Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

Chapter 171

Section 171.07

Topics

Recent History

171.07 INFORMATION ON LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARD.
    Subdivision 1. License; contents. (a) Upon the payment of the required fee, the department
shall issue to every qualifying applicant a license designating the type or class of vehicles the
applicant is authorized to drive as applied for. This license must bear a distinguishing number
assigned to the licensee; the licensee's full name, date of birth, and residence address; a description
of the licensee in a manner as the commissioner deems necessary; and the usual signature of the
licensee. No license is valid unless it bears the usual signature of the licensee. Every license must
bear a colored photograph or an electronically produced image of the licensee.
(b) If the United States Postal Service will not deliver mail to the applicant's residence
address as listed on the license, then the applicant shall provide verification from the United States
Postal Service that mail will not be delivered to the applicant's residence address and that mail
will be delivered to a specified alternate mailing address. When an applicant provides an alternate
mailing address under this subdivision, the commissioner shall use the alternate mailing address
in lieu of the applicant's residence address for all notices and mailings to the applicant.
(c) Every license issued to an applicant under the age of 21 must be of a distinguishing
color and plainly marked "Under-21."
(d) The department shall use processes in issuing a license that prohibit, as nearly as possible,
the ability to alter or reproduce a license, or prohibit the ability to superimpose a photograph or
electronically produced image on a license, without ready detection.
(e) A license issued to an applicant age 65 or over must be plainly marked "senior" if
requested by the applicant.
    Subd. 1a. Filing photograph or image; data classification. The department shall file, or
contract to file, all photographs or electronically produced images obtained in the process of
issuing drivers' licenses or Minnesota identification cards. The photographs or electronically
produced images shall be private data pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 12. Notwithstanding
section 13.04, subdivision 3, the department shall not be required to provide copies of photographs
or electronically produced images to data subjects. The use of the files is restricted:
    (1) to the issuance and control of drivers' licenses;
    (2) to criminal justice agencies, as defined in section 299C.46, subdivision 2, for the
investigation and prosecution of crimes, service of process, enforcement of no contact orders,
location of missing persons, investigation and preparation of cases for criminal, juvenile, and
traffic court, and supervision of offenders;
    (3) to public defenders, as defined in section 611.272, for the investigation and preparation of
cases for criminal, juvenile, and traffic courts; and
    (4) to child support enforcement purposes under section 256.978.
    Subd. 1b. Commercial driver's license. Each class C, class B, or class A driver's license
must be clearly marked "Minnesota Commercial Driver's License."
    Subd. 2. Limitations on issuing license. The department shall not issue a class B or class A
license to anyone who does not have or has not qualified for a class D license. A class A license
shall not be issued to anyone under 18 years of age.
    Subd. 3. Identification card; fee. (a) Upon payment of the required fee, the department
shall issue to every qualifying applicant a Minnesota identification card. The department may
not issue a Minnesota identification card to an individual who has a driver's license, other than a
limited license. The card must bear a distinguishing number assigned to the applicant; a colored
photograph or an electronically produced image of the applicant; the applicant's full name, date of
birth, and residence address; a description of the applicant in the manner as the commissioner
deems necessary; and the usual signature of the applicant.
(b) If the United States Postal Service will not deliver mail to the applicant's residence
address as listed on the Minnesota identification card, then the applicant shall provide verification
from the United States Postal Service that mail will not be delivered to the applicant's residence
address and that mail will be delivered to a specified alternate mailing address. When an applicant
provides an alternate mailing address under this subdivision, the commissioner shall use the
alternate mailing address in lieu of the applicant's residence address for all notices and mailings
to the applicant.
(c) Each identification card issued to an applicant under the age of 21 must be of a
distinguishing color and plainly marked "Under-21."
(d) Each Minnesota identification card must be plainly marked "Minnesota identification
card - not a driver's license."
(e) The fee for a Minnesota identification card is 50 cents when issued to a person who is
developmentally disabled, as defined in section 252A.02, subdivision 2; a physically disabled
person, as defined in section 169.345, subdivision 2; or, a person with mental illness, as described
in section 245.462, subdivision 20, paragraph (c).
    Subd. 3a. Identification cards for seniors. A Minnesota identification card issued to an
applicant 65 years of age or over shall be of a distinguishing color and plainly marked "senior."
The fee for the card issued to an applicant 65 years of age or over shall be one-half the required
fee for a class D driver's license rounded down to the nearest quarter dollar. A Minnesota
identification card or a Minnesota driver's license issued to a person 65 years of age or over shall
be valid identification for the purpose of qualifying for reduced rates, free licenses or services
provided by any board, commission, agency or institution that is wholly or partially funded by
state appropriations.
    Subd. 4. Expiration. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, the expiration
date of Minnesota identification cards of applicants under the age of 65 shall be the birthday of
the applicant in the fourth year following the date of issuance of the card.
(b) Minnesota identification cards issued to applicants age 65 or over shall be valid for
the lifetime of the applicant.
(c) The expiration date for an Under-21 identification card is the cardholder's 21st birthday.
The commissioner shall issue an identification card to a holder of an Under-21 identification card
who applies for the card, pays the required fee, and presents proof of identity and age, unless the
commissioner determines that the applicant is not qualified for the identification card.
    Subd. 5. Anatomical gift; donor document. The department shall offer a donor document
to each person making application for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card
who indicates a desire not to make a decision about making an anatomical gift at the time the
application is made. The commissioner of public safety shall prescribe the form of the donor
document and the application for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card. The forms
must be designed so that execution by the applicant of the donor document or application will
make an anatomical gift under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (1987), sections 525.921 to
525.9224. If the donor is 18 years of age or older, the donor document or application must
be signed by the donor. If the donor cannot sign, the donor document or application may be
signed for the donor at the donor's direction, in the donor's presence, and in the presence of two
witnesses who must sign the donor document or application in the donor's presence. If the donor
is a minor, the donor document or application must be signed by the minor donor, and one of
the minor donor's parents, a legal guardian, or a parent having legal custody. If the minor cannot
sign, the donor document or application may not be signed for the minor. The department shall
identify donors of anatomical gifts by the designation "donor" on the front side of the donor's
driver's license or Minnesota identification card. The issuance of a driver's license or Minnesota
identification card identifying the person as a "donor" completes the donation process and the
license or identification card constitutes the final donor record. The department is not required
to keep the physical record of the donor card or application after issuing the driver's license or
identification card for the donation to be valid. The department shall maintain a computer record
of donors. Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of the license does not invalidate
the anatomical gift. The designation "donor" constitutes sufficient legal authority for the removal
of all body organs or parts upon death of the donor for the purpose of transplantation. The donor
designation may be removed only upon written notice to the department. Delivery of the license
or Minnesota identification card during the donor's lifetime is not necessary to make the gift valid.
    Subd. 6. Medical alert identifier. Upon the written request of the applicant, the department
shall issue a driver's license or Minnesota identification card bearing a medical alert identifier.
The applicant must request the medical alert identifier at the time the photograph or electronically
produced image is taken. No specific medical information will be contained on the driver's license
or Minnesota identification card.
    Subd. 7. Living Will/Health Care Directive designation. (a) At the written request of
the applicant and on payment of the required fee, the department shall issue, renew, or reissue
a driver's license or Minnesota identification card bearing the designation "Living Will/Health
Care Directive" or an abbreviation thereof. The designation does not constitute delivery of a
health care declaration under section 145B.05.
(b) On payment of the required fee, the department shall issue a replacement or renewal
license or identification card without the designation if requested by the applicant.
(c) This subdivision does not impose any additional duty on a health care provider, as
defined in section 145B.02, subdivision 6, or 145C.01, subdivision 6, beyond the duties imposed
in chapter 145B or 145C.
(d) For the purposes of this subdivision:
(1) "living will" means a declaration made under section 145B.03; and
(2) "health care directive" means a durable power of attorney for health care under section
145C.02, or any other written advance health care directive of the applicant that is authorized
by statute or not prohibited by law.
    Subd. 8. Certification; school bus safety laws. Before a driver's license may be issued or
renewed, an applicant for a driver's license or renewal shall certify by signature that the applicant
is aware of the duties and responsibilities required of drivers under section 169.444 to guard
against jeopardizing the safety of school children around school buses and the penalties for
violating that section. A failure to make this certification does not bar a prosecution for violation
of section 169.444.
    Subd. 9. Improved security. The commissioner shall develop new drivers' licenses and
identification cards, to be issued beginning January 1, 1994, that must be as impervious to
alteration as is reasonably practicable in their design and quality of material and technology. The
driver's license security laminate shall be made from materials not readily available to the general
public. The design and technology employed must enable the driver's license and identification
card to be subject to two or more methods of visual verification capable of clearly indicating the
presence of tampering or counterfeiting. The driver's license and identification card must not be
susceptible to reproduction by photocopying or simulation and must be highly resistant to data or
photograph substitution and other tampering.
    Subd. 10. Agreement with other agency. (a) The commissioner of public safety is
authorized to enter into agreements with other agencies to issue cards to clients of those
agencies for use in their programs. The cards may be issued to persons who do not qualify for a
Minnesota driver's license or do not provide evidence of name and identity as required by rule
for a Minnesota identification card. Persons issued cards under this subdivision will meet the
identification verification requirements of the contracting agency.
(b) The interagency agreement may include provisions for the payment of the county fee
provided in section 171.061, subdivision 4, and the actual cost to manufacture the card.
(c) Cards issued under this subdivision are not Minnesota identification cards for the
purposes defined in sections 48.512, 201.061, 201.161, 340A.503, and 604.113.
    Subd. 11. Standby or temporary custodian. (a) Upon the written request of the applicant
and upon payment of an additional fee of $4.25, the department shall issue a driver's license or
Minnesota identification card bearing a symbol or other appropriate identifier indicating that the
license holder has appointed an individual to serve as a standby or temporary custodian under
chapter 257B.
    (b) The request must be accompanied by a copy of the designation executed under section
257B.04.
    (c) The department shall maintain a computerized records system of all individuals listed as
standby or temporary custodians by driver's license and identification card applicants. This data
must be released to appropriate law enforcement agencies under section 13.69. Upon a parent's
request and payment of a fee of $4.25, the department shall revise its list of standby or temporary
custodians to reflect a change in the appointment.
    (d) At the request of the license or cardholder, the department shall cancel the standby or
temporary custodian indication without additional charge. However, this paragraph does not
prohibit a fee that may be applicable for a duplicate or replacement license or card, renewal of a
license, or other service applicable to a driver's license or identification card.
    (e) Notwithstanding sections 13.08, subdivision 1, and 13.69, the department and department
employees are conclusively presumed to be acting in good faith when employees rely on
statements made, in person or by telephone, by persons purporting to be law enforcement and
subsequently release information described in paragraph (b). When acting in good faith, the
department and department personnel are immune from civil liability and not subject to suit for
damages resulting from the release of this information.
    (f) The department and its employees:
    (1) have no duty to inquire or otherwise determine whether a designation submitted under
this subdivision is legally valid and enforceable; and
    (2) are immune from all civil liability and not subject to suit for damages resulting from a
claim that the designation was not legally valid and enforceable.
    (g) Of the fees received by the department under this subdivision:
    (1) Up to $61,000 received must be deposited in the general fund.
    (2) All other fees must be deposited in the driver services operating account in the special
revenue fund specified in section 299A.705.
    Subd. 12. Snowmobile safety certificate. (a) The department shall maintain in its records
information transmitted electronically from the commissioner of natural resources identifying
each person to whom the commissioner has issued a snowmobile safety certificate. The records
transmitted from the Department of Natural Resources must contain the full name and date of
birth as required for the driver's license or identification card. Records that are not matched to a
driver's license or identification card record may be deleted after seven years.
(b) After receiving information under paragraph (a) that a person has received a snowmobile
safety certificate, the department shall include, on all drivers' licenses or Minnesota identification
cards subsequently issued to the person, a graphic or written indication that the person has
received the certificate.
(c) If a person who has received a snowmobile safety certificate applies for a driver's license
or Minnesota identification card before that information has been transmitted to the department,
the department may accept a copy of the certificate as proof of its issuance and shall then follow
the procedures in paragraph (b).
    Subd. 13. Firearms safety designation. (a) When an applicant has a record transmitted to
the department as described in paragraph (c) or presents:
(1) a firearms safety certificate issued for successfully completing a firearms safety course
administered under section 97B.015; or
(2) an advanced hunter certificate issued for successfully completing an advanced hunter
education course administered under section 97B.025,
and requests a driver's license or identification card described in paragraph (b), the department
shall issue, renew, or reissue to the applicant a driver's license or Minnesota identification card
described in paragraph (b).
(b) Pursuant to paragraph (a), the department shall issue a driver's license or Minnesota
identification card bearing a graphic or written indication that the applicant has successfully
completed a firearms safety course administered under section 97B.015, an advanced hunter
education course administered under section 97B.025, or both of the described courses.
(c) The department shall maintain in its records information transmitted electronically from
the commissioner of natural resources identifying each person to whom the commissioner has
issued a firearms safety certificate or an advanced hunter education certificate. The records
transmitted from the Department of Natural Resources must contain the full name and date of
birth as required for the driver's license or identification card. Records that are not matched to a
driver's license or identification card record may be deleted after seven years.
    Subd. 14. Use of Social Security number. An applicant's Social Security number must
not be displayed, encrypted, or encoded on the driver's license or Minnesota identification
card or included in a magnetic strip or bar code used to store data on the license or Minnesota
identification card. The Social Security number must not be used as a Minnesota driver's license
or identification number.
History: (2720-144d) 1939 c 401 s 7; 1957 c 564 s 4; 1963 c 800 s 1; 1971 c 129 s 2; 1971 c
644 s 10; 1971 c 659 s 2; 1973 c 35 s 39; 1973 c 698 s 4; 1973 c 725 s 23; 1975 c 393 s 1; 1977 c
361 s 1-3; 1980 c 446 s 2,3; 1981 c 311 s 39; 1981 c 363 s 36-38; 1982 c 545 s 24; 1983 c 135 s
1; 1983 c 272 s 1; 1Sp1985 c 4 s 8; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 454 s 23; 1987 c 248 s 1; 1987 c 329
s 1; 1989 c 301 s 7,8; 1989 c 307 s 22; 1990 c 510 s 2-6; 1990 c 568 art 2 s 30; 1991 c 202 s
14; 1991 c 277 s 13; 1991 c 333 s 28; 1992 c 571 art 13 s 1; 1992 c 581 s 15; 1993 c 266 s 23;
1995 c 207 art 2 s 3; 1995 c 259 art 1 s 36; 1996 c 275 s 7-9; 1996 c 455 art 6 s 2; 1997 c 13
s 2,3; 1997 c 60 s 2; 1997 c 65 s 1; 1Sp1997 c 2 s 52; 1998 c 388 s 17; 1999 c 86 art 1 s 42;
1999 c 231 s 167,168; 1999 c 238 art 2 s 27; 2000 c 404 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 8 art 2 s 46; 2002 c
371 art 1 s 57,58; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 10 s 4; 2005 c 56 s 1; 2005 c 146 s 49; 2005 c 163 s 76,77;
1Sp2005 c 6 art 2 s 39; 2007 c 129 s 49; 2007 c 143 art 3 s 5,6

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes