Moving to Minnesota: register your vehicle within 60 days, switch your driver’s license (up to 60 days on a valid out-of-state license), and then sort out the rest. Each step below cites the agency.
Do these in roughly this order. Each item says where the rule comes from.
First Weeks
- Register your vehicle (60 days). Bring the odometer reading, insurance company, policy number and expiration date, and the current out-of-state title or an accepted copy. DVS, vehicle registration for new residents.
- Get a Minnesota driver’s license (up to 60 days on your old one). If you are over 21 with a valid, unexpired non-commercial license from another state, DVS says you do not have to take a written or road test. DVS, class D license for a new resident; Minnesota Statutes 171.03.
- Commercial license holders: 30 days. Minnesota Statutes 171.03.
- Look up the sales tax where you live. Combine 6.875% with the local rate; see Minnesota taxes.
First Months
- Fishing license: a resident license needs at least 60 consecutive days of legal Minnesota residence, and anyone 21 or older needs a Minnesota license or state ID (or an application receipt at least 60 days old). DNR, Fishing.
- State parks: a vehicle permit is $7 for a day or $35 for a year, per the DNR; see the permit answer.
- Before the first snow: read MnDOT’s winter driving tips and bookmark 511mn.org.
What The Driver’s License Visit Looks Like
When DVS announced the 2023 rule change for new residents it listed two documents showing full name and birth date, the out-of-state license or a certified driving record, a Social Security number if you are eligible for one, and a $38 fee for a class D license. That page is dated July 3, 2023, so confirm the documents and fee on the current DVS page before you go. Source: DPS news release.
Explore While You Settle In
Things to do, state parks and the monthly events calendar.
What We Could Not Verify
- Fees and documents change; the license fee is from a 2023 release and the current DVS page was not checked for it.
- Insurance rules, school enrollment, utilities and health coverage: not covered.
- Not confirmed: the Secretary of State’s voter registration page would not load for our reader, so we do not state voter rules here. Check with the Minnesota Secretary of State before you register.
More Minnesota Guides
- Housing Costs
- Places To Live
- Income, Education And Commute
- Taxes
- Moving To Minnesota
- New Resident Checklist
- Answers
- Open Data
Questions People Ask
Do I need to take a driving test to get a Minnesota license?
DVS says no written or road test is needed to transfer a valid, unexpired non-commercial license from another state if you are over 21. Other cases differ; see the DVS page.
What do I need to register a car in Minnesota?
DVS lists the odometer reading, insurance details and, for an out-of-state vehicle, the current title or an accepted copy.
Sources
- DVS: Vehicle registration for new Minnesota resident, read November 1, 2026
- DVS: Class D driver license for new resident, read November 1, 2026
- DPS news: new law for new residents (July 3, 2023), read November 1, 2026
- Minnesota Statutes 171.03, read November 1, 2026
- DNR: Fishing, read November 1, 2026
- DNR: State parks vehicle permit, read November 1, 2026
- MnDOT: Winter driving tips, read November 1, 2026
Checked November 1, 2026 by It’s Minnesota. Cite this page: It’s Minnesota, “New Resident Checklist” (itsminnesota.com/living/new-resident-checklist/), checked November 1, 2026. Free to quote with a link.