# Delegating MINA

> Earn block rewards by delegating your MINA stake to a block producer.

Canonical URL: https://docs.minaprotocol.com/node-operators/validator-node/staking-and-snarking

Delegating assigns your stake to a block producer who shares earned rewards minus a fee. You don't need to run a node yourself. See [Staking Rewards on Mina](https://minaprotocol.com/blog/staking-rewards-on-mina) for reward details.

If you want to produce blocks directly, see the [Block Producers](/node-operators/block-producer-node) section.

- Your delegation takes effect after a latency period of 2-4 weeks.
- You can re-delegate or un-delegate at any time with no penalty. Changes take effect after 1-2 epochs.
- Your **full balance** is always delegated -- there is no partial delegation.

## Delegate your stake

First, unlock your account:

```sh
mina account unlock --public-key $DELEGATOR_PUBLICKEY
```

Then delegate:

```sh
mina client delegate-stake \
    --receiver $DELEGATEE_PUBLICKEY \
    --sender $DELEGATOR_PUBLICKEY \
    --fee 0.1
```

| Flag | Description |
|--|--|
| `--receiver` | Public key of the delegatee (block producer) |
| `--sender` | Public key of the account you are delegating from |
| `--fee` | Transaction fee paid to the network |

A stake delegation is a transaction on-chain, which is why it requires a fee.

See also: [Mina Foundation Delegation Program](/node-operators/delegation-program/foundation-delegation-program).