How to become an electrician in Minnesota

The path in Minnesota, step by step

Minnesota licenses electrical work at the state level through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), with the Board of Electricity. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register with DLI as an unlicensed electrician and work for a licensed contractor.
2. Build the required experience and pass the journeyworker exam.
3. After one year as a journeyworker, pass the master electrician exam.
4. Get liability insurance, workers compensation and a $25,000 surety bond.
5. Apply in iMS for the electrical contractor license and pay $188.
6. Renew on schedule and complete 16 hours of continuing education for the master license.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: electrical license in Minnesota.

Finding an apprenticeship in Minnesota

Minnesota runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Minnesota State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Most electricians learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship. Each year brings about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction.

License levels and exams in Minnesota

The license to aim for: Electrical Contractor license (with a Master Electrician as responsible licensed individual).

Trade exam. Yes. You must pass a written exam before applying for a master or journeyworker license. Electrical exams move to the 2026 NEC starting September 8, 2026.

Keeping it. Electrical contractor licenses expire the last day of February in even numbered years. Master licenses expire the last day of February in odd numbered years and need 16 hours of continuing education, at least 12 on the National Electrical Code.

What the Minnesota license costs

The fees the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), with the Board of Electricity lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What electricians earn in Minnesota

The median electrician in Minnesota earned $37.58 an hour in May 2025, 9th of 51 states, with 14,350 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Minnesota earned under $28.09 an hour and a tenth under $22.83. At the top, a quarter earned over $48.76 and a tenth over $57.13.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: electrician salary in Minnesota.

Jobs ahead in Minnesota

Minnesota's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 12,240 in 2022 to 13,450 in 2032, a change of 9.9%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 1,240 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 9.9% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 35th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group electricians.

Starting your own electrician business in Minnesota

To contract on your own in Minnesota, the license is the Electrical Contractor license (with a Master Electrician as responsible licensed individual).

Insurance. Liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence, $300,000 aggregate and $50,000 property damage, plus workers compensation. DLI must be listed as certificate holder.

Bond. A $25,000 surety bond on a DLI approved form.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Minnesota median of $37.58 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $136.59 per billable hour. Try your own in the electrician labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start an electrical business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.