Storm contractor rules in Minnesota: residential contractor licence skills, the US$15,000 exemption and home solicitation sales
Minnesota licenses residential building contractors, remodelers and roofers under sections 326B.802 to 326B.885 of the Statutes, and defines eight special skills that decide who needs a licence. Tree work is not one of the eight. This page restates those sections and the home solicitation sale sections of chapter 325G as the Revisor of Statutes publishes them, read on October 9, 2026.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text from the 2025 Minnesota Statutes. The sections do not mention storms, and no official page on a Minnesota price gouging rule was read for this page on October 9, 2026.
The sections in one table
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| 326B.802, special skill | One of eight categories: excavation, masonry and concrete, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, residential roofing, and general installation specialties. Excavation covers excavation, trenching, grading and site grading. The lists do not name tree work |
| 326B.802, who is covered | A residential building contractor or a residential remodeler works for an owner by providing two or more special skills on residential real estate. Residential real estate is a building for one to four families, including detached garages. A specialty contractor provides only one skill. A residential roofer works on roof coverings, sheathing, weatherproofing and roof system repair |
| 326B.805 subd. 1 and 3 | A person who meets one of the definitions must be licensed by the commissioner, and may not act or hold out as a residential building contractor, remodeler or roofer for compensation without a licence |
| 326B.805 subd. 6, exemptions | The licence requirement does not apply to, among others, an employee of a licensee, an owner improving residential real estate the owner occupies or rents out, a person whose total gross annual receipts for specialty skills needing a licence do not exceed US$15,000 who holds a certificate of exemption, and specialty contractors who provide only one special skill |
| 326B.805 subd. 6, the US$15,000 exemption | To use it, a person files an affidavit with the commissioner that receipts will not exceed US$15,000 in the calendar year. A person who exceeds US$15,000 in a calendar year must surrender the certificate and apply for the appropriate licence |
| 325G.06, home solicitation sale | A sale of goods, services or improvements to real property for personal, family or household purposes, for more than US$25, where the seller personally solicits and the buyer's agreement is made away from the seller's place of business. Excluded: a sale where the buyer started the contact and needs the work for a bona fide immediate personal emergency and gives a separate dated, signed statement waiving cancellation (that exclusion applies only where the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning of performance before cancellation and, for goods, the goods cannot be returned in as good condition as received), and a sale where the buyer asked for a visit to repair or maintain the buyer's property |
| 325G.07 and 325G.08 | The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale, by written notice to the address in the agreement. The seller must tell the buyer orally of the right and furnish a contract with a boldface notice and a detachable cancellation form |
| 325G.09 and 325G.10 | The seller returns payments within ten days of cancellation. If the seller performed any services before cancellation, the seller is entitled to no compensation. Violations carry the penalties in section 8.31 |
Tree work and the licence
Minnesota's licence is built on the eight skills. Tree removal and pruning are not among the listed areas. The text read does not say whether a storm job that also repairs a roof brings in the licence, which the commissioner issues under section 326B.805. The US$15,000 exemption and the one-skill exemption are written in the statute and carry conditions.
Cancellation after storm work
The home solicitation chapter lists improvements to real property in its definition of a sale. Its emergency exclusion has three parts in the text: the buyer started the contact, the work meets an immediate personal emergency, and the buyer gave a separate signed statement. It applies only where the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning of performance before cancellation and, for goods, the goods cannot be returned in as good condition as received. The chapter says that a seller who performed services before cancellation is entitled to no compensation. The text read does not say how a storm-damaged tree fits. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.
Sources
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 326B.802, Definitions, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 326B.805, Licensing requirements, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 325G.06, Home solicitation sale definitions, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 325G.07, Buyer's right to cancel, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 325G.09, Seller's and buyer's obligations after cancellation, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 325G.08, Seller's obligations, read October 9, 2026
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes 325G.10, Penalties for violation, read October 9, 2026