For more than 150 years, the Minnesota Department of Commerce and its predecessor agencies have protected consumer interests and ensured a fair and competitive marketplace in our state.
Commerce protects the public interest through a broad range of regulations and programs. We oversee more than 40 industry areas in Minnesota and license about 250,000 professionals and businesses to ensure that their services and products are fair, accessible and comply with state laws. Whether you’re filling up on gas, purchasing a home, working to reduce energy consumption, or rebuilding after a disaster, the Department of Commerce is with you every day.
Our Division of Energy Resources encompasses energy regulation and planning, energy environmental review and analysis, the State Energy Office, Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program, and telecommunications.
Minnesota’s Energy Assistance and Weatherization Assistance Programs
Commerce is the state administrator for these federally funded programs. Energy assistance at the federal level is known as LIHEAP. Through one application, Minnesotan renters or homeowners who are income-eligible can receive energy assistance and may also qualify for weatherization. Energy assistance covers costs for current and past-due bills for electricity, gas, oil, biofuel and propane, emergency fuel delivery, and repair/replacement of homeowners’ broken heating systems. Weatherization assistance helps renters and homeowners with home improvements to conserve energy and lower their energy costs permanently.
State Energy Office
The State Energy Office receives federal funding to help Minnesota achieve clean energy goals by accelerating the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy practices, providing residents with accurate energy information, supplying assistance to local units of government, and educating businesses about best practices to achieve efficient and safe buildings.
We oversee businesses managing billions of dollars in assets and loans. We ensure the safety and solvency of financial institutions through licensing, examinations and regulations, encompassing state-chartered banks and credit unions, state-regulated investment advisors and representatives, non-depository financial institutions such as non-bank mortgagors and payday lenders. We also work to ensure securities sold in Minnesota meet legal requirements for registration and disclosure and launch enforcement actions or civil or criminal investigations when warranted.
We provide licensing, examinations and analysis of insurance carriers to ensure their business is safe and able to pay claims, encompassing insurance in health, homeowners, auto, life, long-term care and workers compensation. We review rates to ensure the insurance products are fair and reasonable. We also oversee Minnesota’s reinsurance program for health plans and license and oversee pharmacy benefit managers.
We conduct examinations and license thousands of agents and appraisers in Minnesota to ensure real estate transactions are conducted fairly and legally.
We administer telecommunications programs serving Minnesotans who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and speech disabled. The Lifeline, TAP, and Link-Up programs provide qualified users discounts on monthly services.
We work to reunite legal owners with bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, insurance benefits, or stock dividends that have gone unclaimed.
We build confidence in the marketplace for consumers and businesses by ensuring the accuracy of commercial scales and measures, so you get what you pay for. We regularly test tens of thousands of scales and products at grocery stores, gas stations, grain elevators and other businesses.
Our Enforcement Division serves to protect and educate consumers, ensure marketplace fairness, and prevent fraud in Commerce-regulated industries and licensed services. Each year, we respond to thousands of Minnesota consumers who have inquiries or complaints about Commerce-regulated industries and licensees. We initiate and support local law enforcement in investigations of fraud in insurance, finance-related and securities areas, real estate, mortgage, title and multi-industry areas. We also administer programs to prevent insurance fraud.
We partner with financial professionals to prevent financial fraud and exploitation of elderly or vulnerable adult Minnesotans, such as taking action to temporarily delay a transaction or disbursement of funds to protect vulnerable adults and seniors from suspected financial scams or suspected financial exploitation by a family, friend or acquaintance.