Qualifying Individual Leaves an Active Contractor
A Minnesota fire sprinkler contractor, North Star Fire Protection LLC, holds a current Minnesota fire sprinkler contractor license. The licensed individual who qualifies the company resigns on Friday and takes the company's only qualifying credential with him. On Monday the owner wants to keep bidding two school retrofit projects, use the company's existing license number on permit applications, and have a journeyman with eight years of field experience sign the shop drawings. The company has two jobs already under construction: a 4,000 sq ft office remodel and a 12,000 sq ft warehouse. The owner argues that the LLC's license is still active and that the journeyman can supervise. No new qualifier has been hired. The local AHJ has not been notified.
1. May the company continue bidding and installing work while it has no qualifying individual?
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The company should not continue bidding or installing on the theory that the LLC license remains automatically effective. Minnesota's contractor license is tied to a qualifying individual, and loss of that individual affects the company's ability to operate lawfully. The owner must verify the current statute and rules, notify the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry as required, and stop using the license number on new permit applications until a replacement qualifier is approved or the license status is clarified. A journeyman's field experience does not convert the company into a qualified contractor. The safe compliance position is to suspend new contracts and new permits until the licensing issue is resolved in writing.
2. What immediate notices and records should the owner create?
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The owner should document the qualifier's departure date, notify the state licensing authority under its required procedure, review the license and bond/insurance records, and notify each AHJ with an open permit. The company should preserve payroll and licensing records showing who supervised the work and when. It should also tell the school districts that no new contract can be performed until the license status is restored. If a replacement qualifier is hired, the owner should submit the required application and supporting information before resuming work. Oral assurances to the AHJ are not enough; written notice protects the company and prevents permit fraud allegations.
3. Can the journeyman finish the two open jobs under the company's existing permits?
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Only if the company remains properly licensed and a qualified individual is responsible for the work, or if the work is completed by another properly licensed contractor with the AHJ's approval. The journeyman may perform field work within his or her license, but cannot supply the contractor qualification that the LLC lacks. For open permits, the company should ask the AHJ how to proceed, provide a replacement qualifier or a licensed subcontractor, and document any inspection requests. Concealing the vacancy while work continues creates licensing and permit violations and can expose the owner and contractor to stop-work orders, penalties, and contract disputes.