Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 169.79 (2026)

Vehicle Registration; Displaying License Plates

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MN-REVrevisor.mn.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Subdivision 1.Registration required.

No person shall operate, drive, or park a motor vehicle on any highway unless the vehicle is registered in accordance with the laws of this state and has the number plates or permit confirming that valid registration or operating authority has been obtained, except as provided in sections 168.10 and 168.12, subdivision 2f, as assigned to it by the commissioner of public safety, conspicuously displayed thereon in a manner that the view of any plate or permit is not obstructed. A plate issued under section 168.27 or a permit issued under chapter 168 may be displayed on a vehicle in conjunction with expired registration whether or not it displays the license plate to which the last registration was issued.

Subd. 2.Semitrailer.

If the vehicle is a semitrailer, the number plate displayed must be assigned to the registered owner and correlate to the documentation on file with the department.

Subd. 3.Rear display of single plate.

If the vehicle is a motorcycle, motor scooter, motorized bicycle, motorcycle sidecar, trailer registered at greater than 3,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW), semitrailer, or vehicle displaying a dealer plate, then one license plate must be displayed horizontally or vertically, for a motorcycle issued vertical license plates under section 168.12, subdivision 2a, with the identifying numbers and letters facing outward from the vehicle and must be mounted on the rear of the vehicle.

Subd. 3a.Small trailer.

If the vehicle is a trailer with 3,000 pounds or less GVW with lifetime registration, the numbered plate or sticker must be adhered to the side of the trailer frame tongue near the hitch.

Subd. 3b.Roadable aircraft.

Notwithstanding subdivision 1 and section 168.09, subdivision 1, a roadable aircraft is not required to display a license plate.

Subd. 4.Collector's vehicle.

If the vehicle is (1) a collector's vehicle with a pioneer, classic car, collector, or street rod license; (2) a vehicle that meets the requirements of a pioneer, classic, or street rod vehicle except that the vehicle is used for general transportation purposes; or (3) a vehicle that is of model year 1972 or earlier, not registered under section 168.10, subdivision 1c, and is used for general transportation purposes, then one plate must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle, or one plate on the front and one on the rear, at the discretion of the owner.

Subd. 5.Truck-tractor, road-tractor, or farm truck.

If the vehicle is a truck-tractor, road-tractor, or farm truck, as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 8, but excluding from that definition semitrailers and trailers, then one plate must be displayed on the front of the vehicle.

Subd. 6.Other motor vehicles.

If the motor vehicle is any kind of motor vehicle other than those provided for in subdivisions 2 to 4, one plate must be displayed on the front and one on the rear of the vehicle.

Subd. 7.Plate fastened and visible.

All plates must be (1) securely fastened so as to prevent them from swinging, (2) displayed horizontally with the identifying numbers and letters facing outward from the vehicle, and (3) mounted in the upright position. The person driving the motor vehicle shall keep the plate legible and unobstructed and free from grease, dust, or other blurring material so that the lettering is plainly visible at all times. It is unlawful to cover any assigned letters and numbers or the name of the state of origin of a license plate with any material whatever, including any clear or colorless material that affects the plate's visibility or reflectivity.

Subd. 8.Plate registration stickers.

As viewed facing the plates:

(a) License plates issued to vehicles registered under section 168.017 must display the month of expiration in the lower left corner of each plate and the year of expiration in the lower right corner of each plate.

(b) License plates issued to vehicles registered under section 168.127 must display either fleet registration validation stickers in the lower right corner of each plate or distinctive license plates, issued by the registrar, with "FLEET REG" displayed on the bottom center portion of each plate.

(c) License plates issued after July 1, 2008, requiring validation must display the month of expiration in the lower left corner of each plate and the year of expiration in the lower right corner of the plate.

Subd. 9.Tax-exempt vehicle marking.

Vehicles displaying tax-exempt plates issued under section 16B.581 or 168.012 must have vehicle markings that comply with section 168.012, subdivision 1.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 17 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: State v. White, 759 N.W.2d 667 (Minn. Ct. App. 2009).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

State v. White, 759 N.W.2d 667 (Minn. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 30× “Appellant argues that the district court incorrectly interpreted Minn. Stat. § 169.79 , subd. 7, to prohibit the use of any license plate cover, and that under a correct interpretation of the statute, his license plate cover did not violate the statute so as to justify the…”

Reuben Garcia v. City of New Hope, 984 F.3d 655 (8th Cir. 2021). · cites it 2× “” Minn. Stat. Ann. § 169.79 , subdiv. 7. -5- when they handcuffed him.”

State v. Johnson, 598 N.W.2d 680 (Minn. 1999). · cites it 4× “2, and for driving with an expired registration in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169.79. Approximately one hour later, the same officer stopped Johnson at a different location in Cass County but still within the boundaries of her tribal reservation, and again cited her for driving…”

State v. Pettee, 538 N.W.2d 126 (Minn. 1995). · cites it 2× “797, the court may not impose a consecutive sentence for another violation of a provision of sections 169.79 to 169.7995. (e) This subdivision does not limit the authority of the court to impose consecutive sentences for crimes arising on different dates or to impose a…”

State v. Meland, 616 N.W.2d 757 (Minn. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “In the early morning hours of June 15, 1999, Minneapolis police officer Patrick Windus observed Meland driving a vehicle with expired license plate tabs, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169.79 (1998). Upon stopping Meland for the expired tabs, Windus observed Meland’s indicia of…”

State v. Rohde, 839 N.W.2d 758 (Minn. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “Minn.Stat. § 169.79, subd. 1 (2012). “[Highway” is defined under Minn.”

United States v. Jeffrey Allen Stoltz, 683 F.3d 934 (8th Cir. 2012). “See Minn.Stat. § 169.79, subd. 6 (“[0]ne [license] plate must be displayed on the front and one on the rear of the vehicle.”

State v. Setinich, 822 N.W.2d 9 (Minn. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “2d 81 (1986) (noting that “it is unreasonable to have an expectation of privacy in an object required by law to be located in a place ordinarily in plain view from the exterior of the automobile”); Minn.Stat. § 169.79, subd. 1 (2010) (requiring license plates to be…”

State v. Langaas, 426 N.W.2d 479 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 4× “09, no Minnesota registration; Minn. Stat. § 169.79 , failure to display number plates/no registration; Minn.”

State v. Kittridge, 613 N.W.2d 771 (Minn. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 17× “Kittridge argues that construing Minn.Stat. § 169.79 to prohibit displaying on the front of a motor vehicle a license plate that is not current while a current drive-away in transit license plate is displayed on the rear of the vehicle is inconsistent with Minn.”

State of Minnesota v. Steven Charles Lind (Minn. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 6× “Lind was cited for (1) operating a motor vehicle without required registration, see Minn. Stat. § 169.79 , subd. 1 (2014); (2) operating a motor vehicle by an owner who knows that the vehicle does not have the required insurance, see Minn.”

Daniel Roy Gibbs v. Comm'r of Pub. Saf. (Minn. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 8× “Commercial vehicles such as the one appellant was driving1 are generally required by Minn. Stat. § 169.79 , subd. 3 (2012), to display rear license plates.”

Show all 17 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.