A 4-minute lesson from the Minnesota course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
To drive on Minnesota's public streets or highways you need a valid, unexpired driver's license. What you must do to get one depends on whether you've been licensed before, how long ago it expired, and where it was issued.
What you must pass to get a Minnesota license
What you must pass to get a Minnesota license
Your situation
What's required
Never licensed in any state or country
Written + vision test, permit, then road test
MN license expired over 1 year but under 5 years
Written test and vision test
21+, valid license from other state, territory or Canada
Vision test and application only
Former state license expired less than 1 year
Written test
Former state license expired more than 1 year
Written and road tests
License from a country other than the U.S. or Canada
A motorcycle endorsement on a valid, unexpired out-of-state license transfers by paying the fees. If that license is expired, you must pass a written test and a road test and pay the fees.
You're 25 and moving from Wisconsin with a valid, unexpired license. You only need a vision test and an application — no written or road test — and you have 60 days after becoming a resident to do it.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
If you have never held a driver's license in any state or country, what must you do to get a Minnesota license?
Pass a written test and vision test, get a permit, and pass a road test
Only pass a vision test
Only pass a road test
Complete an online application with no testing
Answer: Pass a written test and vision test, get a permit, and pass a road test
First-time applicants must pass a written test and vision test, apply for an instruction permit, and pass a road test.
A nonresident visitor whose home country doesn't require a license may drive an out-of-country registered vehicle in Minnesota without a license for how long?
Up to 90 days in any calendar year
Up to 30 days in any calendar year
Up to 6 months in any calendar year
Indefinitely
Answer: Up to 90 days in any calendar year
This exception allows nonresidents 18 or older, from a country that doesn't require licensing, to drive for up to 90 days per calendar year.