HF3988

Purpose

This bill changes who can get a Minnesota driver’s license by requiring driver education for people under 21 before licensing. It also tightens rules about who qualifies to obtain or keep a license, especially for teens, and adds specific supervision, permit, and testing requirements to improve driving safety.

Main Provisions

• Driver education requirement for under 21
  • Anyone under 21 must complete a driver education program that includes classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training before getting a license.
• Under-18 eligibility and qualifications
  • A person 16 or 17 can’t get a license unless they have a previously issued valid license from another state or country, or they have held a provisional license for 12 consecutive months with limited violations.
  • While meeting eligibility, the applicant’s approvals come from a parent or guardian (or other approved caregiver or adult), with verification of age and identity.
  • The applicant must have driven with a licensed driver at least 21 years old for at least 10 hours during the provisional period.
• Permit and provisional licensing timelines
  • For those under 18: at least 6 months with an instruction permit and at least 12 months with a provisional license.
  • For those 19 and older: at least 3 months with the instruction permit before applying for a license.
• General eligibility restrictions and exam requirements
  • A license cannot be issued to drug-dependent individuals, someone adjudged legally incompetent, or someone who hasn’t passed required vision, knowledge, or road tests.
  • If a road test is failed four times, the applicant must complete at least six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction with an approved instructor before retesting.
  • Licenses cannot be issued to individuals with certain medical or reading limitations that would impair safe driving, or who are subject to court-denied driving privileges.
  • If a person’s license has been suspended or revoked, specific financial-responsibility requirements and other protections apply to reinstatement.
• Other grounds and safety considerations
  • The agency may deny licenses if it believes licensing would be inimical to public safety or welfare.
  • There are provisions regarding proof of financial responsibility in line with related insurance laws for certain actions (suspensions/revocations).

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Adds a mandatory driver education requirement for all applicants under 21 before licensure.
• Expands teen-driver safeguards, including longer permit and provisional periods for under-18s, and a mandatory 10-hour supervised driving requirement under a licensed driver aged 21+ during provisional licensure.
• Tightens eligibility criteria for under-18 drivers (crashes and moving-violation limits) and requires parental/guardian oversight and verification.
• Increases consequences for road-test failures (six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction after four failed tests) and strengthens testing requirements (vision, knowledge, and road exams).
• Broadens grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation, including mental or physical impairments and inability to read traffic signs, with alignment to insurance-related financial-responsibility requirements.

Relevant Terms driver education; behind-the-wheel training; instruction permit; provisional license; license eligibility; under 21; under 18; parental approval; guardian; licensed driver 21+; supervised driving; 10 hours; road test; road tests; vision test; knowledge test; financial responsibility; No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act; suspended license; revoked license; drug-dependent; mentally incompetent; traffic signs; moving violation; crash-related moving violation; school or classroom instruction; six hours behind-the-wheel instruction; safety.