Minnesota Next Steps After Your Permit: Practice, Road Test, and License Upgrade

The minimum permit-holding period depends on age. Drivers under 18 generally need 6 months before applying for a provisional license. A previously unlicensed applicant who is exactly 18 also needs 6 months, while an applicant age 19 or older generally needs 3 months before the road test.

When Can You Take the Minnesota Road Test After Getting Your Permit?

The road-test timeline depends on your age and, for teen applicants, completion of the required supervised practice and driver education.

For teen practice-hour totals and logging rules, use the dedicated Minnesota permit driving-rules guide. Use the official Minnesota Supervised Driving Log when a log is required.

What Practice Rules Must Minnesota Permit Holders Follow During the Permit Phase

Permit holders must practice with a qualified licensed driver in the front passenger seat and follow Minnesota permit restrictions. For a permit holder under 18, the supervising driver generally must be 21 or older; for a permit holder age 18 or older, the accompanying licensed driver may be an adult age 18 or older.

Under-18 permit holders also have stricter wireless-device restrictions. See the dedicated driving restrictions and supervisor requirements page for the full rules.

What Should You Complete Before Booking Your Minnesota Road Test?

• Finish the minimum permit-holding period for your age.
• If you are under 18, complete the applicable driver-education and supervised-practice requirements.
• Make sure you can bring the required permit/DVS proof and an eligible vehicle on test day.

Use the dedicated waiting-period, practice-hours, road-test documents and vehicle pages for the detailed requirements.

How Do You Move From a Minnesota Permit to a Driver's License?

Once you have completed the age-based holding period and any required teen practice or driver-education steps, schedule the Class D road test through Minnesota DVS.

What License Do You Get After Passing the Minnesota Road Test if You Are Under 18 vs. 18 or Older?

A qualifying applicant who is under 18 moves into Minnesota's provisional-license stage. An applicant age 18 or older generally completes the standard Class D license transaction after meeting the applicable permit and road-test requirements.

Road-test location choice, fees, required documents and vehicle eligibility each have dedicated guides. Check those pages before test day rather than using this next-steps page as a second checklist.

After you pass, complete the applicable provisional or Class D license transaction. See the Minnesota road test and license guide for the detailed road-test steps.

What Happens Immediately After You Pass the Minnesota Road Test?

Passing the road test completes the driving-test step. You still need to finish the applicable provisional or Class D license issuance transaction and pay the license fee before relying on the new license credential.