Your License to Drive: Who Needs a Minnesota License and the 60-Day Rule, Who Is Exempt, Who Cannot Be Licensed, Identification, Driver's License for All, REAL ID and Enhanced Cards, the Written Test, the 20/40 and 105-Degree Vision Standards, the Road Test and Instant Failures, Medical Conditions, Parent Approval, the Instruction Permit and Its Supervisors, the Provisional License, Its Night and Passenger Limits, Vanessa's Law, the Under-21 License, Farm, Medical and Moped Licenses at 15, License Classes and Endorsements, Renewal, Military, Veterans and Fast-Track Service

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Minnesota Class D knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual (Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services, June 2026 edition), "New laws and information" (pages 1–5) and Chapter 1 "Your license to drive" (pages 6–21).

Who needs a license

Driving on a Minnesota public road requires a valid, unexpired license. A first-time driver anywhere must pass the written and vision tests, get an instruction permit and pass the road test. A Minnesota license expired more than one year but less than five requires the written and vision tests again. A new resident 21 or older with a valid license from another state, certain US territories or Canada needs only the vision test and an application; if that license is expired less than a year, the written test is required, and if expired more than a year, the written and road tests. Someone arriving from any other country takes all three tests even with a valid license. New residents have 60 days (30 for commercial drivers) to get a Minnesota license or permit, and must surrender all other licenses and ID cards. A valid out-of-state motorcycle endorsement transfers for the fees; an expired one requires the written and road tests.

You may drive without a Minnesota license if you are a nonresident at least 15 with a valid home license; a new resident within the 60 days (30 for a CDL); a US government employee driving a commercial vehicle for military purposes; a nonresident at least 18 from a country that does not license drivers, in a vehicle registered there, for up to 90 days a year; driving a farm tractor or implement temporarily on a public road; riding a snowmobile; or operating a train on rails.

You will not be licensed if you fail to present proper identification, fail any test, cannot read and understand road signs and traffic laws, are under 15, are under 18 without an approved driver education certificate (unless you hold another state's license), are 18 or younger with a permit held less than six months or 19 or older with one held less than three months, have a suspended, revoked or canceled license with reinstatement unmet, have been ruled mentally incompetent, or the Commissioner finds you cannot drive safely or that your driving would harm public safety.

Identification and card types

For every test and application you must prove your first, middle and last name and date of birth, with certified marriage, divorce or court documents for any name change; documents in another language need a qualified English translation with a signed certificate; laminated, altered or photocopied documents are refused and fraudulent ones may be confiscated. For a standard card you may present a Minnesota license, ID or permit current or expired five years or less (one year if it has no photo), or otherwise two documents, one of which shows full name and date of birth, such as a birth certificate, passport or Social Security card. Under the Driver's License for All law, since October 1, 2023 a standard card is issued regardless of immigration status and no proof of legal presence is required. A REAL ID needs one document proving identity, date of birth and legal presence, your Social Security number and two proofs of Minnesota residency. An enhanced card requires proof of identity, full legal name, Social Security number, photo identity, residency (two documents) and US citizenship, an interview questionnaire and a $15 extra fee, and must show your Minnesota address. Applicants must give their Social Security number, which is kept private and never printed on the card; without one you check the box on the form. Someone serving more than six months in jail may renew by mail, and a person released from prison may qualify for a reintegration license valid for 15 months without paying outstanding fines.

The written test

The Class D written test is taken by appointment at DVS exam stations, on paper or computer, with multiple-choice and true-or-false questions on traffic laws and signs; computer stations offer many languages, American Sign Language and headphones. You may take only one written test per day and must score 80 percent. Under 18 you also present the driver education certificate of enrollment (the Blue Card for completed classroom and enrolled behind-the-wheel, or the Pink Card for a concurrent course with the first 15 classroom hours done); classroom instruction is not required at 18 or older. After failing two consecutive written tests, a $10 fee is charged for each further test.

The vision screening

Your vision is screened at every application and renewal: at least 20/40 normal or corrected, with peripheral vision of at least 105 degrees. Failing means seeing an eye doctor and returning the report to the Driver Evaluation Unit, which decides whether you need correction or restrictions.

The road test

The road test has three parts: demonstrating the vehicle's safety equipment, showing vehicle control skills and a driving test, in which the examiner judges risk awareness, intersections, lane changes and more, never asking you to do anything illegal. Make an appointment, bring your valid instruction permit and current proof of insurance (an original card, policy declaration page or e-insurance), a licensed driver to accompany you (or the test may be cancelled), and under 18 the supervised driving log and the driver education completion certificate, the White Card. You supply the vehicle: no neighborhood electric vehicles, a rental only if you are a listed driver, doors that open inside and out, working seat belts, headlights, taillights, turn signals and brake lights, and current registration or a 60-day permit. A backup camera may be used but not as the only way of looking. During the test there is no smoking, no electronic devices, no passengers, pets, children or interpreters, no loose objects, and parking assist may not be used for parallel parking. Failing two consecutive road tests brings a $20 fee per further test.

The equipment check may cover the seat, belts, parking brake, high and low beams (activated manually even on automatic headlights), hazard flashers, horn, wipers, defroster and fan, mirrors and fuel gauge; failing it ends the test that day. You are then evaluated on vehicle control, parallel parking, hill parking, response to conditions, signs and signals, signaling and turning, using marked and unmarked lanes, watching for pedestrians and drivers, and the 90-degree backing maneuver into a simulated 10-foot driveway. You fail immediately for disobeying a traffic law, dangerous or careless driving, needing the examiner's help to control the vehicle or complete a maneuver, an avoidable crash even if not legally your fault, or not cooperating. After a failure you get assigned practice time; after four failures you must complete at least six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction before testing again. Under 18 a parent, guardian, foster parent or transitional-program director signs the application, and the temporary paper license is valid until its printed date or until the card arrives.

Medical conditions and parent approval

Applications ask about medical conditions, and lying can cost your privileges; a physician's statement may be required, and a licensed driver diagnosed with epilepsy or a condition that could cause loss of consciousness must submit one within 30 days. Under 18 the application is approved by a parent, court-appointed guardian, county-appointed foster parent or transitional-program director; with divorced parents, the custodial parent or that parent's spouse; with no parents or guardian, or if married or emancipated, a close family member, employer or spouse at least 18. The signer may withdraw approval. An exchange student's host cannot sign without legal guardianship; two notarized parental forms are needed.

Graduated licensing: the instruction permit

Under the GDL system a driver 18 or younger holds a permit at least six months before the road test. The permit is valid two years for practice with a licensed supervisor in the front passenger seat; practicing without it is illegal, and you must carry it. To get one: be at least 15, complete 30 hours of classroom instruction and be enrolled in behind-the-wheel training (or be in a concurrent course with the first 15 hours done; neither is required at 18 or older), meet identification rules, pass the vision and written tests, and pay the fee. Under 18 the supervisor must be 21 or older, everyone wears a belt or child restraint, and you may not use or talk on a phone at all, even hands-free. At 18 or older the supervisor must be 18 or older, and after six months of practice (three months at 19 or older) you may take the road test. A lost or expired permit is replaced with a new two-year permit.

The provisional license

The provisional license, valid two years, is the second GDL phase; everyone aboard is belted and the driver may not use a phone, hands-free included. To qualify: be at least 16, have finished classroom and behind-the-wheel driver education, have held the permit six months with no moving or alcohol or controlled-substance convictions, submit a supervised driving log of at least 40 hours including 15 at night if a parent completed the approved parent class, or 50 hours including 15 at night if not, pass the road test, and have a parent or guardian sign. For the first six months no driving from midnight to 5 a.m. unless with a licensed driver at least 25, or between home and work, home and a school event with no school transportation, or for employment. During the first six months only one passenger under 20 unless a parent or guardian is aboard; during the second six months no more than three; immediate family under 20 are allowed throughout.

Vanessa's Law

Named for a 15-year-old killed in 2003 as a passenger of an unlicensed 15-year-old driver, the law covers teens who commit an impaired-driving crime or a crash-related moving violation. An unlicensed teen convicted of such a violation cannot get any permit or license until 18, then must meet the withdrawal notice's requirements, pass the written test, get a permit and hold it six months (three at 19 or older) before the road test. A provisional holder whose privilege is revoked for such a violation cannot regain a license until 18 or the end of the withdrawal period, whichever is longer, and then typically must serve the period, pass the written test, pay a $680 reinstatement fee, complete a 30-hour classroom course (not online), get a permit, hold it 90 days while completing six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, and then apply.

The under-21 Class D license

You qualify at 18, or after holding a provisional license 12 consecutive months with no alcohol, controlled-substance or crash-related convictions and no more than one non-crash moving violation. Under 18 you also certify 10 hours of driving supervised by a licensed driver at least 21. Upgrading with a clean record earns a $3.50 credit. The card is marked "Under 21", expires on your 21st birthday and then every four years on your birthday.

Licenses at 15

At 15, after driver education and a road test, you may qualify for a restricted farm work license, allowing you to drive alone for farm work in daylight within 40 miles of the farmhouse, with a parent's form and an agricultural property tax statement (or the farm owner's form if you work for someone else); no six-month wait is needed, though you must hold a permit and present the behind-the-wheel certificate and driving log, and the restriction can be removed after six months once you are 16. A special medical license (marked MEDLIM) is possible at 15 when no licensed driver lives in the household and you must drive for your own or a relative's medical needs. A motorized bicycle (moped) permit is available at 15 after a moped safety course and the written, vision and road tests; an electric-assist bicycle is not a moped and needs no test or license, but the rider must be at least 15.

License classes and endorsements

Carry your license whenever you drive; class, endorsements and restrictions are on the back. Class D covers all single-unit vehicles except those of 26,001 pounds or more, those built for more than 15 passengers including the driver, and those carrying hazardous materials; farm trucks within 150 miles of the farm when driven by the farmer, family or employee; emergency vehicles of any weight; personal recreational vehicles; mopeds, electric-assist bicycles, neighborhood electric vehicles and autocycles; and motorcycles with the endorsement. You may tow a trailer of 10,000 pounds or less, or a heavier one if the combination stays at 26,000 pounds or less. Endorsements, requiring extra written tests and for buses, school buses and motorcycles special road tests, cover motorcycles, buses, school buses, double and triple trailers, tank vehicles and hazardous materials. Classes A, B and C are commercial licenses: Class C with endorsements carries hazardous materials or tank loads in Class D vehicles; Class B adds all other single-unit vehicles, towing up to 10,000 pounds; Class A covers any combination. A CDL under 21 carries restrictions, and driving for work in vehicles over 10,000 pounds or carrying more than eight passengers may require a federal medical certificate.

Renewal, replacement and other services

A license typically expires on your birthday and is renewed every four years after 21 with a vision test; a lost, damaged or destroyed license needs a duplicate, and a name or address change requires a duplicate within 30 days. Active-duty service members with a valid Minnesota license need not renew until discharge and then renew within one year with the DD-214; the same applies to spouses, domestic partners and dependents under 26 living outside Minnesota, and to Peace Corps volunteers and federal foreign service employees. Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability are exempt from sales, registration and wheelage taxes on up to two vehicles and from title and license fees; a veteran indicator requires separation from service with at least 181 days of active duty and an honorable or general discharge, or National Guard, Reserve or Secret War in Laos service. Citizens and residents aged 18 to 26 are registered with Selective Service when they apply (withheld until 18). A state ID cannot be held together with a license or permit without a downgrade statement. Fees are set by the Legislature. For $20 extra, fast-track service processes a card within three business days for delivery by UPS within ten, though not for a first application, an enhanced card or an upgrade.

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