Minnesota codes

Minn. Stat. 326B.35 (Safety standards) requires electrical wiring, apparatus, and equipment for electrical light, heat, and power, and for technology circuits or systems, to comply with the rules of the department and the Board of Electricity and to be installed to accepted standards of construction for safety to life and property. The statute makes the most current edition of the National Electrical Code, along with the National Electrical Safety Code, prima facie evidence of those accepted standards. It also lets political subdivisions make and enforce more stringent requirements. In practice, the adopted NEC is the yardstick the inspector applies.

The Board of Electricity adopts the NEC by rule. Minn. Rules part 1315.0200 (Scope) is cited as the Minnesota Electrical Code and incorporates the NEC by reference. New electrical wiring, apparatus, and equipment must comply with that NEC edition, Minn. Stat. 326B.35, and the State Building Code. DLI administers electrical licensing, runs the state electrical inspection program, and handles enforcement. Some cities run their own electrical inspection programs instead (St. Paul is one example), and permits there are filed with the city.

Edition history: the 2023 NEC took effect July 1, 2023. Permits filed before that date stayed under the 2020 NEC. The Board then adopted the 2026 NEC effective Aug. 17, 2026. Permits filed before Aug. 17, 2026 must comply with the 2023 NEC, and permits filed on or after that date must comply with the 2026 NEC. The filing date of the permit sets the edition. The bid date, the date the work is done, and the inspection date do not.

This site still cites 2023 NEC section numbers. They are correct for permits filed before Aug. 17, 2026. Many sections keep their numbers in the 2026 NEC, but the 2026 edition also moved and renumbered material (for example, the load calculation rules in Article 220 became Article 120). Check the 2026 text before applying a drill's citation to a new job.

NEC citations on this site use 2023 NEC numbering: article, section, then lettered and numbered subdivisions. For example, 210.8(A)(7) is Article 210, section 210.8, subdivision (A), list item (7). Chapter 9 tables are cited as tables, for example Chapter 9, Table 4. Where a drill depends on a change in the 2023 edition (such as 2023 renumbering), the explanation says so.

Minnesota statutes are cited as Minn. Stat. followed by the section, for example Minn. Stat. 326B.35. Chapter 326B covers construction codes and licensing, and sections 326B.31 to 326B.399 are the electrical provisions. A subdivision is written subd., for example Minn. Stat. 326B.31, subd. 23 (the definition of owner).

Minnesota administrative rules are cited by part number, for example Minn. Rules 3801.3770. The four digits before the point are the chapter (1315 = adoption of the electrical code, 3800 = electrical licensing, 3801 = electrical procedures, including permits and inspections). The digits after the point are the part, and a part can be split into subparts (subp.). Rule chapters are amended from time to time (chapter 3801 was amended in 2026), so confirm a part number on revisor.mn.gov before relying on it.

To check whether Minnesota changed a particular NEC section, start with the DLI electrical codes and standards page and the current text of Minn. Rules 1315.0200. Minnesota adopts the NEC without section-by-section amendments, so a 2023 NEC section reads the same in Minnesota as in the published code.

Short version: none. The Board of Electricity's NEC review committee recommended adopting the 2026 NEC without amendments, and the Board voted to adopt it that way. Minn. Rules 1315.0200 likewise incorporated the 2023 NEC as published. The Minnesota-specific requirements an electrician runs into are administrative. They live in statute and rule, not in the NEC text: who may do the work, when an inspection request must be on file, rough-in before cover, and similar rules.

Because this list is intentionally empty, treat any drill on this site that says a Minnesota amendment applies to an NEC section as needing verification. Check the DLI electrical codes and standards page and Minn. Rules 1315.0200 for the current adoption language.

Electrical work in Minnesota is licensed work. A business that does electrical work for others needs an electrical contractor license. Each contractor must designate a responsible licensed individual, usually a master electrician (or, for a technology systems contractor, a power limited technician), who is responsible for the performance of all of the contractor's electrical work. The type of contractor license follows that person's license. A contractor whose responsible individual is a power limited technician, for example, is limited to technology circuits and systems.

Individuals who physically do the work must either hold a personal license for that class of work or be registered with DLI as an unlicensed individual working under direct supervision. Direct supervision means a licensed individual, employed by the same employer, is physically present where the work is done and immediately available for the whole working day. Phone or video supervision does not count, and neither does looking the work over afterward. A residential building contractor or remodeler that does not hold an electrical contractor license cannot have its own carpenters or laborers wire a job.

Homeowners have a narrow exemption. Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 21 lets an individual do electrical work without a license on a residential dwelling located on property the individual owns and actually occupies as a residence, or will occupy once construction is complete. The individual must physically do the work. The current statute also requires that the dwelling have its own electrical utility service, not shared with another dwelling. DLI's homeowner guidance applies the exemption to a single-family home. It does not cover two-family dwellings, apartment or condominium buildings, certain townhouses, manufactured homes in parks, or any property rented, leased, or occupied by others. A Request for Electrical Inspection and inspections are still required.

In Minnesota, an electrical permit is called a Request for Electrical Inspection. It is filed with DLI, or with the city if that city runs its own electrical inspection program. Minn. Stat. 326B.36 requires every new electrical installation to be inspected, except minor repair work as defined by rule. The contractor, installer, or owner doing the installation must submit the request, with the fees, at or before the start of the work. DLI also requires an active request to be on file whenever that work is being performed, and filing late can add an investigation fee. Some situations have their own filing rules, so check with DLI rather than assuming an exception applies.

Wiring that will be concealed gets a rough-in inspection first. Minn. Rules 3801.3770 requires the installer to notify the inspector far enough in advance (not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) for a rough-in inspection of the wiring method and conductor splicing before they are covered. If wiring is covered before the rough-in without adequate notice, the person responsible for enclosing it pays all costs of uncovering it and replacing the cover. Cover includes drywall and other wall or ceiling finishes, insulation, and backfill over underground cable and conduit.

When the work is complete, the installer must schedule a final inspection before the intended user starts using the wiring and before the space is occupied (Minn. Rules 3801.3780). Permits also expire. Under that part, a permit with an inspection fee of $1,000 or less is void 12 months after it was filed, whether or not the work is finished, and any unfinished work then needs a new permit.

DLI's electrical license exams are open-book, reference-based tests on the NEC edition currently adopted, plus Minnesota electrical law and rules. The exams switched from the 2023 NEC to the 2026 NEC beginning Sept. 8, 2026, so anyone testing now should study from the 2026 code book. This site's drills use 2023 numbering and remain useful for learning the rules, but check renumbered sections in the 2026 edition.

According to DLI's examination guide, the references are handed out at the exam: a soft-cover NEC with no tabs or other aids, a laws and rules booklet, and a calculator. Practice finding sections in an untabbed book using the index and the table of contents. Before you schedule, check the guide for the current format, question counts, time limits, and eligibility (experience) requirements.

Use official sources only. Laws, rules, and adopted editions change, and third-party summaries (including this one) can fall behind.

The Minnesota Plumbing Code is Minn. Rules chapter 4714, published as the 2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code. It incorporates the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), published by IAPMO, by reference, with Minnesota amendments. It took effect Dec. 17, 2021. It replaced the 2015 Minnesota Plumbing Code, which was based on the 2012 UPC.

The Minnesota Plumbing Board adopts the plumbing code by rule (Minn. Stat. 326B.435), and the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) administers it. Under Minn. Stat. 326B.43, the plumbing code's minimum standards are uniform and apply to all new plumbing installations performed anywhere in the state, including additions, extensions, alterations, and replacements. Part 4714.0101 repeats that scope. Unlike the building code, the plumbing code does not depend on a city choosing to adopt it.

Minnesota amends the UPC much more than it amends the NEC. The amendments are written as parts of chapter 4714, and the part numbers generally track the UPC section they change (for example, part 4714.0712 goes with UPC section 712). IAPMO publishes the 2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code as a single book with the amendments merged in, so a section number in that book matches the 2018 UPC number while its text may be Minnesota's. DLI's summary of the rulemaking says chapter 4714 incorporates UPC chapters 2 to 11, 16, and 17 and Appendices A, B, and I. UPC chapter 1 (administration) is not on that list. Administrative rules for plumbing come from chapter 4714 and from the State Building Code administration rules in Minn. Rules chapter 1300, such as part 1300.0215 on plumbing inspections.

Drills on this site cite 2018 UPC section numbers. Each answer's Minnesota note says whether a Minnesota amendment to that section is known. When the note says none is known, check chapter 4714 before relying on the model-code text.

Next edition: a Plumbing Board ad hoc rulemaking committee has been reviewing the 2024 UPC chapter by chapter since late 2023 (its minutes are posted on dli.mn.gov). This page could not confirm a proposed or effective date for a new Minnesota Plumbing Code, so check DLI's plumbing code page.

Plumbing in Minnesota is licensed work under Minn. Stat. 326B.42 to 326B.49. No individual may engage in or work at the business of a master plumber, restricted master plumber, journeyworker plumber, or restricted journeyworker plumber without a license from DLI (Minn. Stat. 326B.46). A master plumber may also work as a journeyworker, restricted journeyworker, or restricted master. A journeyworker may also work as a restricted journeyworker.

A business that plans, superintends, or installs plumbing, or installs plumbing as part of selling plumbing materials, must at all times have a licensed master plumber in charge of its plumbing work and responsible for proper installation. In cities and towns with a population of fewer than 5,000 (last federal census), a restricted master plumber can fill that role (326B.46, subd. 1(b)). Except as subdivision 1a allows, no person may perform or offer to perform plumbing work, with or without compensation, without a contractor's license (subd. 1(c)). Subdivision 1a covers, for example, an owner working on their own residence and a licensed plumber working for an employer that holds the contractor license. Anyone contracting to do plumbing work must also give a bond to the state of at least $25,000 and carry liability insurance (subd. 2). A handyman or remodeler without a plumbing contractor license therefore cannot do plumbing work for customers.

People who are not licensed may do plumbing work only as a registered plumber's apprentice or registered unlicensed individual, under the direct supervision of a licensed master, restricted master, journeyworker, or restricted journeyworker plumber employed by the same employer (Minn. Stat. 326B.47). Direct supervision means the licensed plumber is at the job location, immediately available, and reviews the work before it is operated. Apprentices and registered unlicensed individuals may not supervise plumbing work or assign it to other unlicensed people.

Homeowners have a narrow exemption. Anyone not licensed may do plumbing work that meets the Plumbing Board's standards on premises, or that part of premises, owned and actually occupied by the worker as a residence, unless a local ordinance forbids it (Minn. Stat. 326B.46, subd. 1(a); subd. 1a(a) says such a person also needs no contractor license). The person doing the work must be the owner-occupant, so the exemption does not extend to anyone the owner hires. It also follows the words 'that part of premises': in a duplex where the owner lives in one unit, it covers only the owner's own unit. Metro city permit handouts (for example Anoka's and White Bear Lake's) state that it is illegal for an unlicensed owner to do plumbing on property that is rented, leased, or occupied by others, and that a licensed plumbing contractor must take out the permits for non-owner-occupied units. The exemption covers the license, not the permit or the inspections.

Where the State Building Code is enforced, Minn. Rules 1300.0120, subp. 1 requires an owner or authorized agent to apply to the building official and get a permit before installing, altering, repairing, or replacing a plumbing system, or before having that work done. For a house in such a city, the local building department issues the plumbing permit and does the inspections. Many cities issue plumbing permits only to licensed and bonded plumbing contractors, or to an owner-occupant doing their own work. Check with the city before assuming who can pull the permit. Minn. Rules 1300.0215 also lets the administrative authority waive the permit, inspection, and test for a short list of minor work in one- and two-family dwellings when it creates no unsanitary or hazardous condition. The list covers reconnecting an existing water line to a replacement appliance, replacing the internal parts of toilets, faucets, or valves, replacing a sink faucet, and replacing or resetting a toilet, each only when the piping is not altered.

Plumbing plan review is a separate state step. Minn. Rules 1300.0215, subp. 6 requires plans and specifications to be submitted and approved before installation for a plumbing system that serves the public, serves a considerable number of people, or could affect public health in any manner. The rule says review is not required for single-family dwellings. DLI describes the review as covering new work, additions, extensions, and alterations in public and commercial buildings and in residential buildings of five or more units. DLI does that review unless the city has a plan review agreement with the state (Minn. Stat. 326B.43, subd. 2) or is a city of the first class (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Rochester). A city with an agreement also agrees to do the plumbing-code inspections for the projects it reviews. DLI says state projects, such as health care facilities licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health and state-owned buildings, still come to DLI.

Rough-in comes before cover. Minn. Rules 1300.0215 says no building drainage or plumbing system, or part of one, may be covered until it has been inspected, tested, and approved. Plumbing covered before that must be uncovered when the administrative authority directs. New plumbing, and existing plumbing that has been altered, extended, or repaired, must be tested and approved by the administrative authority before it is put into use, and the administrative authority performs the final inspection and witnesses the test. The tests themselves come from the plumbing code. The model UPC (section 712.1) allows water or air on drain, waste, and vent piping but bars air tests on plastic pipe. Minnesota's amendment in part 4714.0712 allows air tests on plastic pipe, according to the Plumbing Board's rulemaking statement, because water tests are unsafe in winter.

Who inspects depends on the job and the place. In a city that enforces the State Building Code, the city issues plumbing permits and inspects, including for houses. For plumbing that needs state plan review, DLI says its plan review program also inspects the work wherever there is no plan review agreement. In areas that have not adopted the State Building Code, DLI is the administrative authority and inspects new plumbing in public, commercial, industrial, and state-licensed buildings. The plumbing code itself applies everywhere (Minn. Stat. 326B.43), but for a house in an area with no local building department there may be no local plumbing permit, so ask DLI what applies.

Minnesota has one State Building Code, adopted by the DLI commissioner by rule (Minn. Stat. 326B.106). It is a set of rule chapters. Chapter 1300 covers administration for all of them: permits, inspections, and the building official. Chapter 1305 is the Minnesota Building Code (2018 IBC), and chapter 1309 is the Minnesota Residential Code. The current set, called the 2020 Minnesota State Building Code, took effect March 31, 2020 (the Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code followed on April 6, 2020).

Minn. Rules 1309.0010 incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC), published by the International Code Council, by reference. It is made part of the State Building Code except as qualified by chapter 1300 and as amended in chapter 1309. Part 1309.0010 lists the mandatory IRC parts that any municipality enforcing the code must administer: chapters 2 to 10 and 44, section P2904 of chapter 29, and Appendices K and Q. The other IRC appendices are deleted. IRC chapter 1 (administration) is replaced by chapter 1300. The IRC's energy, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing, and electrical chapters are not among the mandatory chapters. Minnesota regulates those through its own codes: the Minnesota Energy Code, the Minnesota Mechanical and Fuel Gas Code, the Minnesota Plumbing Code (ch. 4714), and the Minnesota Electrical Code (the NEC, ch. 1315).

The State Building Code applies statewide. Under Minn. Stat. 326B.121, subd. 1, it is the standard for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, and use of the buildings it governs, and it supersedes the building code of any municipality. A city may not, by ordinance or development agreement, require building code provisions that differ from the State Building Code. Cities can still regulate zoning, setbacks, and similar land use matters.

Enforcement is local. Under 326B.121, subd. 2, a municipality that had an ordinance adopting the State Building Code in effect on Jan. 1, 2008 must keep administering and enforcing it and may not repeal that ordinance. Other municipalities may choose to enforce it by adopting it by ordinance. If the commissioner determines that a municipality is not properly administering and enforcing the code, the commissioner may have the state building official, or another building official certified by the commissioner, take over administration and enforcement there. In areas with no local enforcement, the code still legally applies, but there may be no building permit or inspection for a house. DLI handles public buildings and state-licensed facilities in those areas. Lenders and insurers may still require compliance, and electrical and plumbing rules apply statewide on their own terms.

Next edition: DLI is updating the Minnesota Residential Code to the 2024 IRC. The Residential Code Technical Advisory Group (TAG) met twenty times, reviewed chapters 2 to 10 of the 2024 IRC, and recommended adopting it with Minnesota changes (DLI's 2024 model codes review report, 2025). DLI published a Request for Comments in the State Register on Feb. 2, 2026 for amending chapter 1309 to incorporate the 2024 IRC. A Request for Comments is the first formal step in rulemaking, not an adoption. This page could not confirm a proposed or adopted effective date. Until one is announced, the 2018 IRC-based code applies. Check DLI's rulemaking docket for chapter 1309.

Minn. Rules 1300.0120, subp. 1 requires an owner or authorized agent to apply to the building official and get the required permit before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, demolishing, or changing the occupancy of a building or structure, or before having that work done. This applies in areas where the State Building Code is enforced.

Subpart 4 lists the work exempt from a building permit, and Minnesota's list is not the same as IRC R105.2. Examples include one-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses, and similar uses, if the floor area is 200 square feet or less. Also exempt are decks and platforms not more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, not attached to a structure with frost footings, and not part of an accessible route. A deck attached to a house, or one more than 30 inches up, needs a permit. An exemption from the permit never authorizes work that violates the code or any other law or ordinance, so an exempt deck must still be built to code. Zoning permits are a separate question for the city.

Inspections come from Minn. Rules 1300.0210. Work must remain accessible and exposed for inspection until approved. Work may not go beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without the building official's approval. Rough-in inspections of plumbing, mechanical, gas, sprinklers, alarms, and electrical systems are made before covering or concealment, before fixtures or appliances are set, and before the framing inspection. The framing (framing and masonry) inspection is made after the roof, masonry, framing, firestopping, draftstopping, and bracing are in place, and after the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical rough inspections are approved. Any portion that does not comply must be corrected and may not be covered or concealed until the building official authorizes it. Hanging drywall or insulation over framing that has not passed its inspection is a violation even if the framing is perfect.

Permits expire. Under 1300.0120 (see the expiration subpart), a permit expires if the authorized work has not started within 180 days after issuance, or becomes invalid if the work is suspended or abandoned for more than 180 days after it has started. The building official can grant written extensions of up to 180 days each when the permit holder shows justifiable cause.

Contractor licensing is separate from the permit. A person in the business of building or improving residential real estate for an owner, providing two or more 'special skills', needs a residential building contractor or residential remodeler license from DLI (Minn. Stat. 326B.802 and 326B.805). The special skills are excavation, masonry and concrete, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, residential roofing, and general installation specialties. Exemptions include a contractor who provides only one special skill and a contractor with a certificate of exemption whose gross annual receipts from that work do not exceed $15,000. Residential roofers have their own licensing rules.