In Minnesota, with few exceptions, a company that contracts with you for roofing on a home of one to four units must hold one of three licenses from the Department of Labor and Industry (MN DLI). Wisconsin doesn’t license roofers as such, but a contractor who pulls the building permit for a one- or two-family home needs a state Dwelling Contractor certification. Check either one before you sign.
Minnesota licenses that allow roofing for a homeowner:
- RR, residential roofer: roofing only
- CR, residential remodeler: existing homes
- BC, residential building contractor: existing and new homes
Who Needs a Roofing License in Minnesota?
Anyone who contracts directly with a homeowner for roofing. MN DLI says a person or company that contracts directly with the owner of a home of one to four units to do roofing work must hold a residential roofer, residential remodeler or residential building contractor license.
Roofing is the exception among the trades. MN DLI says a specialty contractor who does only one kind of work needs no state license, except residential roofers. It counts these as roofing:
- Roof coverings
- Roof sheathing
- Roof weatherproofing and insulation
- Repair of the roof support system, but not building a new one
- Cutting through the roof covering to attach solar panels
Some people doing roofing don’t need a license of their own, MN DLI says:
- Subcontractors: If they don’t contract with you, they register with MN DLI instead of holding a license.
- Employees: People working for a licensed contractor.
- Very small businesses: A contractor whose residential work brings in less than $15,000 a year in gross receipts. They need a Certificate of Exemption, renewed each year.
A Certificate of Exemption is an exemption from the license, not a license. MN DLI says a city or county can require a local license from its holders.
What Does Each Minnesota License Cover?
The license type decides what the company can contract to do. A roofer license covers roofing and nothing else.
- RR, residential roofer: Roofing only. MN DLI says a licensed roofer cannot contract to install gutters, downspouts, soffit or fascia.
- CR, residential remodeler: Roofing and other work on existing homes, including gutters, soffit and fascia. No new homes or detached garages.
- BC, residential building contractor: Everything a remodeler can do, plus new buildings.
So if your job includes gutters, soffit or fascia, ask which license the company holds. MN DLI says that work needs a building contractor or remodeler license.
How Do You Look Up a Minnesota Roofing License?
Ask for the license number, then check it with MN DLI. Its license lookup needs no account: choose “Continue as guest” and enter the full license number. Its “Search License/Registration holders” button searches by other details, and MN DLI’s fund page says you can find a contractor by business name. MN DLI says its online lookup also shows any enforcement actions against a license. Or call MN DLI at 651-284-5069 or 800-342-5354, which can also tell you about any disciplinary history.
- Find the number: MN DLI says license numbers must appear on business cards, contracts and all advertising, including websites.
- Read the first letters: License numbers start with BC, CR or RR and are followed by six digits.
- Check the status: In MN DLI’s downloadable license file, a current license shows the status “Issued”.
- Check the name: MN DLI says a company may only do business under its exact name filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State, or an assumed name it has filed. So the license can be under a legal name that differs from the name the company trades under. Search both.
Two kinds of number look like licenses but aren’t:
- IR, a contractor registration: MN DLI says registration numbers start with IR. Registered contractors don’t have to show proof of insurance or bonding. MN DLI says not to hire a company because it is registered.
- QB, QC or QR, a qualifying person’s number: The person who passed the license exam for a company gets one of these. MN DLI says a Q number is a registration, not a license.
MN DLI also publishes its residential building contractor enforcement actions for 2024, 2025 and 2026. Search them by name in your browser. No match there doesn’t mean no history: MN DLI can tell you by phone.
You can browse every roofer in the valley. If a company’s license doesn’t turn up under its trading name, it may be under another name: ask the company for its number and check it.
What Does a Minnesota License Tell You?
That the company met the state’s rules when it was licensed. MN DLI says a license means a person qualifying the company, such as an owner, officer or managing employee, passed an exam. The company also has liability and property damage insurance. And licensed contractors must complete continuing education. A license doesn’t show experience: MN DLI’s roofer license page says there are no experience or education requirements to take the building contractor or remodeler exam.
- Roofer license page, $300,000: MN DLI’s roofer license page asks for liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence, with at least $10,000 property damage cover, and a $15,000 surety bond.
- Contractor licensing page, $100,000: MN DLI’s residential contractor licensing page gives a minimum of $100,000 per occurrence, $300,000 in total, and $25,000 in property damage cover.
- Contractor Recovery Fund, BC and CR: MN DLI’s fund page says you can apply if the company held an active building contractor (BC) or remodeler (CR) license when you signed and when the work was done.
The two insurance figures come from different pages. The roofer license page is the one written for RR licenses.
The Contractor Recovery Fund can repay a Minnesota homeowner’s out-of-pocket loss on an owner-occupied home. MN DLI says that covers work the contractor didn’t finish, work so poor it must be redone, damage it caused, and fraud, deception, dishonesty or misuse of your money. You need a final, docketed court judgment against the contractor first, and must apply within two years of it. The fund page doesn’t name the roofer (RR) license, and the roofer license page asks RR companies for a $15,000 surety bond. If your roofer holds only an RR license, ask MN DLI at 651-284-5057 whether the fund would cover your job.
MN DLI also says an unlicensed person who knowingly breaks the license law has no right to claim a lien. And a city or county may not issue a building permit to a building contractor or remodeler who needs a license and doesn’t have one.
Do Roofers Need a License in Wisconsin?
Not a roofer license. There is no state roofer license among the credentials Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) lists. What Wisconsin has is the Dwelling Contractor certification.
Wisconsin DATCP, the state consumer protection agency, says a contractor doing roofing on a one- or two-family home who will get the building permits must hold a Dwelling Contractor certification and a Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification from DSPS.
- Held by the business: DSPS says the Dwelling Contractor credential is held by an organization, for obtaining building permits for one- and two-family homes.
- Bond or insurance: DSPS says a Dwelling Contractor must have a bond of at least $25,000, or general liability insurance of at least $250,000 per occurrence.
- What it shows: DATCP says these certifications show the contractor has paid for workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and minimum liability insurance or a bond.
- Look it up: DSPS’s public LicensE lookup shows the status of a credential.
- Ask to see it: DATCP says a contractor that can’t show you a registration card may mean trouble.
The certification is tied to building permits. DATCP says a contractor must tell you about every permit the job needs before you sign, and can’t start work until the permits are issued. Its storm advice says to check with your local building inspector whether a repair job needs one, and to have the inspector check the work before you make the final payment.
DATCP warns that some contracts put the building permit on the homeowner. If you take out the permit yourself, you have no assurance the contractor has proper insurance. You can ask any contractor for a certificate of insurance with your name and address as the certificate holder, so you’re told if the policy ends.
Wisconsin’s home improvement rules (ATCP 110.02) also say a contractor must not claim to be licensed, bonded or insured when it isn’t. A contractor that says it is must give you a written statement of the license, bond or insurance it holds.