Minnesota driver's license and ID for new residents

Step 1 — Mark your 60-day deadline

State law lets a new resident with a valid license from “some other state or jurisdiction” or from U.S. military authorities drive for up to 60 days after becoming a resident (Minn. Stat. 171.03). The manual names only licenses from another state, a Canadian province or U.S. military authority, so if yours is from another country, ask DVS (DVS — Driver’s manual).

Nonresidents aged 15 or older may drive on a valid license from their home state or country (DVS — Driver’s manual).

Your car gets 60 days too, but must be registered at once if its registration has expired (DVS — Vehicle registration).

Step 2 — Check whether you must test

Your path depends on where your license comes from (DVS — New resident):

• Another U.S. state, Canada, a U.S. territory, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or the U.S. military: no written or road test if you’re over 21 and your non-commercial license is valid and unexpired (DVS — New resident). Expired: the written test; expired over a year: both tests (DVS — New resident). Under 21: the written test (DVS — New resident).
• Germany (18 or older) or Taiwan (21 or older), with a license that’s valid or expired less than a year: you must still pass the written test and a vision check (DVS — New resident). You skip the road test only if you surrender your license; from Taiwan, that also takes an original Verification Certificate of Driver’s License (VCDL) from Taiwan’s transportation ministry, or an English certificate of validity from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, issued within three months (DVS — New resident).
• Any other country: you take the written and road tests, and give DVS a translation if your license isn’t in English (DVS — New resident). You don’t need a permit before your first road test, and DVS’s advice is: “Don’t get an ID card before you get a license” (DVS — New resident).

Step 3 — Decide what your card must do

Minnesota offers three card types (DVS — Card options):

• Standard license or ID. Under the Driver’s License for All law, passed in 2023, Minnesota issues standard cards without proof of immigration status (DVS — Driver’s License for All). DVS says it “does not ask if, or track whether, a person is undocumented” when someone applies, and the card looks the same with or without legal presence (DVS — Driver’s License for All). It’s marked “not for federal identification” (DVS — Change of address), and since May 7, 2025 it doesn’t work at airport security, military bases or federal buildings (DVS — Driver’s License for All).
• REAL ID. You prove your legal presence and your Minnesota address, and apply in person (DVS — REAL ID). If you’re in the U.S. for a limited time, the card expires on the date shown on your immigration documents, and DVS writes to you about two months before; if your authorization ends within 20 days, you get a paper temporary instead (DVS — REAL ID).
• Enhanced. For U.S. citizens aged 16 or older; it also works for crossing by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean (DVS — Enhanced).

Flying soon? DVS reminds you that TSA also accepts a foreign passport, a permanent resident card or an Employment Authorization Card (I-766) (DVS — REAL ID).

Step 4 — Build your document set

For a standard card, bring two primary documents, or one primary and one secondary (DVS — Standard documents). Documents newcomers often have (DVS — Standard documents):

• Primary: an unexpired passport from any country; an unexpired consular ID with your photo; a certified birth record from any country; or an unexpired green card, Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with photo, or Refugee Travel Document (I-571) (DVS — Standard documents).
• Secondary: a Social Security card; Form I-20 or DS-2019; an EAD; an I-797 Notice of Action or proof you filed Form I-589; a foreign license or ID with photo, expired five years or less; an IRS document showing your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) (DVS — Standard documents).

Translations. Any document not in English needs a translation and a translation attestation (DVS — Standard documents). The translator, who can’t be related to you by blood or marriage, certifies it on DVS’s Certificate of Translation form (DVS — Driver’s manual), filled out in English; DVS also lists approved translation vendors (DVS — Forms).

Originals only. DVS can’t accept photocopies and may refuse laminated or altered documents (DVS — Driver’s manual).

For REAL ID, a foreign passport with a U.S. visa needs your I-94; if the I-94 says “DS,” also bring your I-20, DS-2019 or I-551 (DVS — REAL ID documents). Add two proofs of address, such as a signed lease or a utility bill no more than 12 months old (DVS — REAL ID documents). See our I-94 guide.

Your SSN. If you’re eligible for an SSN, you must give it, and get one first if you don’t have it yet (DVS — SSN); see getting a Social Security number. If you’re not eligible, you can still apply for a standard card and say so on the application (DVS — SSN).

Step 5 — Take the written test in your language

The Class D written test at a DVS exam station needs an appointment; you may take one test per day and need 80 percent to pass (DVS — Driver’s manual). Third-party proctors also give it, may charge a fee, and allow no interpreters (DVS — Age 18+).

• Languages: at stations with the computer test, it comes in English, American Sign Language, Hmong, Karen, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese (DVS — New resident); the Driver’s License for All page also lists Dari, Pashto and Ukrainian, with audio (DVS — DL for All in English).
• Another language: request a verbal exam at 651-284-1234 and bring your own interpreter with a valid Minnesota license (DVS — Age 18+). Groups of three to seven can book an oral test in Anoka, Eagan, Buffalo or downtown Saint Paul by emailing DVSExamGroupTesting.DPS@state.mn.us (DVS — Group testing).

Step 6 — Plan the road test around winter

Road tests need an appointment (DVS — New resident). Bring a vehicle and its proof of insurance, valid on the test date, and nobody but the examiner may ride with you (DVS — New resident). An interpreter can talk with you and the examiner before and after the test (DVS — DL for All FAQ). DVS’s checklist also asks you to come with a licensed driver (DVS — Driver’s manual).

• Rental car: you must be listed on the rental agreement, and parking assist can’t be used for parallel parking (DVS — Driver’s manual).
• Winter: tests may be delayed until streets and test areas are cleared; if the car gets stuck, you fail and must arrange the tow (DVS — New resident).

Step 7 — Apply, then watch your mailbox

Pre-apply online no more than 30 days before your visit (DVS — Driver’s manual). Besides its own offices and exam stations, DVS works with partner driver’s license agents; find an office (DVS — Locations). Bring your documents, the fee and any passed road test, and pass a vision check; a vision report from your eye doctor can replace it (DVS — New resident). You must present all your other driver’s licenses and ID cards to DVS (DVS — Driver’s manual).

Voting is for citizens. DVS says Driver’s License for All doesn’t change voter registration rules, which include U.S. citizenship, and that voting when not eligible is a felony (DVS — DL for All FAQ). See civic rules for noncitizens.

The card comes by mail. The post office won’t forward it; if you’ll be away, give a temporary mailing address (DVS — Your address). Track it with Where’s my license? (DVS — New resident).

Moving again? Update the card’s address in person within 60 days; a standard card needs no proof of the new address, but REAL ID and enhanced cards need two (DVS — Change of address). USCIS has its own rule: see change of address for USCIS and USPS.

Step 8 — Register and insure your vehicle

You can register in person at a deputy registrar office or mail the application to DVS (DVS — Title and registration). Have your lienholder’s details, the odometer reading, ID, and your insurance company, policy number and expiration date (DVS — Vehicle registration). An imported vehicle needs CBP Form 7501 or 3461, EPA Form 3520 and NHTSA Form HS-7 (DVS — Vehicle registration); see what you can bring through customs.

Owners must carry no-fault and liability insurance and keep proof in the vehicle at all times (DVS — Driver’s manual). See buying and insuring a car.