Minnesota permit test cheat sheet

Minnesota-specific rules from our question bank, condensed to one line each with the handbook page. Read it the night before; don’t use it instead of practicing.

Study sheet for before your test. Notes aren’t allowed in the DMV test room. See the study sheets to print.

Test format
Not published
Passing score
80%
Permit and test fees
$29.50 total
Minimum age for a permit
15 years
Supervised driving
50 hours (15 at night)
Hold your permit
6 months minimum

Permits & licensing

  • In Minnesota you can get an instruction permit at 15. p. 16
  • A permit holder under 18 must be supervised by a driver who is at least 21. p. 16
  • Drivers 18 or younger must hold their permit for at least six months before the road test. p. 16
  • Drivers 19 and older must hold an instruction permit for at least three months before the road test. p. 17
  • Without the parent class, a Minnesota teen must log at least 50 supervised hours, 15 of them at night. p. 17
  • The parent class lowers the supervised-driving log from 50 hours to 40, but 15 nighttime hours are still required either way. p. 17
  • In the first six months of a provisional license you may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m., with a few exceptions such as driving to work. p. 17
  • The midnight-to-5 a.m. limit has exceptions: a licensed driver 25 or older in the car, trips between home and work, work duties, and trips to school events with no school transportation. p. 17
  • New drivers are limited to one passenger under 20 during the first six months because teen passengers raise crash risk. p. 18
  • The passenger limit loosens in stages: one passenger under 20 in the first six months, then up to three in the second six months. p. 18
  • Minnesota's provisional passenger limits do not count immediate family members under 20. p. 18
  • Vanessa's Law says a teen convicted of a crash-related or alcohol/drug violation while driving without a license cannot get a license, permit or provisional license until 18. p. 18
  • You can upgrade after holding the provisional license for 12 straight months without alcohol, drug or crash-related convictions, or when you turn 18. p. 19
  • You must score at least 80 percent, and you may take only one written test per day. p. 13
  • Your normal or corrected vision must be at least 20/40, and you need at least 105 degrees of side vision. p. 13
  • A Minnesota instruction permit is valid for two years of practice driving with a licensed supervisor in the front passenger seat. p. 16

Alcohol & drugs

  • A driver with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more can be arrested for DWI. p. 96
  • 0.08 is not a safe level. p. 96
  • Minnesota has a zero tolerance ('Not a Drop') rule. p. 98
  • Under the no-tolerance rule, a first conviction brings a 30-day suspension and a second conviction brings 180 days. p. 98
  • If an officer has probable cause to believe you are impaired, you must take a chemical test. p. 96
  • Penalties rise if you have prior DWIs, an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or more, a child under 16 in the car, are under 21, or refuse a pre-arrest breath test. p. 97
  • Getting your license back after an alcohol-related revocation costs a $680 reinstatement fee, plus a new license application and possibly the Ignition Interlock program. p. 97
  • The interlock device is wired to the starter. p. 98
  • Minnesota's open container law bans drinking or having an open alcoholic beverage in a vehicle on a public road, and it is unlawful to let a passenger do so. p. 99
  • Opened cannabis packages must be in the trunk, or in an area not normally occupied by people if there is no trunk. p. 99