MN driver’s license delays worsen, fix expected in spring 2025

EAGLE BEND, Minn. (FOX 9) - Getting your first driver’s license in Minnesota may be harder now than ever before.

Landing an appointment for that final behind-the-wheel test became a frustrating experience several years ago, but now it seems nearly impossible.

"Olivia, Little Falls, Willmar, Winona," said Gennifer Anderson of Eagle Bend, as she scrolled through the list of cities where examiners give the tests.

Pick a city, any city in Minnesota, and there are no appointments available to schedule the road test you need to get a driver’s license.

"Morse and Slayton, and those have nothing either," Anderson said as she finished the entire list. "So no availability for the next 30 days."

Anderson and her 16-year-old son, Seth, started their search in May.

"It was a huge surprise to see that it's like impossible and that every time I log in, there are no options," Anderson said. "Like not anywhere in the state, not for an hour away, not three hours away, not like 30 days out."

Seth has passed his written test, got his permit, and logged his hours with an adult driver. He has a car and thought he’d be driving himself to his job at a Todd County nursing home this summer.

"I work [the] evening shift, so it's pretty late, and my mom is not a night owl, so I would like to be able to drive myself there and back," said Seth.

But the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) website is a barrier he can’t overcome, and he needs his mother’s taxi service every day.

"I know it's really frustrating for Minnesotans," said DPS Driver and Vehicle Services director Pong Xiong.

He says the Department of Vehicle Services (DVS) is doing more exams than ever before, but they can’t keep up with demand. They have 112 examiners for an expected minimum of 215,000 class D tests this year. In 2023, they got through 143,183 exams.

The state legislature added funding for about 30 new examiners and those jobs are posted this week.

"DVS has promised that they will be able to get it down to the two-week maximum mandatory wait time as soon as everyone is onboarded," said Sen. Scott Dibble, (DFL)-Minneapolis, the head of the Senate transportation committee that approved the funding.

But getting people scheduled and tested within 14 days, as Dibble mentioned state law requires, won’t happen until at least spring.

"It will take us some time to catch up to the pace in which Minnesotans are needing tests," Xiong said.

A couple of hacks for folks who need to schedule tests:

• About 20% of people who schedule them don’t show up despite a recently added $20 fee for a no-show, so you can get on a waiting list for an office to let you know about open slots.
• New appointments are posted early in the morning, not long after midnight every day.