Minnesota Driving Record: Conviction Counts, Not Points

First: there are no points

Minnesota tickets carry no points. With no total to shrink, there is no such thing here as a point reduction class, and any guide telling you a ticket adds points to your Minnesota record has it wrong.

The state counts convictions. Statute 171.18 gives the commissioner power to suspend a habitual violator of traffic laws, and Rule 7409.2200 spells out the numbers and the length of each suspension.

The counts that lead to suspension

Every traffic conviction under chapter 169, chapter 171 and other driving laws counts, except those the law orders left off your record. Each suspension tier below presumes DVS has already warned you at the bottom tier.

• First tier (warning letter or preliminary hearing): two misdemeanors, or three offenses inside 24 months
• 30 days: once warned, four inside 12 months or five inside 24
• 90 days: five inside 12 months or six inside 24
• 180 days: seven inside 24 months
• One year: eight or more inside 24 months

A worked example

A driver is convicted of speeding in March, of a stop sign violation in July, and of an illegal turn the following January. Three in 24 months means a warning letter. A fourth conviction in May, within 12 months of the July ticket, would mean a 30 day suspension. If that May ticket had been 9 over in a 55 zone, it would not be recorded and would not count.

Warning letters and preliminary hearings

Hit two misdemeanors, or three offenses of any traffic kind, inside 24 months and DVS either writes to warn you or orders you to a preliminary hearing. The letter is mailed to the last address it has, listing your violations and the consequences of more, so update your address whenever you move.

Rule 7409.4500 covers drivers who skipped the warning stage entirely: reach two misdemeanors within a year, four offenses within a year, or five within two years without ever being warned, and attendance at a preliminary hearing is compulsory. Fail to attend and DVS may suspend you for 30 days, or for however long your count requires.

Offenses that revoke immediately

Certain convictions never go through the tally. Statute 171.17 orders instant revocation for driving impaired, criminal vehicular homicide or injury, running from police, any felony committed with a vehicle, leaving a crash where someone was injured or killed, and making false statements on a DVS application.

The same statute covers going over 100 mph, which means six months of revocation at least, and three jailable traffic offenses inside 12 months. On top of that, statute 171.18 permits a suspension when a traffic conviction more serious than a petty misdemeanor helped cause a crash with injury, death or major property damage.

What never counts against you

Some things Minnesota never records. DVS is barred from entering speeding of up to 10 over in a 55 or up to 5 over in a 60, any administrative citation issued under statute 169.999, or anything caught by the camera pilot. Courts do not even send DVS parking, equipment, or size and weight violations.

Commercial drivers get none of these breaks, whether by license or by vehicle. And since 2021, DVS has been unable to suspend anyone merely for leaving a traffic fine unpaid, although the court may still turn the debt over to collections.

Over time: how long convictions stay

Statute 171.12 makes DVS hold onto crashes, convictions, suspensions, revocations and cancellations for five years or longer. Impaired driving and the license actions that go with it, felonies involving a vehicle, and a handful of other grave offenses never leave.

Suspensions only look at the 12 or 24 months before your latest conviction. So a ticket can remain visible for years after it has stopped counting toward a habitual violator suspension.

For parents: teen drivers face tighter limits

A teen on a permit needs six clean months, free of moving and alcohol convictions, to take the road test. Once on a provisional license, statute 171.055 says that a single crash-related violation, any alcohol or drug conviction, or a second moving violation postpones the full license by 12 months from the conviction, or to the 18th birthday.

Vanessa's Law adds that a teen revoked over a crash or over alcohol or a controlled substance cannot drive again before 18. A single ticket can therefore cost a new driver much more time than one suspension costs an adult.

If you are suspended: limited licenses

Statute 171.30 allows DVS to grant a limited license during many suspensions and some revocations, provided driving is essential to your job, college classes, substance use treatment, or running a household. Hours, routes and vehicles can be restricted, and DVS may want to see that buses or carpools would be a real hardship.

The decision weighs your entire record, including how many past convictions you have, how serious they were, and how far you drive in a year. Straying outside the limits is a fresh violation and can earn its own suspension.

Your record and your insurance

A copy of your own record costs $9, or $10 certified, as of October 2026; ask for it on the online driver services site or with the DVS request form. After any court case, check that what was recorded matches the final result.

Insurers set your rates using that record, and no Minnesota course wipes a conviction from their view either. If you are 55 or older, the four hour accident prevention course offsets some cost, since the law guarantees it at least 10% off.