Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 169.50 (2026)

Rear Lamps

✓ current as of May 2026

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Subdivision 1.Requirements; exception.

(a) Every motor vehicle and every vehicle that is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles must be equipped with at least one tail lamp, exhibiting a red light plainly visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear.

(b) Every motor vehicle, other than a truck-tractor, and every vehicle that is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles, registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1960, must be equipped with at least two tail lamps mounted on the rear and on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable. When lighted, the tail lamps must comply with the provisions of this section.

(c) An implement of husbandry being towed by a motor vehicle at a speed of not more than 35 miles per hour, displaying a slow-moving vehicle emblem, and complying with section 169.55, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (4), is not subject to the requirements of this section.

Subd. 2.License plates.

Either such rear lamp or separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it legible from a distance of 50 feet to the rear. Any rear lamp or rear lamps, together with any separate lamp for illuminating the rear registration plate, shall be so wired as to be lighted whenever the headlamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.

Subd. 3.Reflectors.

On and after January 1, 1960, each new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, hereafter sold and each such vehicle hereafter operated on a highway, shall carry at the rear either as a part of the rear lamp, or separately, at least two reflectors. The reflectors shall be of a type approved by the commissioner of public safety and shall be mounted as close as is practicable to the extreme edges of the vehicle at a height not more than 60, nor less than 20 inches above the surface upon which the vehicle stands. Each such reflector shall be so designed and maintained as to be visible at night from all distances within 300 to 50 feet from the vehicle, except that on a commercial vehicle the reflectors shall be visible from all distances within 500 to 50 feet from the vehicle, when directly in front of a motor vehicle displaying lawfully lighted headlamps.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1958–2024 · leading case: Lee v. Smith, 92 N.W.2d 117 (Minn. 1958).

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Lee v. Smith, 92 N.W.2d 117 (Minn. 1958). · cites it 5× “In its instructions to the jury the trial court read various statutory provisions relating to the operation of automobiles, which defendant contends were inapplicable and misleading. These claims of error are specifically directed to the reading of M.”

State v. DeRose, 365 N.W.2d 284 (Minn. Ct. App. 1985). “§§ 169.50, subd. 1, 169.57, subds. 1, 3 (1984).”

Risacher v. Lien, 155 N.W.2d 382 (Minn. 1967). “§§ 169.50, 169.55. The jury found, also, that plaintiff’s negligence was a proximate cause of the collision.”

State of Minnesota v. Carl Douglas Smith (Minn. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 6× “The district court denied the suppression motion and “agree[d] with [the deputy’]s assertion that the rear taillight was not plainly visible as mandated by Minn. Stat. § 169.50 , subd. 1(a).” Accordingly, the district court concluded that, because the deputy saw a motorcycle…”

State of Minnesota v. Scott Andrew Syversrud (Minn. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× “See Minn. Stat. § 169.50 , subd. 1 (2012) (requiring that motor vehicles be equipped with at least two tail lamps that emit red light).”

Janssen v. Neal, 256 N.W.2d 292 (Minn. 1977). “1971, § 169.50, subd. 1. That statute provided: “Every motor vehicle and every vehicle which is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles shall be equipped with at least one tail lamp, exhibiting a red light plainly visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear.”

Brian Jeffrey Serber v. Comm'r of Pub. Saf. (Minn. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “1(a) (2012), and also noticed that the vehicle did not have an operating license-plate light, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 169.50 , subd. 2 (2012). Officer Stier stopped the vehicle and made contact with the driver, Serber.”

State of Minnesota v. Cooper Allen Thompson (Minn. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “See Minn. Stat. § 169.50 , subd. 2 (2010) (requiring cars “to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it legible from a distance of 50 feet to the rear”).”

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