Minnesota general contractor marketing that starts with the BC or CR on your license

Minnesota gives general contractors two main licenses, and they do not cover the same work. Your ads should only sell the jobs your license lets you contract for.

Under Minnesota's contractor definitions, a residential building contractor builds homes and may also improve existing ones. A residential remodeler only improves existing homes. Either license is needed once a job takes two or more of eight special skills. Carpentry, masonry and concrete, and excavation are three of them.

That turns the license letters into a copy rule. DLI's contractor FAQ says numbers begin with BC, CR, RR or MI and then six digits. On our reading of the definitions, a CR shop with a "custom homes" page is advertising work its license does not reach. Ask DLI about your scope before that page goes live.

Three edges of the license law shape what a site can promise, all in Minnesota's licensing statute:

• One skill only. A specialty contractor offering a single special skill is exempt. A drywall-only crew may need neither license. A page that sells a whole basement finish has moved into two or more skills.
• The small-firm exemption. A firm expecting no more than $15,000 a year from licensed work is exempt only after it files for a certificate of exemption, under the exemptions list. A growing ad budget can push a firm past that line within a season.
• Building to sell. The owner exemption does not cover homes built for resale. Building more than one property in 24 months is presumed to be speculation unless the homes are kept as rentals. A spec-home page needs the BC license behind it.

The Minnesota page covers why a real license number beats a vague trust line. The general contractor page covers ad channels for builders in any state.

In Minnesota, every number you give a homeowner has to be on paper. Done well, that paper is the best sales document a builder has.

Minnesota's written contract law covers every proposal, bid and contract, change orders included. Each one names the work in detail and the specific materials, or a list of standard features. It also gives the total price or explains how the price will be worked out.

The same law asks for written performance guidelines before anything is signed. The homeowner also gets a signed, dated copy of each document at no charge. That gives you a page worth publishing. A "how we bid" page with a sample scope, a materials list and your performance guidelines answers what a careful buyer asks first.

Price ads have a newer rule. Since January 1, 2025, Minnesota's deceptive trade practices law requires an advertised price to include every mandatory fee. Work priced by its size and choices can comply another way. The ad clearly states what sets the total, any mandatory fees and that the final cost may vary. So a "basements from" headline needs those three lines beside it.

Change orders are where builders win or lose trust. Since each one has to be written and signed, we would build a change order step into your follow-up messages. The homeowner signs before the crew moves on.

Two parts of a Minnesota building contract are set by law, not by you. Explain them plainly on your site, and they read as proof you run a careful job.

First, the pre-lien notice. Under Minnesota's lien notice law, a contractor using subcontractors or suppliers puts a set notice in the written contract, in at least 10-point bold. It tells the owner that unpaid suppliers can file a lien on the house. It also says the owner may pay them directly, or hold back what they are owed until 120 days after completion unless the contractor supplies their lien waivers. A contractor that leaves the notice out gives up its own lien rights.

Read cold, that notice can worry a homeowner. A short page on how you collect a waiver from every sub before each draw, linked from the bid, turns it into a reason to trust you. That is our reading of how buyers react, not a legal requirement.

Second, the warranties. Minnesota's statutory warranty law gives the buyer of a new home one year against faulty workmanship and materials. Plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling installation get two years. Major construction defects get ten. A remodel with major structural changes or an addition carries the one-year and ten-year terms, and other home improvement work carries one year.

So an ad offering "a one-year workmanship warranty" on a remodel is offering what the law already gives. Say what you add on top, if anything, and name the statutory terms beside it. Not legal advice; confirm with counsel before your warranty page or contract changes.

Big projects take months to decide, so many bids go quiet. The rules on calling and texting those homeowners are tighter than most builders expect.

For live sales calls to a number registered on the national Do Not Call list, the federal calling rule counts an inquiry for three months and a past job for 18 months. A homeowner who asked for a bid in July is outside that window by November. The same rule treats a text as a call.

Minnesota adds its own clock. Its quiet-hours law bars sales calls before nine in the morning or after nine at night. So an 8:30 call that federal rules allow is still too early here.

The cleaner path is consent. Put a clear opt-in for text updates on the bid request form, and stop at the first "stop" reply. Our texting and call rules guide carries the federal detail.