Minnesota Pipe Laying Bond

What it is & who requires it

Contractors who install building water and sewer piping — the run from the main to the inside of the building — and who do not hold a plumbing contractor license. Minnesota treats pipe laying as a trade you enter by training rather than by examination: no individual license is required of a person who has completed the pipe laying training the commissioner prescribes, and no city or town may require one either. What is required is the registration and this bond. The single most useful thing to know is the three-way routing, because two of the three instruments are mutually exclusive. If you hold a plumbing contractor license, you are already bonded under that license and do not file here. If you are licensed by the Pollution Control Agency for subsurface sewage treatment work, the department says in terms that you do not file here and should not renew here — you file your septic bond with that agency only. This bond is for the contractor in the middle: sewer and water service installation, no plumbing license, no septic license. Because the trade is defined by where the pipe runs rather than by what the company calls itself, excavating and utility contractors doing service connections land in it more often than they expect.

Obligee: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (Construction Codes and Licensing Division). Citation: Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 2(a) (bond and insurance requirements apply to each person who performs or offers to perform plumbing work, including any person who performs sewer or water service installation without a contractor’s license); Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 1(d) (building sewer or water service installation without a contractor’s license, on compliance with the bond and insurance requirements of subdivision 2); Minn. Stat. § 326B.47(a) (no individual license required for building sewer or water service installation by those who have completed pipe laying training prescribed by the commissioner); Minn. Stat. § 326B.44 (no city or town may require a license for persons performing building sewer or water service installation who have completed pipe laying training); Minn. Stat. § 326B.0921 (bond requirements); DLI Pipe Laying Surety Bond form, 2026–2028 biennium (penal sum printed as TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($25,000.00)); DLI Pipe Layer Contractor Registration.

Bond amount

The required bond amount is $25,000.

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 Quote

Term & renewal

Term: Written to a stated biennium on the department’s own form — the current sheet is the 2026 to 2028 bond — and filed with the department in lieu of all other license bonds to any political subdivision.

Renewal: Biennial, on the department’s renewal application for the new biennium; the department publishes a fresh dated form each cycle, so the renewal is a new instrument rather than a continuation certificate.

Filing

Filed with the department on the dated biennial form, which prints the penal sum in words and figures with no blank to alter, and which states on its face that it stands in lieu of all other license bonds to any other political subdivision. Corporate surety authorized in Minnesota; no cash or deposit alternative exists anywhere in the chapter. The aggregate liability of the surety is capped at the penal sum for the period the form defines rather than per claim. The department asks for the bond alongside a certificate of insurance, a workers’ compensation certificate of compliance, a disclosure of business owners, partners, officers and members, and the registration application, and it takes filings by mail to the licensing unit. Note that the statutory authority for this bond is the plumbing bond section rather than a section of its own — the instrument is a departmental creation built on that authority, which is why a search of the statutes for the phrase returns nothing and the form shelf returns everything.

Source

Verified against the obligee source (last checked 2026-09-07).

Related Minnesota bonds

• Anoka Arborist and Tree Care Bond
• Bemidji Tree Service Firm Bond
• Bloomington Driveway Approach Bond
• Brooklyn Park Excavation Permit Bond
• Circle Pines Contractor License Bond
• Duluth Local Improvement Permit Bond

Frequently asked questions

Who requires the Minnesota Pipe Laying Bond?

It’s required by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (Construction Codes and Licensing Division) (Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 2(a) (bond and insurance requirements apply to each person who performs or offers to perform plumbing work, including any person who performs sewer or water service installation without a contractor’s license); Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 1(d) (building sewer or water service installation without a contractor’s license, on compliance with the bond and insurance requirements of subdivision 2); Minn. Stat. § 326B.47(a) (no individual license required for building sewer or water service installation by those who have completed pipe laying training prescribed by the commissioner); Minn. Stat. § 326B.44 (no city or town may require a license for persons performing building sewer or water service installation who have completed pipe laying training); Minn. Stat. § 326B.0921 (bond requirements); DLI Pipe Laying Surety Bond form, 2026–2028 biennium (penal sum printed as TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($25,000.00)); DLI Pipe Layer Contractor Registration). Contractors who install building water and sewer piping — the run from the main to the inside of the building — and who do not hold a plumbing contractor license. Minnesota treats pipe laying as a trade you enter by training rather than by examination: no individual license is required of a person who has completed the pipe laying training the commissioner prescribes, and no city or town may require one either. What is required is the registration and this bond. The single most useful thing to know is the three-way routing, because two of the three instruments are mutually exclusive. If you hold a plumbing contractor license, you are already bonded under that license and do not file here. If you are licensed by the Pollution Control Agency for subsurface sewage treatment work, the department says in terms that you do not file here and should not renew here — you file your septic bond with that agency only. This bond is for the contractor in the middle: sewer and water service installation, no plumbing license, no septic license. Because the trade is defined by where the pipe runs rather than by what the company calls itself, excavating and utility contractors doing service connections land in it more often than they expect.

How much is the Minnesota Pipe Laying Bond?

The bond amount is $25,000.

How do I get the Minnesota Pipe Laying 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?

Written to a stated biennium on the department’s own form — the current sheet is the 2026 to 2028 bond — and filed with the department in lieu of all other license bonds to any political subdivision. Renewal: Biennial, on the department’s renewal application for the new biennium; the department publishes a fresh dated form each cycle, so the renewal is a new instrument rather than a continuation certificate.

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.