Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Code MN

Minnesota Maintenance Electrician License: Scope and Exam

The maintenance electrician license has the same 48 month total as the journeyworker license and a shorter exam, which makes it look like an easier route to the same thing. It is not. The statute ties where you may use it to who employs you.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

What it allows, and where

Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 21 defines a maintenance electrician as an individual with the qualifications, training, experience and technical knowledge to properly maintain and repair electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment.

326B.33, subdivision 10(a) then says where. A licensed maintenance electrician may maintain and repair electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment while in the employ of a contractor, or as a full time employee of a single employer while engaged in the maintenance and repair of electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment owned or leased by the employer and located within the limits of property owned or leased by the employer.

Read the second half of that sentence carefully. The license follows the employer's property line.

The 48 months, weighted differently

The total matches the journeyworker license at 48 months, but the weighting is reversed. Maintaining and repairing carries the 24 month minimum here and can supply all 48. Wiring for and installing has no minimum and caps at 24.

Process control circuits can carry up to 12 months, technology circuits and installing elevators up to 6 each, and line work up to 3. Planning, laying out and supervising carry a zero maximum, the same as on the journeyworker license.

So a person whose four years are mostly plant repair qualifies here and may not yet qualify for AJ, and the reverse is just as true.

School credit

DLI states it as a maximum of one year of experience credit for the successful completion of a two year, post high school technical course approved by the board. Note the word technical, which is how the DLI page words this row.

Two Minnesota colleges name this license in their own approval statements. St. Cloud Technical and Community College and Hennepin Technical College both say their programs fulfill the one year experience credit allowance for a Class A journeyworker, power limited technician or maintenance electrician applicant under Minnesota Statutes, section 326B.33.

The exam

Seventy questions, ten fewer than the journeyworker and master papers. The clock and the cut score do not move: five and a half hours and 70 percent, the same as every other electrical examination in Minnesota.

Ten fewer questions over the same five and a half hours means more time per question, not a shorter day. The exam still runs 8:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in St. Paul.

Fees and renewal

Fifty dollars for the examination application. Forty for the license plus $8 board, so $48 new. Renewal adds the $5 continuing education fee and comes to $53, or $73 with the $20 late fee.

The elicense entry gives the term as two years, expiring on the anniversary date of initial issue. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 19(a) words it differently for personal licenses other than master, saying they expire two years from the date of original issuance. Both are printed on the fees and renewal page.

Continuing education is 16 hours, split 12 code and 4 non code.

Who this license actually fits

It fits the person who keeps one site running. A hospital, a plant, a campus, a large building owner, or a contractor who employs you for maintenance and repair.

It does not fit a person who wants to move between construction jobs, because 326B.33, subdivision 10(a) does not follow you off the employer's property. If that is the plan, the target is the Class A journeyworker license, and the two share a 48 month total so you can often build both records at once.

Questions people ask

What can a Minnesota maintenance electrician do?

Maintain and repair electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment, either while employed by a contractor or as a full time employee of a single employer working on equipment the employer owns or leases and located on property the employer owns or leases. That property limit is in Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 10(a).

How much experience does the maintenance electrician license need?

Forty eight months, with at least 24 in maintaining and repairing. Wiring for and installing can supply up to 24 months but has no minimum, which is the reverse of the journeyworker matrix.

How many questions is the maintenance electrician exam?

Seventy. The time allowed is five and a half hours and the passing score is 70 percent, the same as every other Minnesota electrical examination.

Is the maintenance electrician license easier than the journeyworker license?

The paper is ten questions shorter and the total experience is the same 48 months. The scope is much narrower, because the license is tied to maintenance and repair and to a single employer's property, so the two are not interchangeable.

Can a college program count toward the maintenance electrician license?

Up to one year of experience credit for a two year post high school technical course approved by the board. St. Cloud Technical and Community College and Hennepin Technical College both name this license in their own approval statements.

What does the maintenance electrician license cost?

Fifty dollars for the examination application and $48 for the license, made up of a $40 license fee plus an $8 board fee. Renewal adds a $5 continuing education fee and comes to $53.

What this page cites

• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31 Subdivision 21 defines the maintenance electrician. source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 Subdivision 10(a) limits the license to a contractor or to a single employer and that employer's property. source
• DLI experience requirements The 48 month matrix with the 24 month minimum in maintaining and repairing. source
• DLI Licensing Examination Guide Gives the 70 question count, the five and a half hour limit and the 70 percent pass mark. source
• mn.gov elicense, Maintenance Electrician Prints the two year term on the anniversary date of initial issue. source
• DLI continuing education Sets 12 code hours and 4 non code hours for the MN license code. source