Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

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Minnesota Master Electrician License: Three Ways to Qualify

The Class A master electrician license is the top of the personal ladder in Minnesota and the one credential a contractor license has to sit on. There are three ways in, and only one of them runs through the journeyworker license.

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What a master may do

Minnesota Statutes 326B.31, subdivision 9 defines a Class A master electrician as an individual having the necessary qualifications, training, experience and technical knowledge to perform and supervise any electrical work.

Compare that with the journeyworker definition in subdivision 8, which is the same sentence with planning and laying out taken out. The master license is the one that adds those two back.

The three routes in

326B.33, subdivision 1 gives three, and they are alternatives rather than steps.

• Graduation from a four year electrical course offered by an accredited college or university.
• At least one year of experience, acceptable to the commissioner, as a licensed journeyworker.
• At least five years of experience, acceptable to the commissioner, in planning for, laying out, supervising and installing wiring, apparatus or equipment for electrical light, heat and power.

DLI restates the same three on its licensing basics page, wording the first one as a degree in electrical engineering from an accredited college or university. The statute says a four year electrical course. If your degree is close to that line, ask DLI at 651-284-5034 before you pay the application fee.

The 60 month matrix

DLI counts master experience in months, over a 60 month total, and this is the only license where the planning, laying out and supervising categories carry minimums rather than zeros.

Planning asks for at least 2 months and credits up to 12. Laying out asks for at least 2 and credits up to 12. Supervising asks for at least 2 and credits up to 12. Wiring for and installing asks for at least 12 and credits up to 48. Maintaining and repairing credits up to 24, process control circuits up to 12, technology circuits up to 6, installing elevators up to 6 and line work up to 3.

So the master matrix is not the journeyworker matrix with a bigger number on it. It asks you to have done the planning and laying out work the license is about to let you do.

The exam

Eighty questions, the same count as the journeyworker and power limited technician papers. Five and a half hours, 70 percent to pass, run by DLI in St. Paul on a Wednesday.

The published pass rates move a great deal between board meetings, and the basis of the count moves with them. Read the pass rate page before you take any single figure as the pass rate for this paper.

The money

The master license is the most expensive personal license on the schedule. Fifty dollars for the examination application, then $80 for the license plus $8 board, so $88 new. Renewal adds the $5 continuing education fee and comes to $93, or $133 with the $40 late fee. That late fee is double the $20 that applies to the journeyworker and the rest.

The statutory basis is in Minnesota Statutes 326B.092, subdivision 7(d), which prints a two year master license fee of $80, and subdivision 7(e), which sets the board fee at $8 for a two year license.

Renewal, stated two ways

Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 19(a) says master licenses expire March 1 of each odd numbered year. DLI's licensing basics page says master licenses expire on the last day of February of each odd numbered year.

Those are consecutive days and both are official. We print both and do not pick one. If a day matters to you, renew before the end of February.

Continuing education is 16 hours with at least 12 on the National Electrical Code, and DLI adds that no continuing education is required for the first year of a master license.

What the master license unlocks for a business

A Class A electrical contractor license needs a responsible licensed individual who holds an active master electrician license, is an owner, officer or member of the business or a W-2 employee, and does not act as the responsible licensed individual for any other electrical contractor.

So the master license is the personal credential a contracting business is built on. The business license itself carries a $25,000 bond and its own insurance limits, covered on the contractor page.

Questions people ask

How do you become a master electrician in Minnesota?

Three ways. Graduate from a four year electrical course at an accredited college or university, hold a Minnesota journeyworker license for at least one year, or build at least five years of experience in planning for, laying out, supervising and installing electrical work. Then pass the 80 question examination.

How long do you have to be a journeyworker before taking the master exam?

One year, under Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 1. That is the shortest of the three routes for somebody who already holds the journeyworker license.

How many questions is the Minnesota master electrician exam?

Eighty, with five and a half hours to complete it and a 70 percent pass mark, the same clock and cut score as every other Minnesota electrical examination.

What does a Minnesota master electrician license cost?

Fifty dollars for the examination application, then $88 for a new license, which is $80 plus an $8 board fee. Renewal adds a $5 continuing education fee and comes to $93, and the late fee is $40.

When does a Minnesota master license expire?

Two state sources word it differently. Minnesota Statutes 326B.33, subdivision 19(a) says March 1 of each odd numbered year, and DLI says the last day of February of each odd numbered year. Both are printed here because we could not confirm which form DLI enforces.

Does a new master electrician need continuing education right away?

DLI states that no continuing education is required for the first year of a master license. After that it is 16 hours per renewal period with at least 12 on the National Electrical Code.

What this page cites

• Minnesota Statutes 326B.33 Subdivision 1 carries the three qualifying routes and the March 1 expiration in subdivision 19(a). source
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31 Subdivision 9 defines the Class A master electrician. source
• DLI experience requirements The 60 month matrix, with minimums in planning, laying out and supervising. source
• DLI electrical licensing basics Restates the three routes and gives the last day of February expiration. source
• CCLD licensing fee schedule Source for the $88 new total, the $93 renewal and the $40 late fee. source
• DLI electrical contractor licensing basics Sets out what a responsible licensed individual has to be and hold. source