Minneapolis Residential Specialty Contractor Bond
What it is & who requires it
The one residential building trade Minneapolis still licenses, and it exists in the narrow space the state left open — so establish which side of the line a company is on before quoting anything. The city says it plainly on its own license page: if you hold a State of Minnesota residential building license you do not need this one, and roofers do not need a Minneapolis license at all because the state licenses them. What is left is the specialty contractor: a business that provides only one of the state’s categories of special skill, or two or more of them where gross annual receipts from the regulated work stay under fifteen thousand dollars, working on places with four or fewer dwelling units. The city lists the skills it covers as excavation, masonry, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, and general installation — seven of the state’s eight, with roofing the one it has given up. Note that masonry appears here as one of those skills rather than as a license class of its own. Anyone already licensed by the state or the city for a craft is exempt, and so is work costing less than five hundred dollars and work done without compensation. The license does not authorize work another license covers, and it does not replace a permit.
Obligee: City of Minneapolis (Business Licenses and Consumer Services, Community Planning and Economic Development). Citation: Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 277.3030 (Bond required — every application shall be accompanied by a bond, approved as to form by the city attorney, executed by a bonding or surety company authorized to do business in the State of Minnesota, in the amount of ten thousand dollars annual aggregate, effective upon application, conditioned on compliance with the article and all laws of the city and to assure that on default the advance payment made, less the reasonable cost of completion, will be refunded to the owner; the city has a cause of action against the bond; no cancellation except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official); § 277.2940 (Definitions — residential specialty contracting business, by reference to the eight categories of special skill); § 277.2950 (Exceptions); § 277.2960 (License required); § 277.2970 (License limited); § 277.3020 (Insurance required); § 277.3025 (License suspension or revocation for lack of insurance or bond); § 277.3040 (License required to obtain building permit); § 277.3090 (Written contract required); § 277.3100 (Job site notice required); § 277.3110 (Owner’s responsibility to hire only licensed contractors); § 277.3120 (Contracts voidable); Title 13, ch. 277, Article XVIII; 81-Or-264, § 2, 10-30-81; 95-Or-004, § 3, 1-27-95; 2002-Or-066, §§ 17–27, 7-26-02; 2013-Or-176, §§ 18–21, 12-6-13; Minn. Stat. § 326B.835 (local license prohibited for state residential licensees); Minn. Stat. § 326B.802, subd. 15 (special skill — eight categories; the ordinance’s citation to § 326.83, subd. 19 is the pre-2007 numbering).
Bond amount
The required bond amount is $10,000.
How to get it
This bond is individually underwritten, so it is not issued instantly. Request a quote and a licensed producer follows up to walk you through it.
Request a bond quote
Tell us about the bond and the project. A licensed producer follows up — these bonds are individually underwritten, so they are not issued instantly.
Term & renewal
Term: Effective upon application and written as a ten thousand dollar annual aggregate rather than as a per-claim limit, conditioned on compliance with the article and all laws of the city and on refunding advance payments on default.
Renewal: Annual, with the license; the aggregate resets with the bond year, and the bond may not be cancelled except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official. Losing either the bond or the insurance is a stated ground for suspension or revocation.
Filing
Filed with the application, approved as to form by the city attorney, and written by a bonding or surety company authorized in Minnesota. The figure renders because the ordinance states a flat sum and offers no cash or deposit route, but read the sum carefully: it is an annual aggregate, so the ten thousand dollars is the ceiling for the whole bond year across every claim rather than a limit per job. The condition is a consumer condition — on default in performance, the advance payment made under the contract, less the reasonable cost of completion, is refunded to the owner — and the city has its own cause of action against the bond for damages from noncompliance with city law. Insurance runs alongside at one hundred thousand dollars for injury or death to one person, three hundred thousand for each occurrence and ten thousand for property damage, including damage to the owner’s property, with the city named as an additional insured and thirty days’ written notice of cancellation. The license is a precondition to a building permit, and the article backs it with a written contract requirement, a job site notice, a duty on the owner to hire only licensed contractors, and contracts made by unlicensed contractors being voidable.
Source
Verified against the obligee source (last checked 2026-09-07).
Related Minnesota bonds
Frequently asked questions
- Who requires the Minneapolis Residential Specialty Contractor Bond?
- It’s required by City of Minneapolis (Business Licenses and Consumer Services, Community Planning and Economic Development) (Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 277.3030 (Bond required — every application shall be accompanied by a bond, approved as to form by the city attorney, executed by a bonding or surety company authorized to do business in the State of Minnesota, in the amount of ten thousand dollars annual aggregate, effective upon application, conditioned on compliance with the article and all laws of the city and to assure that on default the advance payment made, less the reasonable cost of completion, will be refunded to the owner; the city has a cause of action against the bond; no cancellation except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official); § 277.2940 (Definitions — residential specialty contracting business, by reference to the eight categories of special skill); § 277.2950 (Exceptions); § 277.2960 (License required); § 277.2970 (License limited); § 277.3020 (Insurance required); § 277.3025 (License suspension or revocation for lack of insurance or bond); § 277.3040 (License required to obtain building permit); § 277.3090 (Written contract required); § 277.3100 (Job site notice required); § 277.3110 (Owner’s responsibility to hire only licensed contractors); § 277.3120 (Contracts voidable); Title 13, ch. 277, Article XVIII; 81-Or-264, § 2, 10-30-81; 95-Or-004, § 3, 1-27-95; 2002-Or-066, §§ 17–27, 7-26-02; 2013-Or-176, §§ 18–21, 12-6-13; Minn. Stat. § 326B.835 (local license prohibited for state residential licensees); Minn. Stat. § 326B.802, subd. 15 (special skill — eight categories; the ordinance’s citation to § 326.83, subd. 19 is the pre-2007 numbering)). The one residential building trade Minneapolis still licenses, and it exists in the narrow space the state left open — so establish which side of the line a company is on before quoting anything. The city says it plainly on its own license page: if you hold a State of Minnesota residential building license you do not need this one, and roofers do not need a Minneapolis license at all because the state licenses them. What is left is the specialty contractor: a business that provides only one of the state’s categories of special skill, or two or more of them where gross annual receipts from the regulated work stay under fifteen thousand dollars, working on places with four or fewer dwelling units. The city lists the skills it covers as excavation, masonry, carpentry, interior finishing, exterior finishing, drywall and plaster, and general installation — seven of the state’s eight, with roofing the one it has given up. Note that masonry appears here as one of those skills rather than as a license class of its own. Anyone already licensed by the state or the city for a craft is exempt, and so is work costing less than five hundred dollars and work done without compensation. The license does not authorize work another license covers, and it does not replace a permit.
- How much is the Minneapolis Residential Specialty Contractor Bond?
- The bond amount is $10,000.
- How do I get the Minneapolis Residential Specialty Contractor Bond?
- This bond is individually underwritten, so it is not issued instantly. Request a quote and a licensed producer follows up to walk you through it.
- What is the term?
- Effective upon application and written as a ten thousand dollar annual aggregate rather than as a per-claim limit, conditioned on compliance with the article and all laws of the city and on refunding advance payments on default. Renewal: Annual, with the license; the aggregate resets with the bond year, and the bond may not be cancelled except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official. Losing either the bond or the insurance is a stated ground for suspension or revocation.
- Is this bond insurance for me?
- No. It protects the obligee and the public — not you. If a valid claim is paid, you repay the surety.
- How is this requirement verified?
- We verify it against the obligee’s primary source (last checked 2026-09-07); the source link is on this page.
