Getting a Minnesota Driver License

By Javier Marín, Editor·Last reviewed September 2026·How we check this

A Minnesota Class D driver license covers passenger vehicles, light trucks, and motor homes registered to the licensee. Driver and Vehicle Services issues it in three tiers — Standard, REAL ID, and Enhanced Driver License — and the document set you bring to the appointment determines which tier the office produces on the day.

Eligibility

The minimum age for an unrestricted Minnesota driver license is 18. Drivers who got their permit at 16 or 17 hold a graduated provisional license for at least 12 months before becoming eligible for the full Class D. Adult applicants 21 and older can move directly from instruction permit to Class D after passing the road test.

The three license tiers

Standard: the basic Minnesota driver license. Marked "NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION" in the upper right. Cannot be used to board a domestic flight after the federal REAL ID enforcement date.
REAL ID: federally compliant; marked with a star icon. Acceptable for domestic flights and entry to federal facilities.
Enhanced Driver License (EDL): federally compliant plus accepted at U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Caribbean land/sea borders. Marked with a U.S. flag icon. Available only to U.S. citizens.

EDLs are not valid for air travel into Canada or any travel beyond the perimeter of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.

Documents required for REAL ID and EDL

Bring one document from each of these categories to a DVS exam station:

Identity and date of birth: certified U.S. birth certificate, valid U.S. passport, or Permanent Resident Card. EDL applicants must provide proof of U.S. citizenship specifically.
Social Security number: Social Security card, W-2, or recent paystub showing the full SSN.
Two proofs of Minnesota residency: utility bill, lease, mortgage statement, bank statement, or current vehicle registration. The two proofs must be from different sources and dated within the last 12 months.
Name change documents if any of the above shows a previous name (certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order).
Completed PS33133 application — fillable on the DVS website or available at the counter.

Standard licenses require fewer documents — generally an identity proof, residency proof, and SSN — but most applicants choose REAL ID at the same fee.

Fees

Minnesota driver license fees:

Class D Standard license: $32.00.
Class D REAL ID: $32.00 (no surcharge).
Class D Enhanced Driver License: $15 surcharge over Standard ($47 total).
Knowledge test: included with the application.
Road test: included with the application; failed road test retake $20.

Knowledge test

The Minnesota knowledge exam is 40 multiple-choice questions based on the current Minnesota Driver's Manual. Applicants must answer at least 32 correctly (80%) to pass. The exam is offered in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Russian, Vietnamese, and a handful of other languages at most exam stations. Topics where Minnesota questions concentrate: winter driving and ice-and-snow conditions, deer-collision avoidance, the move-over law for emergency vehicles, school bus passing, and the implied consent rule. The DVS practice test on Minnesota.gov/DVS uses the same question pool and is free to retake.

Road test

The Minnesota road test runs about 25 minutes and covers:

Pre-drive vehicle inspection (turn signals, brake lights, horn, defroster, current proof of Minnesota insurance).
Backing skills — straight-line backing for at least 50 feet without crossing into another lane.
Right and left turns into and from the proper lane.
Stopping behavior at controlled intersections.
Lane changes with mirrors, signals, and head checks.
Parallel parking (still required at most exam stations).
Highway driving when the route includes a high-speed segment.

Common reasons applicants fail: rolling stops at residential intersections, failing to make complete head checks during lane changes, and improper parallel parking technique.

License delivery

You'll receive a paper temporary license good for 60 days. The permanent card is printed at a centralized facility and mailed via USPS in 4-6 weeks. If the card has not arrived after 60 days, contact DVS through the customer service line — about 3-5% of permanent cards are returned undeliverable for address mismatches.

Out-of-state transfers

New residents have 60 days to transfer an out-of-state license to Minnesota. The knowledge test is waived for valid licenses from any U.S. state, Canadian province, or Mexico. The road test is also waived as long as the prior license was not surrendered, was not expired more than a year, and was not suspended or revoked. Bring the same document set listed above for the tier you want, along with the surrender of the out-of-state license. The next step after the license is usually registering the vehicle within the same 60-day window.