FIREPLACELAB
Wood heat, locally

Minnesota installation guides.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says new wood-burning appliances sold in Minnesota must be EPA-certified to 2020 emission standards, and suggests installation by an NFI-certified technician. Permits come from your city.

MPCA wood smoke
36 towns

Choose your city.

  1. Andover

    Anoka County / north Twin Cities suburbs

    Andover’s permit page lists solid fuel burning fireplace and stove installation by name among the jobs that need a permit, and warns that unpermitted work may bring a fine.

    Read the guide
  2. Apple Valley

    Dakota County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Apple Valley’s 2026 fee schedule sets a flat $163.19 permit for residential chimney repair and takes a non-refundable 25% down payment when you apply for a mechanical permit.

    Read the guide
  3. Blaine

    Anoka County / north Twin Cities suburbs

    Blaine says masonry and manufactured fireplaces need their own separate permit, and new wiring needs a State Electrical Permit rather than a city one.

    Read the guide
  4. Bloomington

    Hennepin County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Bloomington’s residential building permit application lists Woodburning Fireplace as its own work item, and says HVAC and other trade permits are separate.

    Read the guide
  5. Brooklyn Center

    Hennepin County / northwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Brooklyn Center requires mechanical contractors to hold a city license that goes to the City Council for approval at a regular meeting, with papers due seven days ahead.

    Read the guide
  6. Brooklyn Park

    Hennepin County / northwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Brooklyn Park’s mechanical permit page names wood stoves, chimneys and chimney liners, and vent connectors as work that needs a mechanical permit.

    Read the guide
  7. Burnsville

    Dakota County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Burnsville’s 2026 mechanical fee schedule prices a residential fireplace at $82 per unit, and mechanical permits go only to bonded contractors or homeowners doing their own work.

    Read the guide
  8. Chaska

    Carver County / southwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Chaska’s fireplace permit application has its own ‘Wood’ fuel-type box and requires the maker’s installation instructions on site for inspections.

    Read the guide
  9. Coon Rapids

    Anoka County / north Twin Cities suburbs

    Coon Rapids’ mechanical permit application has its own Wood Burning Unit and Chimney/Flue boxes, and a Fireplace permit can be filed online through BS&A.

    Read the guide
  10. Cottage Grove

    Washington County / Twin Cities east metro

    Cottage Grove’s fire department says a Minnesota DNR burning ban stops burn permits but not recreational fires, which stay under the city’s own rules: 3-foot pits, 15 feet from structures, and no fires in winds over 15 mph.

    Read the guide
  11. Duluth

    St. Louis County / Lake Superior North Shore

    Duluth lists Residential Fireplace as its own flat-fee permit type, open only to owner-occupants or Minnesota-bonded mechanical contractors.

    Read the guide
  12. Eagan

    Dakota County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Eagan lists “Fireplace or stove” among its building permits and accepts permit applications only through its online portal.

    Read the guide
  13. Eden Prairie

    Hennepin County / southwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Since January 1, 2026, Eden Prairie requires wood-burning fireplaces in all rental properties to be cleaned once every three years, or made inoperable.

    Read the guide
  14. Edina

    Hennepin County / southwest Twin Cities suburbs

    In Edina’s Country Club District, chimneys are listed as a character-defining feature, and changing one on a street-facing facade needs a heritage certificate of appropriateness before a building permit.

    Read the guide
  15. Fridley

    Anoka County / inner north Twin Cities suburbs

    Fridley’s permit page has its own wood stove section: new or used stoves need a permit, and the stove and chimney must be inspected before first use.

    Read the guide
  16. Inver Grove Heights

    Dakota County / Twin Cities south metro

    Inver Grove Heights’ 2026 fee schedule prices a residential fireplace permit and a chimney permit at $105 each, and the city says mechanical contractors need both a state bond and a City Contractor License.

    Read the guide
  17. Lakeville

    Dakota County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Lakeville’s permit activity report tracks Res Mechanical Fireplace as its own category, with 25 issued in 2025 through September.

    Read the guide
  18. Maple Grove

    Hennepin County / northwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Maple Grove’s 2026 fee schedule charges $75 per appliance for non-wood-burning fireplaces but prices masonry or factory-built wood-burning fireplaces by project valuation.

    Read the guide
  19. Maplewood

    Ramsey County / Twin Cities east metro

    Maplewood requires every mechanical contractor, residential as well as commercial, to hold a City of Maplewood license, so a state license alone doesn’t let an installer pull your stove permit.

    Read the guide
  20. Minneapolis

    Hennepin County / Twin Cities

    Minneapolis fireplace guidance says unlisted manufactured fireplaces, stoves, and heaters are not approved for installation under the Minnesota Mechanical Code.

    Read the guide
  21. Minnetonka

    Hennepin County / west Twin Cities suburbs

    Minnetonka’s city code bars anyone from working as a mechanical contractor in the city, including installing wood stoves and fireplaces, without a license from the city itself.

    Read the guide
  22. Moorhead

    Clay County / Fargo-Moorhead

    Moorhead issues heating work under a mechanical permit from its own Building Codes office, not Fargo’s, and charges an investigation fee equal to the permit fee if work starts first.

    Read the guide
  23. Oakdale

    Washington County / east Twin Cities suburbs

    Oakdale’s code enforcement rules say firewood must be neatly stacked, raised at least four inches off the ground and kept out of front yards.

    Read the guide
  24. Plymouth

    Hennepin County / west Twin Cities suburbs

    Plymouth says residential mechanical permits, which it requires for wood stoves, chimneys and chimney liners, can be issued at the time of application.

    Read the guide
  25. Prior Lake

    Scott County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Prior Lake’s 2026 mechanical permit application has a ‘Fireplace Make/Model’ box and says the permit expires after six months if no final inspection has passed.

    Read the guide
  26. Ramsey

    Anoka County / northwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Ramsey requires a mechanical permit and an EPA-certified unit for outdoor wood boilers, and its Environmental Policy Board reviewed those rules with MPCA staff in 2025.

    Read the guide
  27. Richfield

    Hennepin County / Twin Cities inner-ring suburb

    Richfield’s permits page links an airport-noise insulation guide that warns acoustic retrofits make houses tighter and advises having combustion appliances and venting checked afterward.

    Read the guide
  28. Rochester

    Olmsted County / Southeast Minnesota

    Rochester issues a separate Fireplace permit, and its Master Installer license, which requires a city certificate of competency, names fireplace work.

    Read the guide
  29. Rosemount

    Dakota County / south Twin Cities suburbs

    Rosemount requires a building permit for every fireplace at a set $101 fee, including the state surcharge, and wants two copies of plans and specifications for each unit installed.

    Read the guide
  30. Roseville

    Ramsey County / Twin Cities inner-ring suburb

    Roseville publishes its own wood smoke page, which points residents to fireplace inserts made after 1992 and to wood split, covered and stored for at least six months.

    Read the guide
  31. Savage

    Scott County / southwest Twin Cities suburbs

    Savage’s online permit menu offers a gas fireplace permit but no wood stove option, so wood stove buyers have to call Building Inspections to find the right permit.

    Read the guide
  32. Shakopee

    Scott County / southwest Twin Cities

    Shakopee lists a ‘Fireplace Permit’ among its mechanical permits, applied for and inspected through the city’s online ePortal.

    Read the guide
  33. St. Cloud

    Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties / Central Minnesota

    St. Cloud’s permit handout lists wood stoves among projects that need a building permit, and its heating contractors must hold a city Master A or B Mechanical Installer Certificate earned by testing.

    Read the guide
  34. St. Louis Park

    Hennepin County / western Twin Cities inner-ring suburbs

    St. Louis Park’s mechanical permit application lists stoves and chimney or flue work as separate items and asks contractors for their St. Louis Park mechanical license number.

    Read the guide
  35. St. Paul

    Ramsey County / Twin Cities

    Saint Paul has a dedicated fireplace/wood stove permit that only homesteading owners doing their own work or licensed contractors may obtain.

    Read the guide
  36. Woodbury

    Washington County / east Twin Cities suburbs

    Woodbury covers fireplace and wood stove work with a combination permit that folds in the electrical fee for a blower or control connection.

    Read the guide

We add guides as local research is completed. Rules and business coverage vary by address. Explore national planning guides for areas not yet covered.