Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Nine credentials, one department

Minnesota Electrician License Types and What Each Allows

Minnesota puts every electrical credential in one place, at the Department of Labor and Industry, and gives each one a two letter code that shows up on the fee schedule and on your license. This page runs the whole list in the order the state built it, from a registration that needs no exam to the contractor licenses that need a bond.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

The shape of the ladder

Minnesota starts you with a registration rather than a license. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 13 says unlicensed individuals performing electrical work for a contractor or employer have to register with the department, and that registration is what lets your hours count.

From there the ladder splits. Most people go registered electrician to Class A journeyworker to Class A master, and a business license sits on top of that. Maintenance electrician, power limited technician, lineman, Class B installer and satellite system installer are separate tracks with their own experience rules and their own exams.

Every one of them is issued by DLI. No Minnesota city licenses an electrician.

Every credential, with its code

The two letter codes come from the CCLD licensing fee schedule, updated July 1, 2025. The exam lengths come from the Licensing Examination Guide and the experience figures from the DLI experience requirements page.

• RE and RT, registered unlicensed individual. No exam. $14 new, $19 to renew. Valid one year from the end of the registration month. RE is the electrical side, RT the technology side.
• AJ, Class A journeyworker electrician. 48 months of experience, an 80 question exam, $48 new and $53 to renew.
• MN, maintenance electrician. 48 months with 24 of them in maintaining and repairing, a 70 question exam, $48 new.
• PL, power limited technician. 36 months, an 80 question exam, $48 new. Technology circuits and systems only.
• LN, lineman. 48 months for an electrical utility, a 50 question exam taken on the National Electrical Safety Code, $48 new and $48 to renew.
• IB, Class B installer. 12 months of experience or an approved post high school course, a 25 question exam, a $1,000 bond, $48 new.
• SI, satellite system installer. A 25 question exam plus a certification program the board accepts, $48 new.
• AM, Class A master electrician. 60 months, or one year as a licensed journeyworker, or a four year electrical course. An 80 question exam, $88 new and $93 to renew.
• EA, TS and SC, the contractor licenses. $188 new and $188 to renew, with a $25,000 bond and liability insurance behind each one.

The three classes you cannot get

Three credentials still turn up in searches and none of them is available. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 1 closed the Class B master electrician license as of August 1, 1985, and subdivision 2 closed the Class B journeyworker license on the same date. Subdivision 3 closed the Class A installer license as of December 1, 2007.

Holders from before those dates may keep and renew what they have. The fee schedule matches: BM and BJ carry NA in the exam column, BJ carries NA in the new column, and there is no Class A installer row at all.

Class B installer, code IB, is a different credential and it is open. Read what happened to Class B before you spend money on a Class B study guide.

What each license lets you touch

The scope language is in Minnesota Statutes 326B.31. A Class A master is defined as an individual with the qualifications, training, experience and technical knowledge to perform and supervise any electrical work. A Class A journeyworker gets the same sentence with one carve out: everything except planning or laying out.

A maintenance electrician maintains and repairs wiring, apparatus and equipment, and 326B.33, subdivision 10(a) ties that to working for a contractor or as a full time employee of a single employer on property the employer owns or leases. A power limited technician works on technology circuits or systems, which 326B.31, subdivision 29 defines as class 2, class 3 or class 4 circuits isolated by a demarcation. A lineman constructs and maintains transmission and distribution systems.

How many unlicensed hands one license covers

326B.33, subdivision 12(a) sets the ratio. A licensed individual supervises no more than two unlicensed individuals, and for technology circuits or systems work the limit is three.

DLI prints the same rule in plain words on its licensing basics page and adds that applicants must be at least 17 years old. That age does not appear in the text of 326B.33 itself.

Picking the one to aim at

If you want to run any electrical work in Minnesota and be paid as a skilled hand, the target is AJ. If you want to plan and lay out work, or to be the responsible individual on a contractor license, the target is AM.

If your work is alarm, audio, control or signaling behind a demarcation, PL is the shorter route at 36 months. If you keep one employer's plant running, MN fits the job description and asks for 24 months in maintaining and repairing.

Compare the month matrices on the experience page before you commit, because the category minimums differ more than the totals do.

Questions people ask

How many electrician licenses does Minnesota have?

The fee schedule carries nine personal electrical credentials that are open to new applicants: registered unlicensed individual on the RE and RT codes, Class A journeyworker, maintenance electrician, power limited technician, lineman, Class B installer, satellite system installer and Class A master. Three contractor licenses sit above them.

What is the difference between Class A and Class B in Minnesota?

Class A is the open classification. Class B master and Class B journeyworker were closed to new applicants on August 1, 1985 and were limited to single phase systems not over 200 amperes on farmsteads or single family dwellings in towns under 2,500 inhabitants. Class B installer, code IB, is a separate license and is still issued.

Do I need a license to work as an electrician in Minnesota?

You need at least a registration. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 13 requires unlicensed individuals performing electrical work for a contractor or employer to register with the department, and a licensed individual may supervise no more than two of them.

Which Minnesota electrical license is fastest to get?

On experience alone, the power limited technician license at 36 months and the Class B installer license at 12 months are the shortest. They also carry the narrowest scope, so speed is not the only thing to weigh.

Does Minnesota have a residential electrician license?

Not by that name. The closest thing was the Class B journeyworker license, limited to single phase work not over 200 amperes on farmsteads and small town dwellings, and it has been closed to new applicants since August 1, 1985.

Who issues an electrician license in Minnesota?

The Department of Labor and Industry, through its Construction Codes and Licensing Division, at 443 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155. The licensing phone number is 651-284-5034.

What this page cites

• CCLD licensing fee schedule The state fee table, updated July 1, 2025. Source for every two letter code, exam fee, license fee and renewal figure on this page. source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31 Defines each credential, including the Class A master, Class A journeyworker, maintenance electrician, power limited technician and lineman. source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 Carries the qualifying routes, the supervision ratio, the bond amounts and the dates the Class B and Class A installer classes closed. source
• DLI electrical licensing basics States the supervision limit, the age of 17 and the renewal cycles in plain words. source
• DLI experience requirements The month by month matrix for each license, with the category minimums and maximum credit allowances. source
• DLI Licensing Examination Guide Gives the question count for every electrical examination, the 5.5 hour limit and the 70 percent pass mark. source