Does Saint Paul license contractors itself?

Yes, for the gaps in the state system. DSI says that if a contractor has a State Exemption or performs only one special skill, a City of Saint Paul Building Contractor License is required, in classes such as Carpentry, Exterior Finishing, Interior Finishing, Excavation, Fence, General Installation and Pool Installer. The City honors the State Residential Building Contractor License. Warm-air, ventilation, gas, refrigeration and steamfitting firms hold city trade licenses too.

Where do I check a Saint Paul contractor's state license?

On DLI's license and registration lookup (ims.dli.mn.gov, 'Continue as guest'). It covers residential building contractors and remodelers, roofers, electrical and plumbing contractors, and the mechanical contractor bond HVAC firms must file.

Does a Saint Paul roofer need a license?

Yes, a state one. DSI's page says roofing requires a State of Minnesota Residential Roofer License, and DLI says anyone contracting directly with a homeowner for roofing must hold a residential building contractor, remodeler or roofer license.

What does a furnace installer need in Saint Paul?

Minnesota has no state HVAC license, but the firm must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI. Saint Paul's warm air and ventilation license requires a city Master Warm Air or Ventilation Certificate of Competency (or a Minneapolis master's card), $500,000 of insurance and that state bond.

How do I search permits on a Saint Paul address?

In PAULIE, the City's permitting and licensing system, which launched on 17 September 2025 and replaced AMANDA and ECLIPS. Its 'Find Property Information' search covers public records; the City says older permits are being moved into it.

Saint Paul contractor license lookup: DLI, city license, permits

Which license each job needs in Saint Paul

Work	State (DLI)	City of Saint Paul (DSI)	Saint Paul firms matched to a current DLI record
Remodel, addition, new home, any job in two or more special skills	Residential building contractor (BC) or remodeler (CR) license	none extra; "The City honors the State of Minnesota Residential Building Contractor License"	68.5% of 950 remodel firms
Roofing	Residential roofer, building contractor or remodeler license	none extra	70.1% of 1,322
One skill only: siding, windows, decks, drywall, flooring, fences, pools	none (one special skill)	Building Contractor License in the matching class	73.8% (siding), 73.2% (windows and doors)
Electrical	Electrical contractor license, $25,000 bond, a responsible master electrician	permit from the City	71.5% of 671
Plumbing	Plumbing contractor license, $25,000 bond, a responsible master plumber	permit from the City	66.1% of 384
Furnace, AC, ducts, gas	No state license; a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond filed with DLI	Warm Air / Ventilation license; gas burner, refrigeration and steamfitting trade licenses	50.6% of 253 matched a DLI bond

The state rules, from DLI (read 22 October 2026): anyone who contracts with a homeowner for work in more than one special skill "must have a residential building contractor or residential remodeler license"; "Specialty contractors who provide only one special skill are not required to have a state license", roofers excepted; a builder with residential receipts "less than $15,000" a year can hold a Certificate of Exemption instead. Electrical and plumbing contractors each need a "$25,000 surety bond" and an active master's license holder responsible for the work. For HVAC, DLI says "businesses must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI" and that cities may require their own licenses.

Saint Paul fills the gaps. DSI's page: "If the contractor has a State Exemption from the State of Minnesota or performs only one special skill, then a City of Saint Paul Building Contractor License is required." The classes are Carpentry (framing, doors, windows, porches, decks), Excavation, Exterior Finishing (siding, soffit, fascia, stucco, gutters), Fence, General Installation (garage doors, fireplaces, prefab stairs), Interior Finishing and Pool Installer. The licensee carries $500,000 combined liability insurance and a $2,500 City bond. The warm air and ventilation license needs a Saint Paul Master Warm Air or Ventilation Certificate of Competency (or a Minneapolis master's card), the same insurance, the $25,000 state mechanical bond, and costs $188 a year, expiring 1 December (DSI, read 22 October 2026).

How to run the lookup in five minutes

Get the license number from the quote. Builder numbers start "BC", remodeler numbers "CR". A siding or window firm may have only a City license; ask for it.
DLI: open ims.dli.mn.gov, choose "Continue as guest", and search the number or the business name. Check the status, the license type (a roofer license does not cover a kitchen) and any enforcement actions.
City: the City licenses are held in PAULIE. DSI's licensing pages do not offer a public license lookup, so if you cannot find the firm, call DSI and ask whether its city license is current.
Track record: open the firm on our Saint Paul roofing list, HVAC list or electrical list.

How to search Saint Paul permit records

Saint Paul changed systems in 2025. The City says PAULIE "launched on September 17, 2025" and "replaces legacy systems including AMANDA and ECLIPS". Its Find Property Information search covers public records; permits issued before late July 2025 "are part of our historical records", which the City says it is moving into PAULIE (City of Saint Paul, read 22 October 2026). If an older permit does not show, ask DSI for it.

The switch is also why our Saint Paul file stops at 30 June 2025: the City's open-data feed ended there. Within that window we hold every firm's permits, finals and license match on the Saint Paul permit statistics page and the compare lists.

What 72,000 Saint Paul permits show

Trade	Permits	Firms	Finaled	Usual days to final	Current DLI match	Lapsed DLI match
Electrical	17,041	671	84.4%	54	71.5%	77
Roofing	16,928	1,322	76.2%	128	70.1%	197
HVAC and gas	14,402	253	64.6%	150	50.6%	27
Plumbing	9,210	384	99.7%	77	66.1%	45
Windows and doors	4,513	463	68.5%	109	73.2%	50
Remodel and repair	3,037	950	60.0%	206	68.5%	132
Siding	1,112	366	65.8%	186	73.8%	48

"Finaled" is the share of permits a year or more old that the City finaled. Usual filed values: re-roof $12,600, HVAC $6,300, remodel $15,000.

Roofing is where to look hardest. Among the 290 roofing firms with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile firm finaled 42.5% and the 90th 91.6%; 113 were under 70%, and 105 roofers with 5+ permits filed none in their last 12 months on file. HVAC is similar: 46.0% to 90.8%, with 44 of 104 busy firms under 70%.

See every Saint Paul roofer by finals and DLI status →

Red flags in Saint Paul

A lapsed DLI license. 197 roofing firms, 132 remodel firms and 77 electrical firms in our file matched a license that is no longer current. They pulled permits in the window; check today.
A roofer with only a City license. Roofing needs the state license; a City class does not cover it.
A firm bidding two skills (say, framing and siding) on a one-skill City license or a Certificate of Exemption.
A furnace installer who cannot name its warm air license or its DLI bond.

What this lookup does not tell you

Our file ends 30 June 2025, so firms' last 15 months are missing; check PAULIE for recent permits. We match DLI's residential, plumbing, electrical and mechanical-bond files by business name; 15.0% of roofers and 38.7% of HVAC firms had no match, and a one-skill firm can be legal with no DLI license at all. We do not hold Saint Paul's own license file. A license says the firm may work, not how its last job went. The statewide rules, Recovery Fund and penalties are in How to check a contractor's license in Minnesota.

How we know this

Permits are City of Saint Paul (DSI) building and trade permits on homes, 2022-07 to 2025-06, grouped into the trades above; the City's feed ends 30 June 2025. "Finaled" uses permits a year or more old; the percentile figures use firms with 10 or more permits. License status is our business-name match against DLI's nightly license, registration and bond exports. Rules are quoted from DLI and City of Saint Paul DSI pages, read 22 October 2026.

Numbers come from City of Saint Paul approved building permits, data through June 30, 2025. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

Does Saint Paul license contractors itself?
Yes, for the gaps in the state system. DSI says that if a contractor has a State Exemption or performs only one special skill, a City of Saint Paul Building Contractor License is required, in classes such as Carpentry, Exterior Finishing, Interior Finishing, Excavation, Fence, General Installation and Pool Installer. The City honors the State Residential Building Contractor License. Warm-air, ventilation, gas, refrigeration and steamfitting firms hold city trade licenses too.
Where do I check a Saint Paul contractor's state license?
On DLI's license and registration lookup (ims.dli.mn.gov, 'Continue as guest'). It covers residential building contractors and remodelers, roofers, electrical and plumbing contractors, and the mechanical contractor bond HVAC firms must file.
Does a Saint Paul roofer need a license?
Yes, a state one. DSI's page says roofing requires a State of Minnesota Residential Roofer License, and DLI says anyone contracting directly with a homeowner for roofing must hold a residential building contractor, remodeler or roofer license.
What does a furnace installer need in Saint Paul?
Minnesota has no state HVAC license, but the firm must file a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond with DLI. Saint Paul's warm air and ventilation license requires a city Master Warm Air or Ventilation Certificate of Competency (or a Minneapolis master's card), $500,000 of insurance and that state bond.
How do I search permits on a Saint Paul address?
In PAULIE, the City's permitting and licensing system, which launched on 17 September 2025 and replaced AMANDA and ECLIPS. Its 'Find Property Information' search covers public records; the City says older permits are being moved into it.