company that wants to become a licensed electrical contractor itself must give its own $25,000 bond under section 326B.33, subdivision 15, a separate bond from the mechanical one.

Because section 326B.38 removes the exempt work from sections 326B.31 to 326B.399, the state electrical inspection in section 326B.36 does not apply to it either. Subdivision 2 of that section lists work performed by an HVAC contractor as described in 326B.38 among the exceptions to its inspection rule for technology circuits. The moment new wiring runs to the unit, the licensed electrical contractor and the inspection both come back.

Electric water heaters, no exemption. Replacing an electric water heater is defined as electrical work under Minnesota law. DLI's bulletin is direct: a licensed electrical contractor must be hired, there is no exemption in section 326B.38, subdivision 4, for electric water heaters, and sections 326B.33 and 326B.36 require electrical licensing and inspection. DLI issued the bulletin because it had received exactly this question from HVAC and plumbing contractors.

Gas piping. Gas piping work falls inside the mechanical bond's scope, and fuel gas code compliance is enforced through the local mechanical permit and inspection. Cities that card or license gas work, such as Minneapolis's fuel gas fitter card, St. Paul's gas burner card, and Bloomington's Gas Installer Class A license, apply those requirements to exactly this work.

Plumbing and electrical licensing. The moment your company's work extends into plumbing, such as water lines, drains, or the plumbing side of a water heater, or into genuine electrical work, Minnesota's statewide licensing for those trades applies, enforced through licensed contractors and their W-2 employees. See our companion guides to the Minnesota plumbing license ladder and the Minnesota electrician license.

Two other bonds you may hit. If your company separately licenses as an electrical contractor, that license carries its own $25,000 bond under section 326B.33, subdivision 15, distinct from the mechanical bond. And if your scope ever includes water conditioning equipment, such as softeners, that trade carries a separate state license with its own $3,000 bond under section 326B.56, plus a $40 one year or $80 two year registration fee, not the mechanical bond.

The federal layer: EPA Section 608

No state license does not mean no individual credential. Under the Clean Air Act, any technician who connects or disconnects gauges to an appliance, adds or removes refrigerant, or otherwise maintains, services, repairs or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 certification, federal law with no Minnesota exemption.

The four certifications are Type I for small appliances, Type II for high or very high pressure appliances, Type III for low pressure appliances, and Universal for all types. The core test must be proctored to earn Universal; an open book core test cannot be used for it. Section 608 credentials do not expire, and an apprentice is exempt only while closely and continually supervised by a certified technician.

The code you are bonded to: the 2020 Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code

The bond guarantees compliance with the State Mechanical Code, so it pays to know which code that is. The current edition is the 2020 Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code, Minnesota Rules Chapter 1346, which took effect April 6, 2020. It adopts by reference chapters 2 through 15 of the 2018 International Mechanical Code and chapters 2 through 8 of the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code, both with Minnesota amendments, plus ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 154-2016 for commercial kitchen ventilation and ANSI/ASHRAE 62.2-2016 for residential ventilation.

DLI offers the code for free online viewing, and the cities and townships that enforce it issue the permits and inspections, which is why Bloomington's mechanical test is an open book exam on this code. A change is coming: DLI opened rulemaking to adopt the 2024 editions of the International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code with amendments. The Request for Comments was published in the State Register on February 2, 2026, and as of today the hearing date, rule draft and effective date all remain listed as to be determined on DLI's own docket. Until a new rule takes effect, the 2018 based 2020 code is the one your work is inspected against.

Does an HVAC company need Minnesota's residential building contractor license?

Minnesota separately licenses residential building contractors and remodelers who contract with a homeowner to build or improve a dwelling by offering more than one special skill. Section 326B.802 lists the eight special skill areas: excavation, masonry and concrete, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, residential roofing, and general installation specialties. HVAC, ductwork, gas and refrigeration appear in none of them.

Section 326B.805, subdivision 6, expressly exempts a mechanical contractor from the license, along with specialty contractors who provide only one special skill, plumbers and electricians subject to statewide licensing, and anyone whose gross annual receipts for special skill work stay at or below $15,000 with a certificate of exemption. So a pure HVAC company, as a subcontractor or contracting directly with the homeowner, does not need the residential building contractor license.

The trigger is different work: if the same company also contracts with homeowners for two or more of the eight special skills, say carpentry and drywall on a basement finish that includes the ductwork, the license and its qualifying person exam apply. Traps like this are why we wrote our guide to state versus local contractor licenses.

Minnesota versus states that license HVAC

Minnesota's bond instead of license model is unusual. Next door, Wisconsin requires registration with its Department of Safety and Professional Services before any person or business may install or service heating, ventilating or air conditioning equipment. Many southern and western states go further and require a full state mechanical contractor license with a trade exam, a business and law exam, and a named qualifier on the company's license, the model discussed above.

That gap between a state with no license and a state with a full license and a required qualifier is exactly the terrain The Licensing Company works in every day, moving crews and companies across it without losing compliance on either side.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get an HVAC license in Minnesota? You do not, because the state does not issue one. What you get instead is a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond filed with DLI ($100 filing, valid two years), then whatever your city requires: a competency card for your workers, sometimes a company trade license, plus EPA Section 608 certification for anyone handling refrigerant.

Do you need a license for HVAC work in Minnesota at all? For the state, only the bond. For the city, often yes: Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington require a comp card or a passed city test before mechanical work is done there, while Duluth requires nothing beyond the state bond. For refrigerant, always: EPA Section 608 is federal law.

What license do you need to install air conditioning in Minnesota? No state AC license exists. Your company needs the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond, and depending on the city, your installer may need a warm air/ventilation competency card. Anyone handling refrigerant during the install needs EPA Section 608 certification.

How much does it cost to start an HVAC business in Minnesota? There is no license fee, because there is no license. Budget the $100 bond filing every two years plus your surety's premium on the $25,000 bond, then city costs: $30 per trade for a Minneapolis card, $55 or $82.50 for a St. Paul exam, $188 a year for St. Paul's trade license, $35 for Bloomington's test, plus insurance, workers' compensation, and any electrical or plumbing licensing your scope requires.

How long does it take to get set up? The bond itself has no exam or waiting period in the law; it is a filing once your surety issues the signed, notarized form. A city comp card is the real variable, since St. Paul only offers fixed exam windows with a 30 day advance application, while Minneapolis and Bloomington are not tied to fixed calendar windows.

Can my HVAC tech replace a furnace without an electrician in Minnesota? Yes, if the existing branch circuit is not modified and the tech holds any class of DLI personal license, or completed an approved HVAC apprenticeship, none of which currently exists per DLI. Any circuit modification, any new wiring to the unit, or any electric water heater replacement requires a licensed electrical contractor.

Do HVAC techs in Minnesota need EPA certification? Yes. EPA Section 608 certification is federal law for anyone who handles regulated refrigerants, regardless of state licensing, and the credential does not expire.

Does Minneapolis or St. Paul require an HVAC license? Both cities require certificates of competency for mechanical work, issued by the city, not DLI, and both license the company as well: Minneapolis through its HVAC Class A or B license, St. Paul through the Warm Air/Ventilation Business Trade License. The two cities recognize each other's cards for a reduced per trade fee ($24 for a St. Paul reciprocal card from a current Minneapolis Master card), though St. Paul reciprocates warm air and ventilation cards only at the master level.

Are the Minnesota mechanical, electrical and water conditioning contractor bonds the same thing? No. The mechanical contractor bond, $25,000 under Minn. Stat. 326B.197, covers HVAC, gas, heating and refrigeration work. A separate electrical contractor license carries its own $25,000 bond under section 326B.33. Water conditioning contractors carry a different state license with a $3,000 bond under section 326B.56. An HVAC company only needs the mechanical bond unless its scope genuinely extends into one of the other licensed trades.

My company is in Eagan, Hibbing, Grand Rapids or Virginia. Does my city have its own card? Ask the building department directly; DLI's own page says only that cities may require a card and that DLI does not issue them. The pattern across the state is that the metro core and larger suburbs run a card or a test, while many outstate cities, Duluth among them, rely on the state bond and their own permit inspections.

Do I need a different bond for residential versus commercial HVAC work in Minnesota? No. Minn. Stat. 326B.197 and its $25,000 bond cover gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning and refrigeration work generally, with no separate residential or commercial tier and no separate bond amount for either.

Can an out of state HVAC company get bonded in Minnesota before it has a job lined up? Yes. The bond is filed with DLI independently of any specific contract, and nothing in the statute ties it to a Minnesota address or an existing job, so an out of state company can file the bond, then work through city requirements, before it bids any Minnesota work.

Sources

• Minnesota DLI, Mechanical contractor bond requirements (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.197, Bond required for certain contractors (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.38, Manufactured electrical parts; exemption (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minnesota DLI, Clarification about electrical licensing requirements when replacing HVAC equipment and water heaters (Rev. 12/30/2024) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.33, Personal and business electrical licenses (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.36, Inspection of electrical installations (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.56, Water conditioning contractors; bonding and insurance (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minnesota DLI, License and registration lookup (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.802, Definitions (special skill) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. Stat. 326B.805, License required; exemptions (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minnesota DLI, Residential contractors, remodelers, roofers (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minn. R. 1346.0050, adoption of the 2018 IMC (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Minnesota DLI, Rulemaking docket for Minnesota Rules Chapter 1346 (2024 IMC and IFGC) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Minneapolis, Competency cards (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Minneapolis, HVAC Class A or B license (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Saint Paul DSI, Warm Air/Ventilation Business Trade License (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Saint Paul DSI, Certificate of Competency exam application instructions, Journey and Master (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Bloomington, Contractor licensing and testing (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• City of Duluth, Contractor Licensing (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• U.S. EPA, Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements (retrieved 2026-10-05)
• Wisconsin DSPS, HVAC Contractor (retrieved 2026-10-05)

Talk to a licensing authority before you file

Minnesota is simple at the state level and complicated at the city level. The mistakes that cost HVAC companies money here are rarely about the bond: the missing comp card in the wrong city, the furnace change out done without a personal license holder on the crew, the electric water heater swapped without an electrical contractor, and the expansion into a neighboring state that demands a licensed qualifier the company does not have. Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski built The Licensing Company to solve that last problem, and our team maps the first three every week, including handling the paperwork itself through License Application Processing.

If your HVAC company is entering Minnesota, expanding out of it, or needs a qualifying agent on a license in a state that requires one, call 615-219-2110 or start at Hire a Qualifying Agent. Licensed mechanical masters who want to qualify a company can apply here. Fees and requirements above are set by the state, the cities and the EPA and change; verify before you file.