Minnesota Criminal Laws: Felony and Misdemeanor Classes, Theft, Self-Defense and Bail
Minnesota criminal law basics: felony and misdemeanor classes and penalties, the felony theft amount, stand your ground and castle doctrine, statutes of limitations, bail and public defenders, from state statutes.
Quick answers for Minnesota
- How much theft is a felony
- Theft of property or services worth more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000 is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a fine up to $10,000 (felony). More than $5,000 — up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 3
- Stand your ground / duty to retreat
- Minnesota imposes a duty to retreat when reasonably possible; the rule comes from case law, not the statute. The Minnesota Supreme Court reads the self-defense statute (§ 609.06, subd. State v. Blevins, No. A22-0432 (Minn. July 31, 2024); State v. Basting, 572 N.W.2d at 285-86 (as cited in Blevins); Minn. Stat. §§ 609.06, 609.065
- Criminal statutes of limitations
- No limit: charges for an offense resulting in the victim's death may be filed at any time after the death; Minn. Stat. § 628.26
- Marijuana possession
- Adult-use cannabis is legal. An individual 21 or older may possess or transport two ounces or less of adult-use cannabis flower in a public place, and possess two pounds or less of adult-use cannabis flower in the individual's private residence (§ 342.09, subd. Minn. Stat. §§ 342.09, 152.0263
Last verified: 2026-10-27
Felonies, misdemeanors and theft
| Felony classes and maximum sentences | Minnesota does not group felonies into lettered classes or degrees; the maximum sentence is set in each offense's statute. A 'felony' is 'a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment for one year or more may be imposed' (§ 609.02, subd. 2). When no punishment is otherwise fixed for a felony, the sentence may be imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of not more than $10,000, or both (§ 609.03). Definition: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
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| Misdemeanor classes and maximum penalties | Gross misdemeanor — any crime that is not a felony or misdemeanor; maximum fine $3,000 (§ 609.02, subd. 4); when not otherwise fixed, up to 364 days' imprisonment, a fine up to $3,000, or both (§ 609.03). Misdemeanor — not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both (§ 609.02, subd. 3). Petty misdemeanor — a petty offense prohibited by statute that 'does not constitute a crime,' with a fine of not more than $300 (§ 609.02, subd. 4a). |
| How much theft is a felony | Theft of property or services worth more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000 is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a fine up to $10,000 (felony). More than $5,000 — up to 10 years and/or $20,000. More than $35,000 (for listed theft types), or a firearm — up to 20 years and/or $100,000. More than $500 but not more than $1,000 — up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (gross misdemeanor); $500 or less — up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (misdemeanor). Theft of $1,000 or less is still in the 5-year tier in listed cases, e.g., a motor vehicle, property taken from the person of another, or public funds; and $500–$1,000 is in the 5-year tier with a qualifying prior conviction within five years. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 3 |
Self-defense
| Stand your ground / duty to retreat | Minnesota imposes a duty to retreat when reasonably possible; the rule comes from case law, not the statute. The Minnesota Supreme Court reads the self-defense statute (§ 609.06, subd. 1(3)) to include four elements, the fourth being 'the absence of a reasonable possibility of retreat to avoid the danger.' In State v. Blevins (July 31, 2024), the court held that this judicially created duty applies to a person claiming self-defense who committed felony second-degree assault-fear with a device designed as a weapon capable of producing death or great bodily harm. Intentionally taking a life is authorized only when necessary to resist or prevent an offense the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or death, or to prevent a felony in the actor's place of abode (§ 609.065). Copy of the Supreme Court opinion posted on the Minnesota House website. Statute: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.065 |
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| Castle doctrine (defending your home) | There is no duty to retreat from one's own home when acting in self-defense in the home, 'regardless of whether the aggressor is a co-resident' (State v. Glowacki, 630 N.W.2d 392, 402 (Minn. 2001), as quoted in Blevins). The lack of a duty to retreat does not remove the requirement that force be reasonable. In State v. Devens (Minn. 2014) the court declined to extend the castle doctrine to an apartment hallway. By statute, deadly force may be used to prevent 'the commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode' (§ 609.065). A person lawfully in possession of property may use reasonable force to resist a trespass or unlawful interference (§ 609.06, subd. 1(4)). Case holdings as described in State v. Blevins: https://www.house.mn.gov/comm/docs/A8LRhZtVs0a1V_fv96tTHw.pdf |
Charges, bail and your lawyer
| Criminal statutes of limitations | No limit: charges for an offense resulting in the victim's death may be filed at any time after the death; also no limit for kidnapping (§ 609.25), sex trafficking of a victim under 18, and criminal sexual conduct offenses under §§ 609.342 to 609.345 and 609.3458. Arson (§ 609.561): within 10 years. Certain offenses (e.g., listed thefts over $35,000, identity theft with eight or more victims): 5 years; certain others 6 years. 'In all other cases' — felonies and misdemeanors alike — within three years after the offense. Time the defendant is not an inhabitant of or usually resident in Minnesota, time in pretrial diversion, and time while DNA evidence is being analyzed are excluded. Source: Minn. Stat. § 628.26 |
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| Bail and pretrial release | The Minnesota Constitution provides that all persons before conviction 'shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,' except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great (art. I, § 7). Under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the court must release a defendant on personal recognizance or an unsecured appearance bond unless release would endanger public safety or not reasonably assure appearance; and the court must set money bail without other conditions on which the defendant may be released by posting cash or sureties (Rule 6.02, subd. 1). Factors include the nature of the offense, weight of the evidence, family ties, employment, financial resources, convictions, prior court appearances, and safety of the victim and community (subd. 2). The court must review conditions of release on request of any party (subd. 4). For warrantless misdemeanor arrests, officers generally must issue a citation and release the person (Rule 6.01). Constitution: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/constitution/ |
| Right to a public defender | A person asks the court to appoint counsel; the court decides financial eligibility. A defendant is financially unable to obtain counsel if the defendant (or a dependent in the same household) receives means-tested assistance, or if the court finds the defendant's liquid assets and current income are insufficient to pay the reasonable costs of private counsel in that judicial district. The applicant must submit a financial statement under oath on forms supplied by the state public defender; refusing to do so waives the right to a public defender. Upon disposition of the case, a person who received public defender services shall pay the court a $75 co-payment, which the court may reduce or waive; it is a civil obligation. Source: Minn. Stat. § 611.17 |
Other common questions
| Age of consent | Under the criminal sexual conduct statutes, consent is not a defense when the complainant is under 16 and the actor is more than 24 months older. Third-degree criminal sexual conduct covers sexual penetration where 'the complainant is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age' and 'the actor is more than 24 months older than the complainant' (§ 609.344, subd. 1a(b)); if the actor is no more than 60 months older, it is an affirmative defense that the actor reasonably believed the complainant was 16 or older; otherwise neither mistake of age nor consent is a defense. First-degree applies where 'the complainant is under 14 years of age and the actor is more than 36 months older' (§ 609.342, subd. 1a(e)). For complainants 16 to under 18, offenses apply where the actor is more than 36 months older and in a position of authority, or has a significant relationship with the complainant (§ 609.344, subd. 1a(e)-(g)). Maximum for third degree: 15 years and/or $30,000. First degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.342 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.342, 609.344 |
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| Marijuana possession | Adult-use cannabis is legal. An individual 21 or older may possess or transport two ounces or less of adult-use cannabis flower in a public place, and possess two pounds or less of adult-use cannabis flower in the individual's private residence (§ 342.09, subd. 1). Up to eight cannabis plants, with no more than four mature, flowering plants, may be grown at a single residence (subd. 2). Possession over the limits is graded by amount (§ 152.0263): fourth degree (petty misdemeanor) — flower over 2 oz up to 4 oz outside the residence; third degree (misdemeanor, up to 90 days and/or $1,000) — over 4 oz up to 1 lb outside the residence; second degree (gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days and/or $3,000) — over 1 lb up to 2 lbs outside the residence; first degree (up to 5 years and/or $10,000) — over 2 lbs up to 10 kg. Separate tiers apply to concentrate and edibles. Penalties: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.0263 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 342.09, 152.0263 |
Assault, battery and domestic violence
| Assault | Simple assault is called fifth-degree assault: doing something meant to make someone fear immediate bodily harm or death, or intentionally inflicting or trying to inflict bodily harm. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); it becomes a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) with a qualified domestic violence-related conviction within the past three years (or ten years if the same victim), and a felony (up to five years and/or $10,000) with two or more such priors. Higher degrees are felonies: third-degree assault (substantial bodily harm) up to five years and/or $10,000; second-degree assault (with a dangerous weapon) up to seven years and/or $14,000, or ten years and/or $20,000 if it causes substantial bodily harm; first-degree assault (great bodily harm) up to 20 years and/or $30,000. Third: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.223 ; second: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.222 ; first: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.221 ; Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
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| Battery | Minnesota has no separate battery offense. Its assault statutes cover both trying to make someone fear harm and intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm, so a battery is charged as fifth-degree assault (a misdemeanor) or a higher degree of assault depending on the injury or weapon. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.224, subd. 1 |
| Domestic violence | Assault against a family or household member is the separate crime of domestic assault. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if committed within ten years of a previous qualified domestic violence-related conviction; and a felony (up to five years and/or $10,000) within ten years of the first of two or more such prior convictions. Assaulting a family or household member by strangulation (intentionally impeding normal breathing or blood circulation by pressure on the throat or neck or blocking the nose or mouth) is a felony punishable by up to three years, a fine up to $5,000, or both. Strangulation: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.2247 ; family or household member defined in § 518B.01, subd. 2. Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
| Harassment and stalking | Harassment is following, monitoring or pursuing someone (in person or through technology), repeatedly calling or texting, or repeatedly sending items, including electronically, with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate, causing reasonable fear of substantial bodily harm or substantial emotional distress. It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000). Aggravated harassment under subdivision 3 is a felony up to five years; a repeat violation is a felony up to five years, or up to ten years within ten years of the first of two or more prior qualified convictions. Stalking (two or more qualifying acts within five years that make the victim feel terrorized or fear bodily harm) is a felony punishable by up to ten years. Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
Shoplifting, burglary, vandalism and trespassing
| Shoplifting and petty theft | Shoplifting is charged as theft. Stealing property worth $500 or less is punishable by up to 90 days, a fine up to $1,000, or both (a misdemeanor); more than $500 up to $1,000 is punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (a gross misdemeanor). Theft of more than $500 but not more than $1,000 moves into the five-year felony tier when the person has a qualifying conviction within the preceding five years. Civilly, a person who steals from a retail store owes the retail price of the merchandise plus punitive damages of $50 or up to 100 percent of the value, whichever is greater. Civil: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/604.14 ; Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
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| Burglary and robbery | Burglary is entering a building without consent and intending to commit, or committing, a crime inside. Fourth degree (intent to commit a non-theft misdemeanor) carries up to 364 days and/or $3,000; third degree (intent to steal or commit a felony or gross misdemeanor) up to five years and/or $10,000; second degree (a dwelling, a bank, a pharmacy, or certain public or religious buildings, or having a burglary tool) up to ten years and/or $20,000; first degree (an occupied dwelling, being armed, or assaulting someone inside) up to 20 years and/or $35,000, with at least six months for an occupied dwelling. Simple robbery (taking property from a person using or threatening force) carries up to ten years and/or $20,000; second-degree aggravated robbery (implying a weapon) up to 15 years and/or $30,000; first-degree aggravated robbery (armed, or inflicting bodily harm) up to 20 years and/or $35,000. Robbery: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.24 ; aggravated robbery: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.245 |
| Vandalism (property damage) | Vandalism is called criminal damage to property. Damage of $500 or less is fourth degree, a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). More than $500 but not more than $1,000, or damage to a known public safety vehicle, is third degree, punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000. Damage over $1,000 (or $500 or more with a conviction in the preceding three years, or damage creating certain safety risks) is first degree, a felony up to five years and/or $10,000. Bias-motivated damage is raised a level (second degree, a felony up to one year and a day and/or $3,000). No separate graffiti statute was reviewed. Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
| Trespassing | Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000) in most forms, including refusing to leave someone's property when the lawful possessor demands it, entering another's dwelling or a locked or posted building without consent, returning within one year after being told to leave and not return, and entering a locked or posted construction or mining site. It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) to trespass on a battered women's shelter or similar facility and refuse to leave, to enter posted agricultural land where commercial animals are kept, or for a group of three or more to enter a school building without a qualifying person. The trespass statute contains no felony level. Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
Drugs and driving crimes
| Drug possession | Possessing a controlled substance (other than cannabis or hemp products) is fifth-degree possession, a felony punishable by up to five years, a fine up to $10,000, or both. For a person with no prior drug conviction, it is only a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if the amount is less than 0.25 grams (less than 0.05 grams for heroin) or one dosage unit or less. For a first-time fifth-degree possession offender, the court must (and for some other possession crimes may) defer proceedings and place the person on probation; on successful completion the case is dismissed without an adjudication of guilt. Minnesota repealed its drug paraphernalia possession statute (§ 152.092) in 2023. Deferral: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.18 ; repeal: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.092 |
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| Hit and run | A driver involved in a crash must stop, stay at the scene and give information and help. For a driver who did not cause the collision, leaving the scene is a felony with up to three years and/or $5,000 if someone died, a felony with up to two years and/or $4,000 for great bodily harm, and punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 for substantial bodily harm or other bodily harm. Leaving the scene of a crash damaging only an attended or unattended vehicle or other fixtures is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 . Source: Minn. Stat. § 169.09, subd. 14 |
| Reckless driving | Reckless driving is driving while aware of and consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the driving may harm others or their property, or racing on a street or highway. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it causes great bodily harm or death to another. The lesser offense of careless driving (driving carelessly or heedlessly in disregard of others' rights or in a way that endangers people or property) is also a misdemeanor. Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
Arrests, court dates and probation
| Resisting arrest | Minnesota calls resisting arrest obstructing legal process or arrest: intentionally obstructing, resisting or interfering with a peace officer doing official duties, or obstructing an arrest. It is punishable by up to 90 days and/or $1,000 in ordinary cases, up to 364 days and/or $3,000 if it involves force or violence or the threat of it, and up to five years and/or $10,000 if the person knew it created a risk of death, substantial bodily harm or serious property damage, or it caused such harm. Fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle is a felony punishable by up to three years and one day and/or $5,000; up to five years if it causes substantial bodily harm, seven years if great bodily harm, and 40 years if it causes a death. Fleeing on foot or by other means is a misdemeanor. Fleeing: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.487 ; Grade penalties: misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3); gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (§§ 609.02, subd. 4; 609.03): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 , https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
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| Missing a court date | A person charged with or convicted of a felony who is released and intentionally fails to appear when required, after being notified that missing court is a crime or being released on condition of appearing, is guilty of failure to appear and may be sentenced to up to one-half of the maximum prison term or fine for the underlying crime, but the maximum is never less than one year and one day or a $1,500 fine. The felony charge must be dismissed if the person voluntarily surrenders within 48 hours (unless arrested). A person charged with a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor who intentionally fails to appear for trial after such notice is guilty of a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). It is an affirmative defense that the failure was due to circumstances beyond the person's control. Default penalties (felony 5 yrs/$10,000; gross misdemeanor 364 days/$3,000; misdemeanor 90 days/$1,000): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.49, 609.03 |
| Probation violation | If a person appears to have violated probation, the court may revoke the stay and order the person taken into custody (or summoned); revocation is to be used only as a last resort when rehabilitation has failed. The person must be told in writing of the alleged grounds and, if they are contested, is entitled to a summary hearing before the judge with the right to be heard and to a lawyer. Under the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, the hearing determines whether clear and convincing evidence of a violation exists and whether probation should be revoked. If a violation is found, the court may continue probation (with or without intermediate sanctions) or execute the previously stayed sentence; if no violation is found, the person is restored to probation. For certain first-time technical violations (such as drug or alcohol use or failing to keep a job), the law states that policies favoring continued probation outweigh the need for confinement. Rule 27.04: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/court_rules/cr/id/27/ |
| Obstruction of justice | Obstructing legal process or arrest (intentionally obstructing the lawful execution of legal process or an arrest, or obstructing, resisting or interfering with a peace officer, firefighter or ambulance crew) is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days and $1,000; it is punishable by up to 364 days and $3,000 if accompanied by force, violence or threats, and by up to five years and $10,000 if the person knew it created a risk of death, substantial bodily harm or serious property damage, or caused such harm. First-degree witness tampering (using force or threats to keep a witness from testifying or reporting a crime, to coerce false testimony, or to retaliate) is a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000; aggravated first-degree witness tampering, involving great bodily harm or death or a credible threat of it, is punishable by up to 20 years and $30,000. Witness tampering: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.498 |
| Perjury (lying under oath) | Perjury is making a false material statement, not believing it to be true, in a proceeding or writing where an oath or affirmation (or a declaration under penalty of perjury) is required or authorized by law. It is a felony punishable by up to seven years and $14,000 if the false statement was made at the trial of a felony charge (or on an explosives license application), and up to five years and $10,000 in all other cases. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.48 |
Public conduct crimes
| Public intoxication | Public drunkenness is not a crime in Minnesota: by statute, no person may be charged with or convicted of the offense of drunkenness or public drunkenness. An intoxicated person can still be prosecuted for other offenses (such as disorderly conduct) and remains civilly liable for injuries caused while intoxicated. Source: Minn. Stat. § 340A.902 |
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| Disorderly conduct | Disorderly conduct is, in a public or private place (including a school bus), knowingly engaging in brawling or fighting, disturbing a lawful assembly or meeting, or engaging in offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous or noisy conduct or language that tends to arouse alarm, anger or resentment in others. It is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days and $1,000. A caregiver who commits disorderly conduct against a vulnerable adult faces up to 364 days and $3,000. The Minnesota Supreme Court held the 'disturbs an assembly or meeting' clause unconstitutional in State v. Hensel (2017). Default penalties (felony 5 yrs/$10,000; gross misdemeanor 364 days/$3,000; misdemeanor 90 days/$1,000): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 ; Hensel note appears on the Revisor's page for 609.72. Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.72, 609.03 |
| Indecent exposure | Willfully and lewdly exposing one's body or private parts, or engaging in open or gross lewdness, in a public place or where others are present is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $3,000) if done in the presence of a minor under 16, or after a prior indecent exposure or criminal sexual conduct conviction. It is a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000 if it is a repeat exposure in front of a minor under 16 after a prior such conviction, or if the person exposes himself or herself while intentionally confining or restricting another person's movement. Breastfeeding is not indecent exposure. Default penalties (felony 5 yrs/$10,000; gross misdemeanor 364 days/$3,000; misdemeanor 90 days/$1,000): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 617.23, 609.03 |
| Prostitution and solicitation | Selling sex (engaging in, or agreeing or offering to be hired for, prostitution with an adult) is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000), a gross misdemeanor if within two years of a prior prostitution conviction, and a gross misdemeanor if it happens in a public place. Buying sex from an adult (a patron hiring, offering or agreeing to hire someone for sexual penetration or contact) is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $3,000) with a minimum fine of $1,500, and a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000 if within ten years of a prior conviction. Buying sex from a minor is a felony punishable by up to five, ten or 20 years depending on the minor's age (16-17, 14-15, or under 14). Default penalties (felony 5 yrs/$10,000; gross misdemeanor 364 days/$3,000; misdemeanor 90 days/$1,000): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
| Gambling | Minnesota permits lawful (charitable) gambling conducted by organizations licensed under chapter 349, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing under chapter 240, the State Lottery, and certain small social card and dice games. Making a bet or possessing an unauthorized gambling device is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). Running a gambling place, conducting an illegal lottery, or receiving or forwarding bets is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days and $3,000, and sports bookmaking is a felony. Offenses: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.755 and https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.76 ; Default penalties (felony 5 yrs/$10,000; gross misdemeanor 364 days/$3,000; misdemeanor 90 days/$1,000): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.03 |
Fraud, embezzlement and blackmail
| Embezzlement | Embezzlement is charged under Minnesota's general theft statute, which covers intentionally and without claim of right taking, using, transferring, concealing or retaining possession of another's property without consent, intending to deprive the owner permanently. Penalties depend on value: $500 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $500 up to $1,000, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $1,000 up to $5,000, up to five years and $10,000; more than $5,000, up to ten years and $20,000; and, for the theft methods listed in subdivision 2, clauses (3), (4), (15), (16) and (19), more than $35,000 carries up to 20 years and $100,000. Theft of public funds is a felony (up to five years) even at $1,000 or less. |
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| Fraud and identity theft | Identity theft is transferring, possessing or using an identity that is not one's own with intent to commit, aid or abet any unlawful activity. Penalties are tied to the theft penalties by loss and number of victims: one victim and $250 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $250 up to $500, up to 364 days and $3,000; two or three victims or more than $500 up to $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; four to seven victims or more than $2,500, up to ten years and $20,000; and eight or more victims or more than $35,000, up to 20 years and $100,000. Financial transaction (credit or debit) card fraud is graded similarly: $250 or less, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $250 up to $2,500, up to five years; more than $2,500, up to ten years; more than $35,000, up to 20 years. Card fraud: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.821 |
| Forgery | Check forgery (falsely making, altering or endorsing a check with intent to defraud) and offering a forged check are graded by amount: $250 or less, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $250 up to $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; more than $2,500, up to ten years and $20,000; more than $35,000, up to 20 years and $100,000. Other forgery (such as using a false writing for identification, falsifying business or public records, or destroying evidence) is punishable by up to three years and $5,000. Writing a bad check (issuing a check the person intends will not be paid) is issuing a dishonored check: $250 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $250 up to $500, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $500, up to five years and $10,000. General forgery: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.63 ; dishonored checks: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.535 |
| Blackmail (extortion) | Blackmail and extortion-type threats are charged as coercion: by an oral or written threat (to inflict bodily harm or confinement, damage property, injure a business, make a criminal charge, or disseminate private sexual images, among others), causing someone to do an act against their will or to refrain from a lawful act. The penalty depends on the gain or loss: $300 or less (or not measurable in money), up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $300 but less than $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; $2,500 or more, up to ten years and $20,000. The Minnesota Supreme Court held the clause covering threats to expose a secret or disgrace someone unconstitutional in State v. Jorgenson (2020). Jorgenson note appears on the Revisor's page for 609.27. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.27 |
Murder, manslaughter and other serious crimes
| Murder (first vs second degree) | First-degree murder includes a premeditated intentional killing; an intentional killing during burglary, aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, first- or second-degree arson, a drive-by shooting or a felony drug sale; killing a peace officer, prosecutor, judge or prison guard on duty; and deaths during a past pattern of child abuse or domestic abuse with extreme indifference to life. It carries life imprisonment. Second-degree murder - an intentional killing without premeditation, a death during a drive-by shooting, or an unintentional killing while committing certain other felonies (felony murder) or while assaulting a person protected by a protection order - carries up to 40 years. Third-degree murder - an unintentional death caused by an eminently dangerous act showing a depraved mind, or by selling or giving a Schedule I or II drug - carries up to 25 years (and, for drug deaths, a fine up to $40,000). Second degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.19; third degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.195 |
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| Manslaughter (voluntary, involuntary, vehicular) | First-degree manslaughter - an intentional killing in the heat of passion provoked as a person of ordinary self-control would be (the crying of a child is not provocation), a death caused while committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor with foreseeable deadly force, killing under coercion, or certain drug-distribution deaths - carries up to 15 years and/or a $30,000 fine. Second-degree manslaughter - a death caused by culpable negligence, negligently shooting someone thought to be a deer, a vicious animal, or child neglect or endangerment - carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Criminal vehicular homicide (a death caused by grossly negligent driving, impaired driving, a 0.08 or higher alcohol concentration, or leaving the scene, among others) carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000, rising to 15 years for impaired-driving violations within ten years of a prior qualified driving offense. Second degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.205; vehicular homicide: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.2112 |
| Child endangerment | A parent, guardian or caretaker who willfully deprives a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision when able to provide it, in a way that harms or is likely to substantially harm the child, commits neglect of a child; one who intentionally or recklessly places a child in a situation likely to substantially harm the child or cause death, or knowingly lets a child be present where illegal drugs are sold or made, commits child endangerment. Each is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000), and becomes a felony with up to 5 years and/or $10,000 if the child suffers substantial harm. Contributing to the delinquency of a child (encouraging, causing or contributing to a child's delinquency or juvenile petty offense by act, word or omission) is a gross misdemeanor. Contributing: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260B.425. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
| Arson | First-degree arson - intentionally damaging a dwelling by fire or explosives (occupied or not, and even if one's own), or another building when someone is or may reasonably be present - carries up to 20 years and a fine up to $20,000 (dwellings) or $35,000 (other buildings). Second-degree arson - any other building regardless of value, or other property worth more than $1,000 - carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Third-degree arson (property worth $300 to $1,000, or foreseeable damage of $300 or more) carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000. Fourth-degree arson (burning personal property in an apartment building or public building) is a gross misdemeanor, and fifth-degree arson (burning any property of value) is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days and/or $1,000. Second: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.562; third: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.563; fourth: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.5631; fifth: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.5632 |
| Human trafficking | Sex trafficking in the first degree (soliciting, promoting, profiting from or sex trafficking an individual under 18) carries up to 25 years and/or $50,000. Second-degree sex trafficking (the same acts with an adult) carries up to 20 years and/or $40,000. Either rises to up to 30 years and/or $60,000 with aggravating factors such as a prior trafficking offense, bodily harm to the victim, more than 180 days of debt bondage or forced labor, or multiple victims. Labor trafficking carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000; up to 20 years and/or $40,000 if the victim is under 18, it lasts an extended period or causes great bodily harm; and up to 25 years and/or $40,000 if the victim dies. Consent or age of the victim is not a defense to labor trafficking. Labor trafficking: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.282 |
| Money laundering | Minnesota charges money laundering as concealing criminal proceeds: conducting a transaction involving monetary instruments worth more than $5,000 while knowing or having reason to know they are proceeds of a felony under the criminal code or drug laws is a felony with up to 10 years and/or a $100,000 fine. Engaging in a business whose primary or secondary purpose is concealing felony proceeds is a felony with up to 20 years and/or a $1,000,000 fine. Business of concealing proceeds: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.497 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.496, 609.497 |
Online crimes and teens
| Revenge porn (sharing intimate images) | Yes. It is a crime to intentionally disseminate an image of an identifiable person engaged in a sexual act or with intimate parts exposed when the actor knows or reasonably should know the person did not consent and the image was obtained or created where the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is a gross misdemeanor, or a felony with up to 3 years and/or a $5,000 fine if, for example, the victim suffers financial loss, the actor seeks profit, posts the image on a website, or acts to harass the victim. A separate statute gives victims a civil cause of action for nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. Civil action: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/604.31. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
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| Cyberbullying | Minnesota's student bullying law (Minn. Stat. § 121A.031) requires school policies covering bullying, including by electronic technology, but does not create a crime. Online harassment can be charged under the harassment statute, which makes a gross misdemeanor of listed harassing acts done with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate that place the victim in reasonable fear of substantial bodily harm or cause substantial emotional distress. It is a felony with up to 5 years and/or $10,000 when committed against a victim under 18 by an actor more than 36 months older, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 when such an act is also done with sexual or aggressive intent. School policy law: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/121A.031. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
| Sexting by minors | Minnesota has no separate sexting offense for minors, and its child sexual abuse material statute contains no exception for minors; its only listed exceptions are for official duties of police, court personnel and attorneys, and for licensed treatment professionals. Possessing child sexual abuse material is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $5,000 fine (up to 10 years and/or $10,000 with aggravating factors such as a prior conviction or delinquency adjudication). Consent of the minor is not a defense. |
| Underage drinking and fake IDs | A person under 21 may not consume alcohol (a defense exists for drinking in a parent's or guardian's home with consent), buy or attempt to buy it, possess it with intent to consume it anywhere other than a parent's or guardian's home, enter a liquor establishment to buy or be served alcohol, or claim to be 21 or older to buy alcohol. These are misdemeanors, and a minimum $100 fine must be imposed on a person under 21. The driver's license of a person under 21 convicted of buying or trying to buy alcohol with a license, ID card or false identification is suspended for 90 days, as is the license of someone who lends an ID to an underage buyer. A person who calls 911 for medical help in good faith is immune from prosecution for underage consumption or possession. Penalty: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/340A.703; license suspension: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/171.171 |
| Animal cruelty | Overdriving, torturing, cruelly beating, neglecting, or unjustifiably injuring, maiming or killing an animal, depriving an animal of necessary food, water or shelter, or abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor; a second violation of the torture or cruelty provisions within five years is a gross misdemeanor. Intentional cruelty causing substantial bodily harm to a pet or companion animal is punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (up to 2 years and/or $5,000 with a prior conviction within five years), and causing death or great bodily harm to a pet or companion animal carries up to 2 years and/or $5,000 (up to 4 years and/or $10,000 if done to threaten, intimidate or terrorize a person). After a conviction, the court must order the person's pets turned over unless the person proves fitness to care for them, and may limit future ownership. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
Everyday laws: driving, drinking, knives and fireworks
| Driving on a suspended license | Driving after one's license has been suspended, revoked or canceled, after notice or when one reasonably should know of it, is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if the person is required to use an ignition interlock to drive, or if the license was canceled or denied as inimical to public safety (as after repeat DWI offenses). Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
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| Driving without a license | Except when expressly exempt, no one may drive a motor vehicle on a Minnesota street or highway without a valid license for the type of vehicle. A willful violation of the driver's license chapter is a misdemeanor unless another statute sets a different grade. Licensed drivers must have the license in immediate possession and show it to an officer on request, but a person charged with not having it cannot be convicted if he or she later produces in court or at the arresting officer's office a license that was valid at the time. Possession of license: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/171.08; penalty: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/171.241. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
| Open container in a car | It is a crime for anyone - driver or passenger - to drink alcohol in a motor vehicle on a street or highway, or to possess an opened alcoholic beverage container in a private motor vehicle on a street or highway; an owner (or the driver, if the owner is absent) also commits a crime by keeping or allowing an open container in the vehicle. Each is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). Open containers may be kept in the trunk, or in an area not normally occupied if there is no trunk (a glove or utility compartment does not count), and passengers in buses, pedal-powered commercial vehicles and limousines are exempt. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
| Jaywalking | A pedestrian crossing a roadway anywhere other than in a marked crosswalk or at an intersection without a marked crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles, must yield where a pedestrian tunnel or overpass is provided, and between adjacent intersections with working traffic signals may cross only in a marked crosswalk. Drivers must still use due care to avoid pedestrians. Unless the traffic code says otherwise, a violation is a petty misdemeanor (not a crime), punishable by a fine up to $300 with no jail; it can become a misdemeanor if it endangers people or property or follows two or more petty misdemeanor convictions within 12 months. Penalties: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.89 |
| Knife laws | Minnesota makes it a crime to manufacture, transfer or possess metal knuckles or 'a switch blade knife opening automatically,' and to possess any dangerous article for use as a weapon against another. The penalty is up to 90 days and/or a fine, or up to 364 days and/or $3,000 if committed in a school, park or public housing zone. Possessing a dangerous weapon (which can include a knife designed as a weapon) while knowingly on school property is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000, with listed exceptions. Minnesota grades (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor - up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor - up to 364 days and/or $3,000; petty misdemeanor - not a crime, fine up to $300. Definitions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.02 |
| Fireworks | Minnesota generally bans selling, possessing, using or exploding fireworks such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles and other aerial or explosive items. Allowed items are wire or wood sparklers (up to 100 grams), other non-explosive, non-aerial sparkling items (up to 75 grams per tube or 500 grams total), snakes, glow worms, smoke devices and trick noisemakers; they may not be used on public property, may not be sold to anyone under 18, and the buyer's age must be checked with photo ID. Violations involving 35 pounds or more of explosive fireworks carry up to 364 days and/or $3,000; smaller amounts or non-explosive fireworks carry up to 90 days and/or $1,000. Ban: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/624.21; penalties: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/624.25 |
Kidnapping, threats and sex crimes
| Kidnapping | Kidnapping is confining or moving a person without consent (or, for a child under 16, without a parent's or custodian's consent) to hold them for ransom or as a shield or hostage, to help commit a felony or escape, to cause great bodily harm or terrorize them or another, or to hold them in involuntary servitude. If the victim is released in a safe place without great bodily harm, the maximum is 20 years and/or a $35,000 fine; if the victim is not released safely, suffers great bodily harm, or is under 16, the maximum is 40 years and/or $50,000. False imprisonment (knowingly and intentionally confining or restraining a person without consent and without lawful authority) carries up to 3 years and/or $5,000. False imprisonment, including unreasonable restraint of a child by a parent or caretaker: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.255 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.25, 609.255 |
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| Criminal threats (terroristic threats) | Threatening, directly or indirectly, to commit a crime of violence with the purpose of terrorizing another person, or of causing an evacuation of a building, place of assembly, vehicle or public transit facility or other serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of that risk, is the crime of threats of violence, punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine. Communicating, to terrorize or with reckless disregard, that a bomb or incendiary device is at a named place (whether or not it is) carries up to 3 years and/or $3,000. Displaying a replica firearm or BB gun in a threatening way to cause terror carries up to 1 year and 1 day and/or $3,000. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.713 |
| Sexual assault and rape | Minnesota calls sexual assault criminal sexual conduct (CSC), in five degrees. First degree CSC (sexual penetration where the victim reasonably fears great bodily harm, the offender is armed, causes injury while using force or coercion, uses force, or has accomplices) carries up to 30 years and/or $40,000, with a presumptive executed sentence of 144 months. Second degree CSC (sexual contact under similar aggravating circumstances) carries up to 25 years and/or $35,000. Third degree CSC (penetration by coercion or force, with a victim known to be impaired, incapacitated or helpless, or in a prohibited occupational relationship) carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000, and fourth degree CSC (sexual contact in those circumstances) up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Fifth degree CSC covers nonconsensual sexual penetration (a felony with up to 2 years and/or $10,000) and nonconsensual sexual contact (a gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days and/or $3,000). Second degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.343; third: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.344; fourth: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.345; fifth: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.3451. Statutory-rape provisions are covered on the age-of-consent page. Misdemeanor: up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor: any crime that is not a felony or misdemeanor, fine up to $3,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subds. 3-4). |
| Child molestation (child sexual abuse) | Sexual abuse of a child is charged under the same criminal sexual conduct statutes, which have separate subdivisions for victims under 18. Sexual penetration of a child under 14 by someone more than 36 months older, or of a 14- or 15-year-old by someone more than 36 months older in a position of authority, or of a child under 16 by someone with a significant relationship to the child, is first degree CSC (up to 30 years and/or $40,000); consent and mistake of age are not defenses for victims under 14. The same conduct involving sexual contact rather than penetration is second degree CSC (up to 25 years and/or $35,000). Third and fourth degree CSC cover penetration or contact with 14- and 15-year-olds by someone more than 24 or 36 months older and similar situations (up to 15 and 10 years respectively). Second degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.343; third: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.344; fourth: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.345. |
| Child pornography (child sexual abuse material) | Minnesota calls child pornography child sexual abuse material. Possessing it (including on a computer or storage device), knowing or with reason to know its content, is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $5,000; disseminating it is a felony punishable by up to 7 years and/or $10,000. Both rise (to 10 and 15 years respectively) when the person has a prior conviction, is a registered predatory offender, or the material involves a child under 14. Using a minor in a sexual performance or in producing such material is a felony punishable by up to 10 years and/or $20,000, or up to 15 years and/or $40,000 with those aggravating factors, followed by a 5-year conditional release term after prison. Use of minors: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/617.246. |
| Online solicitation of a minor | Electronic solicitation of children is a felony: a person 18 or older who uses the internet, a phone or any electronic device, with intent to arouse sexual desire, to solicit a child 15 or younger (or someone believed to be) to engage in sexual conduct, to communicate with the child about sexual conduct, or to send the child sexual material. It is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine; in-person solicitation of a child carries the same penalty. |
| Sex offender registration | People convicted of listed predatory offenses must register as predatory offenders. Registration generally lasts 10 years from initial registration or until probation, supervised release or conditional release ends, whichever is later, with 5 more years added for certain failures to report; it lasts for life for repeat offenders and certain serious offenses (such as first degree murder committed during a sex crime). Knowingly violating a registration requirement or giving false information is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000, with a mandatory commitment to prison of at least a year and a day (at least 2 years for a repeat violation), unless the court grants a prosecutor's motion to sentence without the minimum. |
Car theft, stolen property and drugs
| Car theft and joyriding | Taking or driving a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, knowing or having reason to know consent was not given, is theft under Minnesota's general theft law, which covers both stealing a car and joyriding. When the property stolen is a motor vehicle, the offense is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine even if the vehicle is worth $1,000 or less; a vehicle worth more than $5,000 carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. If the theft creates a reasonably foreseeable risk of bodily harm to another, the maximum sentence is increased by 50 percent. |
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| Receiving stolen property | Receiving, possessing, transferring, buying or concealing stolen property or property obtained by robbery, knowing or having reason to know it was stolen, is punished on the same scale as theft: $500 or less, up to 90 days and/or $1,000; over $500 to $1,000, up to 364 days and/or $3,000; over $1,000 to $5,000, up to 5 years and/or $10,000; over $5,000, up to 10 years and/or $20,000. A person harmed by the offense can sue for three times their actual damages or $1,500, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney fees. Theft penalties (Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 3): $500 or less, up to 90 days and/or $1,000; over $500 to $1,000, up to 364 days and/or $3,000; over $1,000 to $5,000, up to 5 years and/or $10,000; over $5,000, up to 10 years and/or $20,000; over $35,000 for certain theft types, up to 20 years and/or $100,000. |
| Organized retail theft | Organized retail theft applies to a person associated with a retail theft enterprise (2 or more people working together to take merchandise from retailers) who has engaged in a pattern of retail theft (at least two prior occasions in the preceding six months) and then steals or receives retail merchandise that is resold, advertised for sale, or returned to a store for value. It is punished by up to 15 years and/or $35,000 if the value exceeds $5,000; up to 7 years and/or $14,000 for over $1,000 to $5,000 (or over $500 to $1,000 with two or more prior qualifying convictions in ten years); up to 2 years and/or $5,000 for over $500 to $1,000 (or $500 or less with a prior qualifying conviction); and up to 364 days for lesser amounts. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.522 |
| Drug trafficking and intent to distribute | Minnesota grades drug sales and possession by degree, based on drug and amount. First-degree controlled substance crime (for example, selling 17 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine, or 10 grams or more of heroin or fentanyl, within 90 days) carries up to 30 years and/or $1,000,000, with a mandatory 4 to 40 years for a subsequent drug conviction and at least 65 months for 100 grams or more. Second degree (for example, selling 3 grams or more of heroin or fentanyl, or any Schedule I or II narcotic to a minor or in a school or park zone) carries up to 25 years and/or $500,000, with 3 to 40 years for a subsequent conviction. Third degree (including selling any amount of a narcotic drug) carries up to 20 years and/or $250,000. Second degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.022; third degree: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.023. Fourth and fifth degree offenses (§§ 152.024, 152.025) cover lesser amounts. |
| Prescription drug fraud | Procuring, attempting to procure or possessing a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge, by using a false name or giving false credit, or by falsely posing as a manufacturer, pharmacist, physician or other practitioner is fifth-degree controlled substance crime. It is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine. |
Driving and boating
| Vehicular assault | Injuring someone by driving is called criminal vehicular operation. It applies when the injury results from driving in a grossly negligent manner, negligent driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or cannabis, driving at 0.08 or more, negligent driving with any Schedule I or II drug in the body, leaving the scene, or knowingly driving a vehicle with an unrepaired defect after a police warning. Causing great bodily harm carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000; substantial bodily harm, up to 3 years and/or $10,000; and bodily harm, up to 364 days and/or $3,000. Source: Minn. Stat. § 609.2113 |
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| Street racing | Racing any vehicle on a street or highway, meaning willfully comparing or contesting speeds with one or more vehicles whether or not the speed limit is exceeded, is treated as reckless driving. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it causes great bodily harm or death. The rule also applies on frozen lakes and rivers and in public parking lots, but not at raceways or sanctioned events. General maximums when a statute does not fix one (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000; felony up to 5 years and/or $10,000. |
| Boating under the influence (BUI) | Minnesota's driving-while-impaired law covers motorboats in operation, because 'motor vehicle' includes them. It is a crime to operate a motorboat on state or boundary waters while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, cannabis or an intoxicating substance, with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (measured at the time or within two hours), or with any Schedule I or II drug in the body (other than cannabis products). A violation without aggravating factors is fourth-degree driving while impaired, a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). With one aggravating factor, or a test refusal, it is third-degree, a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000), and mandatory penalties may apply; first- and second-degree offenses cover more aggravating factors. Definition of motor vehicle: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169A.03. The former boating-specific provision, § 86B.331, subd. 1, was repealed in 2021 (1Sp2021 c 6 art 3 s 13). General maximums when a statute does not fix one (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000; felony up to 5 years and/or $10,000. |
Fraud, bribery and tax crimes
| Insurance fraud | Insurance fraud is presenting or preparing, with intent to defraud, information with a false or concealed material fact about an insurance application, rating, claim or payment, as well as related schemes such as selling policies for an insolvent insurer or embezzling insurer funds. It is sentenced on the theft scale based on the greater of the value obtained or attempted or the total economic loss caused: up to 90 days for $500 or less, up to 364 days for over $500 to $1,000, up to 5 years for over $1,000 to $5,000, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 for over $5,000. Restitution to victims is mandatory, and prosecution may begin when the fraud is discovered but no later than seven years after the act. Theft penalties (Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 3): $500 or less, up to 90 days and/or $1,000; over $500 to $1,000, up to 364 days and/or $3,000; over $1,000 to $5,000, up to 5 years and/or $10,000; over $5,000, up to 10 years and/or $20,000; over $35,000 for certain theft types, up to 20 years and/or $100,000. |
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| Welfare and unemployment fraud | Wrongfully obtaining public assistance (such as MFIP, food benefits, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, general assistance or child care assistance) by a willfully false statement, concealment of a material fact, impersonation or other fraud is theft, sentenced on the theft scale by amount, and each period of continued wrongful receipt is a continuing offense; a conviction also leads to disqualification from assistance. Obtaining unemployment benefits by an intentional false statement or concealment is likewise theft sentenced under the theft statute. An employer that lies to avoid unemployment insurance payments commits a gross misdemeanor if the underpayment is $500 or less and a felony if it exceeds $500. Unemployment fraud: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/268.182. Theft penalties (Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 3): $500 or less, up to 90 days and/or $1,000; over $500 to $1,000, up to 364 days and/or $3,000; over $1,000 to $5,000, up to 5 years and/or $10,000; over $5,000, up to 10 years and/or $20,000; over $35,000 for certain theft types, up to 20 years and/or $100,000. |
| Bribery | Bribery (offering or giving a public officer or employee any benefit they are not legally entitled to in order to influence official duties, the officer requesting or accepting it, bribing a witness or a witness accepting a bribe, or accepting a benefit to withhold information about a crime) is punishable by up to 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine. A public officer convicted forfeits the office and is permanently disqualified from public office in Minnesota. Commercial bribery (corruptly paying an employee, agent or fiduciary to influence their work for their employer, or accepting such a payment) carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000 if the bribe is worth more than $500, and up to 90 days and/or $1,000 otherwise. Commercial bribery: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.86 Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.42, 609.86 |
| State tax evasion | Knowingly failing to file a required Minnesota tax return, or to pay or collect and remit a tax, is a gross misdemeanor, while willfully attempting to evade or defeat a tax by failing to file or pay is a felony. Filing a return known to be false or fraudulent about a material matter, or knowingly helping prepare one, is a felony. Prosecution may be brought within six years after the offense. General maximums when a statute does not fix one (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.02, 609.03): misdemeanor up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor up to 364 days and/or $3,000; felony up to 5 years and/or $10,000. |
| Computer hacking and cybercrime | Unauthorized computer access means intentionally and without authorization penetrating, or trying to penetrate, a computer security system or electronic terminal. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it creates a risk to public health and safety, compromises protected or nonpublic data, or gains access to personal data; and a felony punishable by up to 10 years and/or $20,000 if it creates a grave risk of death, or on a second gross misdemeanor violation. Computer damage (intentionally damaging, destroying or altering a computer, system or software) is punished by value of the loss: up to 90 days for small losses, up to 5 years and/or $10,000 for losses over $500, and up to 10 years and/or $50,000 for losses over $2,500. Computer damage: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.88. Ransomware is not named in these sections. Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 609.891, 609.88 |
Guns, recording, courts and juveniles
| Felon in possession of a firearm | A person convicted of (or adjudicated delinquent for) a crime of violence may not possess any firearm or ammunition; doing so is a felony punishable by up to 15 years and/or $30,000. The ban lasts for life unless the person obtains a federal relief of disability or a court restores firearm rights by petition (the person must show good cause and have been released from confinement; a denied petition generally cannot be refiled for 3 years). People convicted of other crimes punishable by more than one year are also barred from possessing firearms; possession by them is a gross misdemeanor. Restoration: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.165. Mandatory minimum prison terms for firearm possession by violent offenders (Minn. |
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| Recording conversations (one-party consent) | Minnesota is a one-party consent state: a person not acting under color of law may record a phone call or conversation if he or she is a party to it or one party has given prior consent, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act. Intentionally intercepting a wire, electronic or oral communication without that consent is punishable by a fine up to $20,000, up to 5 years in prison, or both, with lower penalties for certain first offenses not done for an illegal or commercial purpose. |
| Filing a false police report | Falsely reporting a crime means knowingly giving false information to a police officer that a crime was committed, or about the conduct of others, intending the officer to act on it; it is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor for a second or later conviction. Knowingly making a false report of police misconduct is a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor and requires restitution of investigation costs. Calling 9-1-1 to report a fictitious emergency to prompt a police, fire or ambulance response ('swatting') is a gross misdemeanor, a felony punishable by up to 3 years and/or $10,000 if someone suffers substantial bodily harm, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 if someone suffers great bodily harm or death. Emergency calls: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.78. Misdemeanor: up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor: any crime that is not a felony or misdemeanor, fine up to $3,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subds. 3-4). |
| Hate crimes | Minnesota has bias-crime laws. Assault committed in whole or substantial part because of the victim's actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or disability (or association with such a person or group) may be punished by up to 364 days and/or $3,000, and is a felony on a repeat within five years. For felony assaults (first, second and third degree) motivated by bias, the statutory maximum sentence is increased by 25 percent. Other bias provisions exist in the harassment and property-damage statutes. Bias assault: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.2231. § 609.2233 last amended 2023 c 52 art 4 s 5. |
| Parole violation | Minnesota uses supervised release rather than discretionary parole: every person leaving prison serves a supervised release term after the prison term (as reduced or extended under the law). If a person violates release conditions, the Commissioner of Corrections may continue release with modified conditions or a specialized caseload, or revoke release and return the person to prison for up to the time remaining on the sentence. Before revoking for a technical violation, the commissioner must identify alternative interventions when the person is not a public risk and is amenable to community supervision, and must use them if appropriate and available. Revocation hearing procedures are in Department of Corrections rules (Minn. |
| Violating a restraining order | Knowingly violating an order for protection (OFP) is a misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 3 days in jail and court-ordered counseling. Violating it within 10 years of a prior qualified domestic violence-related conviction is a gross misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 10 days. It is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000 within 10 years of the first of two or more such prior convictions, or if the person possesses a dangerous weapon while violating the order; a stayed felony sentence still requires at least 30 days of incarceration. A violation is also contempt of court. Misdemeanor: up to 90 days and/or $1,000; gross misdemeanor: any crime that is not a felony or misdemeanor, fine up to $3,000 (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subds. 3-4). |
| Juveniles tried as adults | A child 16 or older charged with first degree murder is prosecuted in adult court automatically. Otherwise, on the prosecutor's motion the juvenile court may certify a child 14 or older charged with a felony for adult prosecution after a hearing. Certification is presumed for 16- and 17-year-olds charged with an offense carrying a presumptive prison sentence or a felony committed with a firearm, and the child must rebut it by clear and convincing evidence that keeping the case in juvenile court serves public safety; in other cases the prosecutor must prove by clear and convincing evidence that keeping the case in juvenile court does not serve public safety. Minnesota also allows extended jurisdiction juvenile (EJJ) prosecutions for 14- to 17-year-olds, which pair a juvenile disposition with a stayed adult sentence. Delinquent child definition: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260B.007; EJJ: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260B.130. |
Death penalty, three strikes and rights after a felony
| Death penalty | Minnesota has no state law that provides for the death penalty. The sentences a court may impose for a felony are life imprisonment, a fixed term of years, a fine, restitution and related fees; death is not among them. First-degree murder is punished by life imprisonment. Reviewed Minn. Stat. §609.10 (sentences available) and §609.185 on 2026-10-28; no provision for a death sentence found. §609.185: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.185. |
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| Three strikes and habitual offender laws | Minnesota's repeat offender law for 'violent crimes' (a list of felonies that includes first-degree murder and other homicide, assault, sexual and serious drug crimes): a person convicted of a violent felony with two or more prior violent felony convictions must receive at least the presumptive Sentencing Guidelines prison term, executed in prison, with no probation, parole, discharge or work release until the full term is served. The judge may also go up to the statutory maximum for a dangerous offender (age 18 or older, two or more prior violent crimes, and found to be a danger to public safety), and for a person with five or more prior felonies whose new felony is part of a pattern of criminal conduct. Last amended by Laws 2024, chapter 123. 'Violent crime' is defined by a list of statutes in subd. 1(d). |
| Voting with a felony conviction | In Minnesota, a person convicted of a felony loses the right to vote only while incarcerated for the offense. The right to vote is restored during any period when the person is not incarcerated, including while on probation, parole or supervised release; if the person is later incarcerated for the offense, the right is lost again only during that incarceration. People on work release are not considered incarcerated for this purpose. Subdivision 2a was added by Laws 2023, chapter 12, section 1. |
| Restoring rights after a felony | Minnesota restores civil rights automatically. When a person convicted of a crime is discharged (by court order after a stayed sentence, or when the sentence expires), the discharge restores all civil rights and full citizenship as if the conviction had not taken place, and voting rights return even earlier, whenever the person is not incarcerated. Firearms are the main exception: a person convicted of a 'crime of violence' may not possess firearms or ammunition for life unless a court restores that ability (the person must show good cause and have been released from confinement; after a denial, a new petition generally must wait three years) or federal relief is granted. The restoration section does not apply to forfeiture of and disqualification for public office under section 609.42, subdivision 2. Last amended by Laws 2023, chapter 12, section 7. Possessing a firearm after a crime-of-violence conviction is a felony punishable by up to 15 years and/or $30,000 (§609.165, subd. 1b). |
Is it legal? Delta-8, mushrooms, kratom, CBD and vaping
| Delta-8 and hemp THC products | Minnesota allows hemp-derived THC edibles only as licensed 'lower-potency hemp edibles' sold to people 21 or older. Non-beverage edibles may contain no more than 5 milligrams of delta-9 THC per serving, beverages no more than 10 milligrams per container, with no more than 0.5 milligrams per serving of other cannabinoids; they may not contain artificially derived cannabinoids (cannabinoids chemically converted, for example THC made from CBD) other than delta-9 THC, with a limited exception for by-products when the ratio of delta-9 THC to them is at least 20 to 1. Retailers need a lower-potency hemp edible retailer license, must check that customers are 21 or older, and must keep non-beverage edibles behind the counter or in a locked case. §342.01: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/342.01. §342.46 last amended by Laws 2025, chapter 31. Hemp-derived products are regulated by the Office of Cannabis Management under chapter 342. |
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| Magic mushrooms (psilocybin) | Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances in Minnesota. Possessing any amount is a fifth-degree controlled substance crime: up to 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, except that a first offense involving less than 0.25 grams (or one dosage unit or less) is a gross misdemeanor. Schedule list: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.02. §152.025 last amended by Laws 2025, chapter 35. |
| Kratom | Kratom is legal for adults in Minnesota, but not for people under 21. Since August 1, 2026, selling any amount of kratom (or a substance containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine) to a person under 21 is a gross misdemeanor, and a person under 21 who possesses it commits a misdemeanor. Before that date the age was 18. Laws 2026, chapter 63 (H.F. 3453), signed May 5, 2026, effective August 1, 2026 for crimes committed on or after that date. The codified statute page (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.027) still showed age 18 when read on 2026-10-28. |
| CBD | Hemp CBD products are legal in Minnesota under the cannabis and hemp law. CBD edibles and drinks fall within 'lower-potency hemp edibles,' which may contain up to 100 milligrams of CBD (or CBG, CBN or CBC) per serving or container and must meet the THC limits, and they may be sold only by licensed retailers to customers 21 or older. Hemp-derived topical products (applied to the body) are a separate category, and other hemp-derived consumer products are also regulated by the Office of Cannabis Management. §342.46: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/342.46. |
| Smoking and vaping age | The minimum age to buy tobacco, tobacco-related devices and electronic delivery devices (e-cigarettes and vapes) in Minnesota is 21. A person 21 or older who sells or furnishes them to someone under 21 commits a petty misdemeanor for a first violation and a misdemeanor for a repeat violation within five years. A person under 21 who buys or tries to buy them with a false or borrowed ID is subject only to alternative civil penalties (such as education, community service, diversion or cessation programs), which may not include fines. |
Elder abuse, voyeurism and assaulting an officer
| Elder abuse | Minnesota's crimes protect 'vulnerable adults' (people 18 or older who live in or receive services from care facilities or licensed home care, or who have an infirmity or dysfunction that impairs their ability to care for or protect themselves); there is no separate age-based elder crime in these sections. Criminal abuse by a caregiver carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000 if it causes death, 10 years if great bodily harm, 5 years if substantial bodily harm, and otherwise up to 364 days. Criminal neglect is a gross misdemeanor, and intentional deprivation of food, care or supervision is a felony of up to 10 years (great bodily harm) or 5 years (substantial bodily harm). Financial exploitation is punished like theft, by the amount taken. Assaulting a vulnerable adult and causing demonstrable bodily harm is fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor. §609.233: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.233; §609.2335: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.2335 (penalties as in theft statute §609.52, subd. 3); §609.232: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.232. |
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| Voyeurism (peeping tom) | Minnesota's voyeurism crime is called interference with privacy. Peeping into a home, hotel room, tanning booth or other private place, or using a device to watch or record there, or recording someone's intimate parts in a bathroom, locker room or similar place without consent, is a gross misdemeanor. Secretly recording under or around someone's clothing ('upskirting') is a misdemeanor (a gross misdemeanor if repeated or if the victim is a minor). The main offenses become felonies of up to 2 years and/or $5,000 after a prior conviction or when the victim is under 18, and up to 4 years and/or $5,000 for certain recording of a minor with sexual intent by someone more than 36 months older. Last amended by Laws 2023, chapter 52. Gross misdemeanor maximum: 364 days and/or $3,000; misdemeanor: 90 days and/or $1,000 (§§609.02-609.03). Source: Minn. Stat. §609.746, subd. 1 |
| Assaulting a police officer | Physically assaulting a peace officer who is making a lawful arrest or performing other duties is fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000). It is a felony punishable by up to 3 years and/or $6,000 if the assault causes demonstrable bodily harm or the person intentionally throws bodily fluids or feces at the officer. Similar rules cover firefighters, emergency medical personnel and emergency room staff, and assaults on correctional employees, prosecutors, judges and probation officers are felonies of up to 2 years. By comparison, ordinary fifth-degree assault is a misdemeanor. §609.224: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.224. Misdemeanor maximum: 90 days and/or $1,000 (§609.02, subd. 3). |
Criminal Law FAQ
What are the felony classes and maximum sentences in Minnesota?
Minnesota does not group felonies into lettered classes or degrees; the maximum sentence is set in each offense's statute. A 'felony' is 'a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment for one year or more may be imposed' (§ 609.02, subd. 2). When no punishment is otherwise fixed for a felony, the sentence may be imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of not more than $10,000, or both (§ 609.03).
What are the misdemeanor classes and penalties in Minnesota?
Gross misdemeanor — any crime that is not a felony or misdemeanor; maximum fine $3,000 (§ 609.02, subd. 4); when not otherwise fixed, up to 364 days' imprisonment, a fine up to $3,000, or both (§ 609.03). Misdemeanor — not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both (§ 609.02, subd. 3). Petty misdemeanor — a petty offense prohibited by statute that 'does not constitute a crime,' with a fine of not more than $300 (§ 609.02, subd. 4a).
How much do you have to steal for it to be a felony in Minnesota?
Theft of property or services worth more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000 is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a fine up to $10,000 (felony). More than $5,000 — up to 10 years and/or $20,000. More than $35,000 (for listed theft types), or a firearm — up to 20 years and/or $100,000. More than $500 but not more than $1,000 — up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (gross misdemeanor); $500 or less — up to 90 days and/or $1,000 (misdemeanor). Theft of $1,000 or less is still in the 5-year tier in listed cases, e.g., a motor vehicle, property taken from the person of another, or public funds; and $500–$1,000 is in the 5-year tier with a qualifying prior conviction within five years.
Is Minnesota a stand your ground state?
Minnesota imposes a duty to retreat when reasonably possible; the rule comes from case law, not the statute. The Minnesota Supreme Court reads the self-defense statute (§ 609.06, subd. 1(3)) to include four elements, the fourth being 'the absence of a reasonable possibility of retreat to avoid the danger.' In State v. Blevins (July 31, 2024), the court held that this judicially created duty applies to a person claiming self-defense who committed felony second-degree assault-fear with a device designed as a weapon capable of producing death or great bodily harm. Intentionally taking a life is authorized only when necessary to resist or prevent an offense the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or death, or to prevent a felony in the actor's place of abode (§ 609.065).
Does Minnesota have a castle doctrine?
There is no duty to retreat from one's own home when acting in self-defense in the home, 'regardless of whether the aggressor is a co-resident' (State v. Glowacki, 630 N.W.2d 392, 402 (Minn. 2001), as quoted in Blevins). The lack of a duty to retreat does not remove the requirement that force be reasonable. In State v. Devens (Minn. 2014) the court declined to extend the castle doctrine to an apartment hallway. By statute, deadly force may be used to prevent 'the commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode' (§ 609.065). A person lawfully in possession of property may use reasonable force to resist a trespass or unlawful interference (§ 609.06, subd. 1(4)).
What is the statute of limitations for crimes in Minnesota?
No limit: charges for an offense resulting in the victim's death may be filed at any time after the death; also no limit for kidnapping (§ 609.25), sex trafficking of a victim under 18, and criminal sexual conduct offenses under §§ 609.342 to 609.345 and 609.3458. Arson (§ 609.561): within 10 years. Certain offenses (e.g., listed thefts over $35,000, identity theft with eight or more victims): 5 years; certain others 6 years. 'In all other cases' — felonies and misdemeanors alike — within three years after the offense. Time the defendant is not an inhabitant of or usually resident in Minnesota, time in pretrial diversion, and time while DNA evidence is being analyzed are excluded.
How does bail work in Minnesota?
The Minnesota Constitution provides that all persons before conviction 'shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,' except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great (art. I, § 7). Under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the court must release a defendant on personal recognizance or an unsecured appearance bond unless release would endanger public safety or not reasonably assure appearance; and the court must set money bail without other conditions on which the defendant may be released by posting cash or sureties (Rule 6.02, subd. 1). Factors include the nature of the offense, weight of the evidence, family ties, employment, financial resources, convictions, prior court appearances, and safety of the victim and community (subd. 2). The court must review conditions of release on request of any party (subd. 4). For warrantless misdemeanor arrests, officers generally must issue a citation and release the person (Rule 6.01).
How do you get a public defender in Minnesota?
A person asks the court to appoint counsel; the court decides financial eligibility. A defendant is financially unable to obtain counsel if the defendant (or a dependent in the same household) receives means-tested assistance, or if the court finds the defendant's liquid assets and current income are insufficient to pay the reasonable costs of private counsel in that judicial district. The applicant must submit a financial statement under oath on forms supplied by the state public defender; refusing to do so waives the right to a public defender. Upon disposition of the case, a person who received public defender services shall pay the court a $75 co-payment, which the court may reduce or waive; it is a civil obligation.
What is the age of consent in Minnesota?
Under the criminal sexual conduct statutes, consent is not a defense when the complainant is under 16 and the actor is more than 24 months older. Third-degree criminal sexual conduct covers sexual penetration where 'the complainant is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age' and 'the actor is more than 24 months older than the complainant' (§ 609.344, subd. 1a(b)); if the actor is no more than 60 months older, it is an affirmative defense that the actor reasonably believed the complainant was 16 or older; otherwise neither mistake of age nor consent is a defense. First-degree applies where 'the complainant is under 14 years of age and the actor is more than 36 months older' (§ 609.342, subd. 1a(e)). For complainants 16 to under 18, offenses apply where the actor is more than 36 months older and in a position of authority, or has a significant relationship with the complainant (§ 609.344, subd. 1a(e)-(g)). Maximum for third degree: 15 years and/or $30,000.
Is marijuana legal in Minnesota?
Adult-use cannabis is legal. An individual 21 or older may possess or transport two ounces or less of adult-use cannabis flower in a public place, and possess two pounds or less of adult-use cannabis flower in the individual's private residence (§ 342.09, subd. 1). Up to eight cannabis plants, with no more than four mature, flowering plants, may be grown at a single residence (subd. 2). Possession over the limits is graded by amount (§ 152.0263): fourth degree (petty misdemeanor) — flower over 2 oz up to 4 oz outside the residence; third degree (misdemeanor, up to 90 days and/or $1,000) — over 4 oz up to 1 lb outside the residence; second degree (gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days and/or $3,000) — over 1 lb up to 2 lbs outside the residence; first degree (up to 5 years and/or $10,000) — over 2 lbs up to 10 kg. Separate tiers apply to concentrate and edibles.
Is assault a felony in Minnesota?
Simple assault is called fifth-degree assault: doing something meant to make someone fear immediate bodily harm or death, or intentionally inflicting or trying to inflict bodily harm. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); it becomes a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) with a qualified domestic violence-related conviction within the past three years (or ten years if the same victim), and a felony (up to five years and/or $10,000) with two or more such priors. Higher degrees are felonies: third-degree assault (substantial bodily harm) up to five years and/or $10,000; second-degree assault (with a dangerous weapon) up to seven years and/or $14,000, or ten years and/or $20,000 if it causes substantial bodily harm; first-degree assault (great bodily harm) up to 20 years and/or $30,000.
Is battery a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota has no separate battery offense. Its assault statutes cover both trying to make someone fear harm and intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm, so a battery is charged as fifth-degree assault (a misdemeanor) or a higher degree of assault depending on the injury or weapon.
Is domestic violence a felony in Minnesota?
Assault against a family or household member is the separate crime of domestic assault. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if committed within ten years of a previous qualified domestic violence-related conviction; and a felony (up to five years and/or $10,000) within ten years of the first of two or more such prior convictions. Assaulting a family or household member by strangulation (intentionally impeding normal breathing or blood circulation by pressure on the throat or neck or blocking the nose or mouth) is a felony punishable by up to three years, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
What is the penalty for shoplifting in Minnesota?
Shoplifting is charged as theft. Stealing property worth $500 or less is punishable by up to 90 days, a fine up to $1,000, or both (a misdemeanor); more than $500 up to $1,000 is punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (a gross misdemeanor). Theft of more than $500 but not more than $1,000 moves into the five-year felony tier when the person has a qualifying conviction within the preceding five years. Civilly, a person who steals from a retail store owes the retail price of the merchandise plus punitive damages of $50 or up to 100 percent of the value, whichever is greater.
What is the difference between burglary and robbery in Minnesota?
Burglary is entering a building without consent and intending to commit, or committing, a crime inside. Fourth degree (intent to commit a non-theft misdemeanor) carries up to 364 days and/or $3,000; third degree (intent to steal or commit a felony or gross misdemeanor) up to five years and/or $10,000; second degree (a dwelling, a bank, a pharmacy, or certain public or religious buildings, or having a burglary tool) up to ten years and/or $20,000; first degree (an occupied dwelling, being armed, or assaulting someone inside) up to 20 years and/or $35,000, with at least six months for an occupied dwelling. Simple robbery (taking property from a person using or threatening force) carries up to ten years and/or $20,000; second-degree aggravated robbery (implying a weapon) up to 15 years and/or $30,000; first-degree aggravated robbery (armed, or inflicting bodily harm) up to 20 years and/or $35,000.
Is vandalism a felony in Minnesota?
Vandalism is called criminal damage to property. Damage of $500 or less is fourth degree, a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). More than $500 but not more than $1,000, or damage to a known public safety vehicle, is third degree, punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000. Damage over $1,000 (or $500 or more with a conviction in the preceding three years, or damage creating certain safety risks) is first degree, a felony up to five years and/or $10,000. Bias-motivated damage is raised a level (second degree, a felony up to one year and a day and/or $3,000). No separate graffiti statute was reviewed.
Is trespassing a crime in Minnesota?
Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000) in most forms, including refusing to leave someone's property when the lawful possessor demands it, entering another's dwelling or a locked or posted building without consent, returning within one year after being told to leave and not return, and entering a locked or posted construction or mining site. It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) to trespass on a battered women's shelter or similar facility and refuse to leave, to enter posted agricultural land where commercial animals are kept, or for a group of three or more to enter a school building without a qualifying person. The trespass statute contains no felony level.
What are the penalties for drug possession in Minnesota?
Possessing a controlled substance (other than cannabis or hemp products) is fifth-degree possession, a felony punishable by up to five years, a fine up to $10,000, or both. For a person with no prior drug conviction, it is only a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if the amount is less than 0.25 grams (less than 0.05 grams for heroin) or one dosage unit or less. For a first-time fifth-degree possession offender, the court must (and for some other possession crimes may) defer proceedings and place the person on probation; on successful completion the case is dismissed without an adjudication of guilt. Minnesota repealed its drug paraphernalia possession statute (§ 152.092) in 2023.
Is a hit and run a felony in Minnesota?
A driver involved in a crash must stop, stay at the scene and give information and help. For a driver who did not cause the collision, leaving the scene is a felony with up to three years and/or $5,000 if someone died, a felony with up to two years and/or $4,000 for great bodily harm, and punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 for substantial bodily harm or other bodily harm. Leaving the scene of a crash damaging only an attended or unattended vehicle or other fixtures is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000).
Is reckless driving a crime in Minnesota?
Reckless driving is driving while aware of and consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the driving may harm others or their property, or racing on a street or highway. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it causes great bodily harm or death to another. The lesser offense of careless driving (driving carelessly or heedlessly in disregard of others' rights or in a way that endangers people or property) is also a misdemeanor.
Is harassment a crime in Minnesota?
Harassment is following, monitoring or pursuing someone (in person or through technology), repeatedly calling or texting, or repeatedly sending items, including electronically, with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate, causing reasonable fear of substantial bodily harm or substantial emotional distress. It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000). Aggravated harassment under subdivision 3 is a felony up to five years; a repeat violation is a felony up to five years, or up to ten years within ten years of the first of two or more prior qualified convictions. Stalking (two or more qualifying acts within five years that make the victim feel terrorized or fear bodily harm) is a felony punishable by up to ten years.
Is resisting arrest a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota calls resisting arrest obstructing legal process or arrest: intentionally obstructing, resisting or interfering with a peace officer doing official duties, or obstructing an arrest. It is punishable by up to 90 days and/or $1,000 in ordinary cases, up to 364 days and/or $3,000 if it involves force or violence or the threat of it, and up to five years and/or $10,000 if the person knew it created a risk of death, substantial bodily harm or serious property damage, or it caused such harm. Fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle is a felony punishable by up to three years and one day and/or $5,000; up to five years if it causes substantial bodily harm, seven years if great bodily harm, and 40 years if it causes a death. Fleeing on foot or by other means is a misdemeanor.
What happens if you miss a court date in Minnesota?
A person charged with or convicted of a felony who is released and intentionally fails to appear when required, after being notified that missing court is a crime or being released on condition of appearing, is guilty of failure to appear and may be sentenced to up to one-half of the maximum prison term or fine for the underlying crime, but the maximum is never less than one year and one day or a $1,500 fine. The felony charge must be dismissed if the person voluntarily surrenders within 48 hours (unless arrested). A person charged with a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor who intentionally fails to appear for trial after such notice is guilty of a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). It is an affirmative defense that the failure was due to circumstances beyond the person's control.
What happens if you violate probation in Minnesota?
If a person appears to have violated probation, the court may revoke the stay and order the person taken into custody (or summoned); revocation is to be used only as a last resort when rehabilitation has failed. The person must be told in writing of the alleged grounds and, if they are contested, is entitled to a summary hearing before the judge with the right to be heard and to a lawyer. Under the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, the hearing determines whether clear and convincing evidence of a violation exists and whether probation should be revoked. If a violation is found, the court may continue probation (with or without intermediate sanctions) or execute the previously stayed sentence; if no violation is found, the person is restored to probation. For certain first-time technical violations (such as drug or alcohol use or failing to keep a job), the law states that policies favoring continued probation outweigh the need for confinement.
Is obstruction of justice a felony in Minnesota?
Obstructing legal process or arrest (intentionally obstructing the lawful execution of legal process or an arrest, or obstructing, resisting or interfering with a peace officer, firefighter or ambulance crew) is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days and $1,000; it is punishable by up to 364 days and $3,000 if accompanied by force, violence or threats, and by up to five years and $10,000 if the person knew it created a risk of death, substantial bodily harm or serious property damage, or caused such harm. First-degree witness tampering (using force or threats to keep a witness from testifying or reporting a crime, to coerce false testimony, or to retaliate) is a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000; aggravated first-degree witness tampering, involving great bodily harm or death or a credible threat of it, is punishable by up to 20 years and $30,000.
Is perjury a felony in Minnesota?
Perjury is making a false material statement, not believing it to be true, in a proceeding or writing where an oath or affirmation (or a declaration under penalty of perjury) is required or authorized by law. It is a felony punishable by up to seven years and $14,000 if the false statement was made at the trial of a felony charge (or on an explosives license application), and up to five years and $10,000 in all other cases.
Is public intoxication a crime in Minnesota?
Public drunkenness is not a crime in Minnesota: by statute, no person may be charged with or convicted of the offense of drunkenness or public drunkenness. An intoxicated person can still be prosecuted for other offenses (such as disorderly conduct) and remains civilly liable for injuries caused while intoxicated.
What is a disorderly conduct charge in Minnesota?
Disorderly conduct is, in a public or private place (including a school bus), knowingly engaging in brawling or fighting, disturbing a lawful assembly or meeting, or engaging in offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous or noisy conduct or language that tends to arouse alarm, anger or resentment in others. It is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days and $1,000. A caregiver who commits disorderly conduct against a vulnerable adult faces up to 364 days and $3,000. The Minnesota Supreme Court held the 'disturbs an assembly or meeting' clause unconstitutional in State v. Hensel (2017).
What is the penalty for indecent exposure in Minnesota?
Willfully and lewdly exposing one's body or private parts, or engaging in open or gross lewdness, in a public place or where others are present is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $3,000) if done in the presence of a minor under 16, or after a prior indecent exposure or criminal sexual conduct conviction. It is a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000 if it is a repeat exposure in front of a minor under 16 after a prior such conviction, or if the person exposes himself or herself while intentionally confining or restricting another person's movement. Breastfeeding is not indecent exposure.
Is prostitution illegal in Minnesota?
Selling sex (engaging in, or agreeing or offering to be hired for, prostitution with an adult) is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000), a gross misdemeanor if within two years of a prior prostitution conviction, and a gross misdemeanor if it happens in a public place. Buying sex from an adult (a patron hiring, offering or agreeing to hire someone for sexual penetration or contact) is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $3,000) with a minimum fine of $1,500, and a felony punishable by up to five years and $10,000 if within ten years of a prior conviction. Buying sex from a minor is a felony punishable by up to five, ten or 20 years depending on the minor's age (16-17, 14-15, or under 14).
Is gambling legal in Minnesota?
Minnesota permits lawful (charitable) gambling conducted by organizations licensed under chapter 349, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing under chapter 240, the State Lottery, and certain small social card and dice games. Making a bet or possessing an unauthorized gambling device is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and $1,000). Running a gambling place, conducting an illegal lottery, or receiving or forwarding bets is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days and $3,000, and sports bookmaking is a felony.
Is embezzlement a felony in Minnesota?
Embezzlement is charged under Minnesota's general theft statute, which covers intentionally and without claim of right taking, using, transferring, concealing or retaining possession of another's property without consent, intending to deprive the owner permanently. Penalties depend on value: $500 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $500 up to $1,000, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $1,000 up to $5,000, up to five years and $10,000; more than $5,000, up to ten years and $20,000; and, for the theft methods listed in subdivision 2, clauses (3), (4), (15), (16) and (19), more than $35,000 carries up to 20 years and $100,000. Theft of public funds is a felony (up to five years) even at $1,000 or less.
Is identity theft a felony in Minnesota?
Identity theft is transferring, possessing or using an identity that is not one's own with intent to commit, aid or abet any unlawful activity. Penalties are tied to the theft penalties by loss and number of victims: one victim and $250 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $250 up to $500, up to 364 days and $3,000; two or three victims or more than $500 up to $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; four to seven victims or more than $2,500, up to ten years and $20,000; and eight or more victims or more than $35,000, up to 20 years and $100,000. Financial transaction (credit or debit) card fraud is graded similarly: $250 or less, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $250 up to $2,500, up to five years; more than $2,500, up to ten years; more than $35,000, up to 20 years.
Is forgery a felony in Minnesota?
Check forgery (falsely making, altering or endorsing a check with intent to defraud) and offering a forged check are graded by amount: $250 or less, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $250 up to $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; more than $2,500, up to ten years and $20,000; more than $35,000, up to 20 years and $100,000. Other forgery (such as using a false writing for identification, falsifying business or public records, or destroying evidence) is punishable by up to three years and $5,000. Writing a bad check (issuing a check the person intends will not be paid) is issuing a dishonored check: $250 or less, up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $250 up to $500, up to 364 days and $3,000; more than $500, up to five years and $10,000.
Is blackmail illegal in Minnesota?
Blackmail and extortion-type threats are charged as coercion: by an oral or written threat (to inflict bodily harm or confinement, damage property, injure a business, make a criminal charge, or disseminate private sexual images, among others), causing someone to do an act against their will or to refrain from a lawful act. The penalty depends on the gain or loss: $300 or less (or not measurable in money), up to 90 days and $1,000; more than $300 but less than $2,500, up to five years and $10,000; $2,500 or more, up to ten years and $20,000. The Minnesota Supreme Court held the clause covering threats to expose a secret or disgrace someone unconstitutional in State v. Jorgenson (2020).
What is the difference between first and second degree murder in Minnesota?
First-degree murder includes a premeditated intentional killing; an intentional killing during burglary, aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, first- or second-degree arson, a drive-by shooting or a felony drug sale; killing a peace officer, prosecutor, judge or prison guard on duty; and deaths during a past pattern of child abuse or domestic abuse with extreme indifference to life. It carries life imprisonment. Second-degree murder - an intentional killing without premeditation, a death during a drive-by shooting, or an unintentional killing while committing certain other felonies (felony murder) or while assaulting a person protected by a protection order - carries up to 40 years. Third-degree murder - an unintentional death caused by an eminently dangerous act showing a depraved mind, or by selling or giving a Schedule I or II drug - carries up to 25 years (and, for drug deaths, a fine up to $40,000).
What is the sentence for manslaughter in Minnesota?
First-degree manslaughter - an intentional killing in the heat of passion provoked as a person of ordinary self-control would be (the crying of a child is not provocation), a death caused while committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor with foreseeable deadly force, killing under coercion, or certain drug-distribution deaths - carries up to 15 years and/or a $30,000 fine. Second-degree manslaughter - a death caused by culpable negligence, negligently shooting someone thought to be a deer, a vicious animal, or child neglect or endangerment - carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Criminal vehicular homicide (a death caused by grossly negligent driving, impaired driving, a 0.08 or higher alcohol concentration, or leaving the scene, among others) carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000, rising to 15 years for impaired-driving violations within ten years of a prior qualified driving offense.
Is child endangerment a felony in Minnesota?
A parent, guardian or caretaker who willfully deprives a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision when able to provide it, in a way that harms or is likely to substantially harm the child, commits neglect of a child; one who intentionally or recklessly places a child in a situation likely to substantially harm the child or cause death, or knowingly lets a child be present where illegal drugs are sold or made, commits child endangerment. Each is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000), and becomes a felony with up to 5 years and/or $10,000 if the child suffers substantial harm. Contributing to the delinquency of a child (encouraging, causing or contributing to a child's delinquency or juvenile petty offense by act, word or omission) is a gross misdemeanor.
Is arson a felony in Minnesota?
First-degree arson - intentionally damaging a dwelling by fire or explosives (occupied or not, and even if one's own), or another building when someone is or may reasonably be present - carries up to 20 years and a fine up to $20,000 (dwellings) or $35,000 (other buildings). Second-degree arson - any other building regardless of value, or other property worth more than $1,000 - carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Third-degree arson (property worth $300 to $1,000, or foreseeable damage of $300 or more) carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000. Fourth-degree arson (burning personal property in an apartment building or public building) is a gross misdemeanor, and fifth-degree arson (burning any property of value) is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days and/or $1,000.
Is animal cruelty a felony in Minnesota?
Overdriving, torturing, cruelly beating, neglecting, or unjustifiably injuring, maiming or killing an animal, depriving an animal of necessary food, water or shelter, or abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor; a second violation of the torture or cruelty provisions within five years is a gross misdemeanor. Intentional cruelty causing substantial bodily harm to a pet or companion animal is punishable by up to 364 days and/or $3,000 (up to 2 years and/or $5,000 with a prior conviction within five years), and causing death or great bodily harm to a pet or companion animal carries up to 2 years and/or $5,000 (up to 4 years and/or $10,000 if done to threaten, intimidate or terrorize a person). After a conviction, the court must order the person's pets turned over unless the person proves fitness to care for them, and may limit future ownership.
Is revenge porn illegal in Minnesota?
Yes. It is a crime to intentionally disseminate an image of an identifiable person engaged in a sexual act or with intimate parts exposed when the actor knows or reasonably should know the person did not consent and the image was obtained or created where the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is a gross misdemeanor, or a felony with up to 3 years and/or a $5,000 fine if, for example, the victim suffers financial loss, the actor seeks profit, posts the image on a website, or acts to harass the victim. A separate statute gives victims a civil cause of action for nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images.
Is cyberbullying a crime in Minnesota?
Minnesota's student bullying law (Minn. Stat. § 121A.031) requires school policies covering bullying, including by electronic technology, but does not create a crime. Online harassment can be charged under the harassment statute, which makes a gross misdemeanor of listed harassing acts done with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate that place the victim in reasonable fear of substantial bodily harm or cause substantial emotional distress. It is a felony with up to 5 years and/or $10,000 when committed against a victim under 18 by an actor more than 36 months older, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 when such an act is also done with sexual or aggressive intent.
What are the sexting laws for minors in Minnesota?
Minnesota has no separate sexting offense for minors, and its child sexual abuse material statute contains no exception for minors; its only listed exceptions are for official duties of police, court personnel and attorneys, and for licensed treatment professionals. Possessing child sexual abuse material is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $5,000 fine (up to 10 years and/or $10,000 with aggravating factors such as a prior conviction or delinquency adjudication). Consent of the minor is not a defense.
Is money laundering a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota charges money laundering as concealing criminal proceeds: conducting a transaction involving monetary instruments worth more than $5,000 while knowing or having reason to know they are proceeds of a felony under the criminal code or drug laws is a felony with up to 10 years and/or a $100,000 fine. Engaging in a business whose primary or secondary purpose is concealing felony proceeds is a felony with up to 20 years and/or a $1,000,000 fine.
What are the human trafficking laws in Minnesota?
Sex trafficking in the first degree (soliciting, promoting, profiting from or sex trafficking an individual under 18) carries up to 25 years and/or $50,000. Second-degree sex trafficking (the same acts with an adult) carries up to 20 years and/or $40,000. Either rises to up to 30 years and/or $60,000 with aggravating factors such as a prior trafficking offense, bodily harm to the victim, more than 180 days of debt bondage or forced labor, or multiple victims. Labor trafficking carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000; up to 20 years and/or $40,000 if the victim is under 18, it lasts an extended period or causes great bodily harm; and up to 25 years and/or $40,000 if the victim dies. Consent or age of the victim is not a defense to labor trafficking.
Is jaywalking illegal in Minnesota?
A pedestrian crossing a roadway anywhere other than in a marked crosswalk or at an intersection without a marked crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles, must yield where a pedestrian tunnel or overpass is provided, and between adjacent intersections with working traffic signals may cross only in a marked crosswalk. Drivers must still use due care to avoid pedestrians. Unless the traffic code says otherwise, a violation is a petty misdemeanor (not a crime), punishable by a fine up to $300 with no jail; it can become a misdemeanor if it endangers people or property or follows two or more petty misdemeanor convictions within 12 months.
What is the open container law in Minnesota?
It is a crime for anyone - driver or passenger - to drink alcohol in a motor vehicle on a street or highway, or to possess an opened alcoholic beverage container in a private motor vehicle on a street or highway; an owner (or the driver, if the owner is absent) also commits a crime by keeping or allowing an open container in the vehicle. Each is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). Open containers may be kept in the trunk, or in an area not normally occupied if there is no trunk (a glove or utility compartment does not count), and passengers in buses, pedal-powered commercial vehicles and limousines are exempt.
What happens if you are caught drinking under 21 in Minnesota?
A person under 21 may not consume alcohol (a defense exists for drinking in a parent's or guardian's home with consent), buy or attempt to buy it, possess it with intent to consume it anywhere other than a parent's or guardian's home, enter a liquor establishment to buy or be served alcohol, or claim to be 21 or older to buy alcohol. These are misdemeanors, and a minimum $100 fine must be imposed on a person under 21. The driver's license of a person under 21 convicted of buying or trying to buy alcohol with a license, ID card or false identification is suspended for 90 days, as is the license of someone who lends an ID to an underage buyer. A person who calls 911 for medical help in good faith is immune from prosecution for underage consumption or possession.
What happens if you drive on a suspended license in Minnesota?
Driving after one's license has been suspended, revoked or canceled, after notice or when one reasonably should know of it, is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). It is a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if the person is required to use an ignition interlock to drive, or if the license was canceled or denied as inimical to public safety (as after repeat DWI offenses).
What is the penalty for driving without a license in Minnesota?
Except when expressly exempt, no one may drive a motor vehicle on a Minnesota street or highway without a valid license for the type of vehicle. A willful violation of the driver's license chapter is a misdemeanor unless another statute sets a different grade. Licensed drivers must have the license in immediate possession and show it to an officer on request, but a person charged with not having it cannot be convicted if he or she later produces in court or at the arresting officer's office a license that was valid at the time.
What knives are legal to carry in Minnesota?
Minnesota makes it a crime to manufacture, transfer or possess metal knuckles or 'a switch blade knife opening automatically,' and to possess any dangerous article for use as a weapon against another. The penalty is up to 90 days and/or a fine, or up to 364 days and/or $3,000 if committed in a school, park or public housing zone. Possessing a dangerous weapon (which can include a knife designed as a weapon) while knowingly on school property is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000, with listed exceptions.
Are fireworks legal in Minnesota?
Minnesota generally bans selling, possessing, using or exploding fireworks such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles and other aerial or explosive items. Allowed items are wire or wood sparklers (up to 100 grams), other non-explosive, non-aerial sparkling items (up to 75 grams per tube or 500 grams total), snakes, glow worms, smoke devices and trick noisemakers; they may not be used on public property, may not be sold to anyone under 18, and the buyer's age must be checked with photo ID. Violations involving 35 pounds or more of explosive fireworks carry up to 364 days and/or $3,000; smaller amounts or non-explosive fireworks carry up to 90 days and/or $1,000.
Is kidnapping a felony in Minnesota?
Kidnapping is confining or moving a person without consent (or, for a child under 16, without a parent's or custodian's consent) to hold them for ransom or as a shield or hostage, to help commit a felony or escape, to cause great bodily harm or terrorize them or another, or to hold them in involuntary servitude. If the victim is released in a safe place without great bodily harm, the maximum is 20 years and/or a $35,000 fine; if the victim is not released safely, suffers great bodily harm, or is under 16, the maximum is 40 years and/or $50,000. False imprisonment (knowingly and intentionally confining or restraining a person without consent and without lawful authority) carries up to 3 years and/or $5,000.
Is making a threat a crime in Minnesota?
Threatening, directly or indirectly, to commit a crime of violence with the purpose of terrorizing another person, or of causing an evacuation of a building, place of assembly, vehicle or public transit facility or other serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of that risk, is the crime of threats of violence, punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine. Communicating, to terrorize or with reckless disregard, that a bomb or incendiary device is at a named place (whether or not it is) carries up to 3 years and/or $3,000. Displaying a replica firearm or BB gun in a threatening way to cause terror carries up to 1 year and 1 day and/or $3,000.
Is stealing a car a felony in Minnesota?
Taking or driving a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, knowing or having reason to know consent was not given, is theft under Minnesota's general theft law, which covers both stealing a car and joyriding. When the property stolen is a motor vehicle, the offense is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine even if the vehicle is worth $1,000 or less; a vehicle worth more than $5,000 carries up to 10 years and/or $20,000. If the theft creates a reasonably foreseeable risk of bodily harm to another, the maximum sentence is increased by 50 percent.
Is receiving stolen property a felony in Minnesota?
Receiving, possessing, transferring, buying or concealing stolen property or property obtained by robbery, knowing or having reason to know it was stolen, is punished on the same scale as theft: $500 or less, up to 90 days and/or $1,000; over $500 to $1,000, up to 364 days and/or $3,000; over $1,000 to $5,000, up to 5 years and/or $10,000; over $5,000, up to 10 years and/or $20,000. A person harmed by the offense can sue for three times their actual damages or $1,500, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney fees.
What is organized retail theft in Minnesota?
Organized retail theft applies to a person associated with a retail theft enterprise (2 or more people working together to take merchandise from retailers) who has engaged in a pattern of retail theft (at least two prior occasions in the preceding six months) and then steals or receives retail merchandise that is resold, advertised for sale, or returned to a store for value. It is punished by up to 15 years and/or $35,000 if the value exceeds $5,000; up to 7 years and/or $14,000 for over $1,000 to $5,000 (or over $500 to $1,000 with two or more prior qualifying convictions in ten years); up to 2 years and/or $5,000 for over $500 to $1,000 (or $500 or less with a prior qualifying conviction); and up to 364 days for lesser amounts.
What counts as drug trafficking in Minnesota?
Minnesota grades drug sales and possession by degree, based on drug and amount. First-degree controlled substance crime (for example, selling 17 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine, or 10 grams or more of heroin or fentanyl, within 90 days) carries up to 30 years and/or $1,000,000, with a mandatory 4 to 40 years for a subsequent drug conviction and at least 65 months for 100 grams or more. Second degree (for example, selling 3 grams or more of heroin or fentanyl, or any Schedule I or II narcotic to a minor or in a school or park zone) carries up to 25 years and/or $500,000, with 3 to 40 years for a subsequent conviction. Third degree (including selling any amount of a narcotic drug) carries up to 20 years and/or $250,000.
Is prescription fraud a felony in Minnesota?
Procuring, attempting to procure or possessing a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge, by using a false name or giving false credit, or by falsely posing as a manufacturer, pharmacist, physician or other practitioner is fifth-degree controlled substance crime. It is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine.
What is vehicular assault in Minnesota?
Injuring someone by driving is called criminal vehicular operation. It applies when the injury results from driving in a grossly negligent manner, negligent driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or cannabis, driving at 0.08 or more, negligent driving with any Schedule I or II drug in the body, leaving the scene, or knowingly driving a vehicle with an unrepaired defect after a police warning. Causing great bodily harm carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000; substantial bodily harm, up to 3 years and/or $10,000; and bodily harm, up to 364 days and/or $3,000.
Is street racing a crime in Minnesota?
Racing any vehicle on a street or highway, meaning willfully comparing or contesting speeds with one or more vehicles whether or not the speed limit is exceeded, is treated as reckless driving. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it causes great bodily harm or death. The rule also applies on frozen lakes and rivers and in public parking lots, but not at raceways or sanctioned events.
What is the penalty for boating under the influence in Minnesota?
Minnesota's driving-while-impaired law covers motorboats in operation, because 'motor vehicle' includes them. It is a crime to operate a motorboat on state or boundary waters while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, cannabis or an intoxicating substance, with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (measured at the time or within two hours), or with any Schedule I or II drug in the body (other than cannabis products). A violation without aggravating factors is fourth-degree driving while impaired, a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000). With one aggravating factor, or a test refusal, it is third-degree, a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000), and mandatory penalties may apply; first- and second-degree offenses cover more aggravating factors.
Is insurance fraud a felony in Minnesota?
Insurance fraud is presenting or preparing, with intent to defraud, information with a false or concealed material fact about an insurance application, rating, claim or payment, as well as related schemes such as selling policies for an insolvent insurer or embezzling insurer funds. It is sentenced on the theft scale based on the greater of the value obtained or attempted or the total economic loss caused: up to 90 days for $500 or less, up to 364 days for over $500 to $1,000, up to 5 years for over $1,000 to $5,000, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 for over $5,000. Restitution to victims is mandatory, and prosecution may begin when the fraud is discovered but no later than seven years after the act.
What happens if you commit welfare or unemployment fraud in Minnesota?
Wrongfully obtaining public assistance (such as MFIP, food benefits, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, general assistance or child care assistance) by a willfully false statement, concealment of a material fact, impersonation or other fraud is theft, sentenced on the theft scale by amount, and each period of continued wrongful receipt is a continuing offense; a conviction also leads to disqualification from assistance. Obtaining unemployment benefits by an intentional false statement or concealment is likewise theft sentenced under the theft statute. An employer that lies to avoid unemployment insurance payments commits a gross misdemeanor if the underpayment is $500 or less and a felony if it exceeds $500.
Is bribery a felony in Minnesota?
Bribery (offering or giving a public officer or employee any benefit they are not legally entitled to in order to influence official duties, the officer requesting or accepting it, bribing a witness or a witness accepting a bribe, or accepting a benefit to withhold information about a crime) is punishable by up to 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine. A public officer convicted forfeits the office and is permanently disqualified from public office in Minnesota. Commercial bribery (corruptly paying an employee, agent or fiduciary to influence their work for their employer, or accepting such a payment) carries up to 5 years and/or $10,000 if the bribe is worth more than $500, and up to 90 days and/or $1,000 otherwise.
What are the penalties for tax evasion in Minnesota?
Knowingly failing to file a required Minnesota tax return, or to pay or collect and remit a tax, is a gross misdemeanor, while willfully attempting to evade or defeat a tax by failing to file or pay is a felony. Filing a return known to be false or fraudulent about a material matter, or knowingly helping prepare one, is a felony. Prosecution may be brought within six years after the offense.
What are the penalties for sexual assault in Minnesota?
Minnesota calls sexual assault criminal sexual conduct (CSC), in five degrees. First degree CSC (sexual penetration where the victim reasonably fears great bodily harm, the offender is armed, causes injury while using force or coercion, uses force, or has accomplices) carries up to 30 years and/or $40,000, with a presumptive executed sentence of 144 months. Second degree CSC (sexual contact under similar aggravating circumstances) carries up to 25 years and/or $35,000. Third degree CSC (penetration by coercion or force, with a victim known to be impaired, incapacitated or helpless, or in a prohibited occupational relationship) carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000, and fourth degree CSC (sexual contact in those circumstances) up to 10 years and/or $20,000. Fifth degree CSC covers nonconsensual sexual penetration (a felony with up to 2 years and/or $10,000) and nonconsensual sexual contact (a gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days and/or $3,000).
What are the penalties for child molestation in Minnesota?
Sexual abuse of a child is charged under the same criminal sexual conduct statutes, which have separate subdivisions for victims under 18. Sexual penetration of a child under 14 by someone more than 36 months older, or of a 14- or 15-year-old by someone more than 36 months older in a position of authority, or of a child under 16 by someone with a significant relationship to the child, is first degree CSC (up to 30 years and/or $40,000); consent and mistake of age are not defenses for victims under 14. The same conduct involving sexual contact rather than penetration is second degree CSC (up to 25 years and/or $35,000). Third and fourth degree CSC cover penetration or contact with 14- and 15-year-olds by someone more than 24 or 36 months older and similar situations (up to 15 and 10 years respectively).
What are the child pornography laws in Minnesota?
Minnesota calls child pornography child sexual abuse material. Possessing it (including on a computer or storage device), knowing or with reason to know its content, is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $5,000; disseminating it is a felony punishable by up to 7 years and/or $10,000. Both rise (to 10 and 15 years respectively) when the person has a prior conviction, is a registered predatory offender, or the material involves a child under 14. Using a minor in a sexual performance or in producing such material is a felony punishable by up to 10 years and/or $20,000, or up to 15 years and/or $40,000 with those aggravating factors, followed by a 5-year conditional release term after prison.
Is online solicitation of a minor a felony in Minnesota?
Electronic solicitation of children is a felony: a person 18 or older who uses the internet, a phone or any electronic device, with intent to arouse sexual desire, to solicit a child 15 or younger (or someone believed to be) to engage in sexual conduct, to communicate with the child about sexual conduct, or to send the child sexual material. It is punishable by up to 5 years and/or a $10,000 fine; in-person solicitation of a child carries the same penalty.
What happens if you fail to register as a sex offender in Minnesota?
People convicted of listed predatory offenses must register as predatory offenders. Registration generally lasts 10 years from initial registration or until probation, supervised release or conditional release ends, whichever is later, with 5 more years added for certain failures to report; it lasts for life for repeat offenders and certain serious offenses (such as first degree murder committed during a sex crime). Knowingly violating a registration requirement or giving false information is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000, with a mandatory commitment to prison of at least a year and a day (at least 2 years for a repeat violation), unless the court grants a prosecutor's motion to sentence without the minimum.
Can a felon own a gun in Minnesota?
A person convicted of (or adjudicated delinquent for) a crime of violence may not possess any firearm or ammunition; doing so is a felony punishable by up to 15 years and/or $30,000. The ban lasts for life unless the person obtains a federal relief of disability or a court restores firearm rights by petition (the person must show good cause and have been released from confinement; a denied petition generally cannot be refiled for 3 years). People convicted of other crimes punishable by more than one year are also barred from possessing firearms; possession by them is a gross misdemeanor.
Is hacking a crime in Minnesota?
Unauthorized computer access means intentionally and without authorization penetrating, or trying to penetrate, a computer security system or electronic terminal. It is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000); a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000) if it creates a risk to public health and safety, compromises protected or nonpublic data, or gains access to personal data; and a felony punishable by up to 10 years and/or $20,000 if it creates a grave risk of death, or on a second gross misdemeanor violation. Computer damage (intentionally damaging, destroying or altering a computer, system or software) is punished by value of the loss: up to 90 days for small losses, up to 5 years and/or $10,000 for losses over $500, and up to 10 years and/or $50,000 for losses over $2,500.
Is Minnesota a one-party consent state?
Minnesota is a one-party consent state: a person not acting under color of law may record a phone call or conversation if he or she is a party to it or one party has given prior consent, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act. Intentionally intercepting a wire, electronic or oral communication without that consent is punishable by a fine up to $20,000, up to 5 years in prison, or both, with lower penalties for certain first offenses not done for an illegal or commercial purpose.
Is filing a false police report a crime in Minnesota?
Falsely reporting a crime means knowingly giving false information to a police officer that a crime was committed, or about the conduct of others, intending the officer to act on it; it is a misdemeanor (up to 90 days and/or $1,000), and a gross misdemeanor for a second or later conviction. Knowingly making a false report of police misconduct is a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor and requires restitution of investigation costs. Calling 9-1-1 to report a fictitious emergency to prompt a police, fire or ambulance response ('swatting') is a gross misdemeanor, a felony punishable by up to 3 years and/or $10,000 if someone suffers substantial bodily harm, and up to 10 years and/or $20,000 if someone suffers great bodily harm or death.
Does Minnesota have a hate crime law?
Minnesota has bias-crime laws. Assault committed in whole or substantial part because of the victim's actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or disability (or association with such a person or group) may be punished by up to 364 days and/or $3,000, and is a felony on a repeat within five years. For felony assaults (first, second and third degree) motivated by bias, the statutory maximum sentence is increased by 25 percent. Other bias provisions exist in the harassment and property-damage statutes.
What happens if you violate parole in Minnesota?
Minnesota uses supervised release rather than discretionary parole: every person leaving prison serves a supervised release term after the prison term (as reduced or extended under the law). If a person violates release conditions, the Commissioner of Corrections may continue release with modified conditions or a specialized caseload, or revoke release and return the person to prison for up to the time remaining on the sentence. Before revoking for a technical violation, the commissioner must identify alternative interventions when the person is not a public risk and is amenable to community supervision, and must use them if appropriate and available.
What happens if you violate a restraining order in Minnesota?
Knowingly violating an order for protection (OFP) is a misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 3 days in jail and court-ordered counseling. Violating it within 10 years of a prior qualified domestic violence-related conviction is a gross misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 10 days. It is a felony punishable by up to 5 years and/or $10,000 within 10 years of the first of two or more such prior convictions, or if the person possesses a dangerous weapon while violating the order; a stayed felony sentence still requires at least 30 days of incarceration. A violation is also contempt of court.
When can a juvenile be tried as an adult in Minnesota?
A child 16 or older charged with first degree murder is prosecuted in adult court automatically. Otherwise, on the prosecutor's motion the juvenile court may certify a child 14 or older charged with a felony for adult prosecution after a hearing. Certification is presumed for 16- and 17-year-olds charged with an offense carrying a presumptive prison sentence or a felony committed with a firearm, and the child must rebut it by clear and convincing evidence that keeping the case in juvenile court serves public safety; in other cases the prosecutor must prove by clear and convincing evidence that keeping the case in juvenile court does not serve public safety. Minnesota also allows extended jurisdiction juvenile (EJJ) prosecutions for 14- to 17-year-olds, which pair a juvenile disposition with a stayed adult sentence.
Does Minnesota have the death penalty?
Minnesota has no state law that provides for the death penalty. The sentences a court may impose for a felony are life imprisonment, a fixed term of years, a fine, restitution and related fees; death is not among them. First-degree murder is punished by life imprisonment.
Can felons vote in Minnesota?
In Minnesota, a person convicted of a felony loses the right to vote only while incarcerated for the offense. The right to vote is restored during any period when the person is not incarcerated, including while on probation, parole or supervised release; if the person is later incarcerated for the offense, the right is lost again only during that incarceration. People on work release are not considered incarcerated for this purpose.
How do you restore your rights after a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota restores civil rights automatically. When a person convicted of a crime is discharged (by court order after a stayed sentence, or when the sentence expires), the discharge restores all civil rights and full citizenship as if the conviction had not taken place, and voting rights return even earlier, whenever the person is not incarcerated. Firearms are the main exception: a person convicted of a 'crime of violence' may not possess firearms or ammunition for life unless a court restores that ability (the person must show good cause and have been released from confinement; after a denial, a new petition generally must wait three years) or federal relief is granted. The restoration section does not apply to forfeiture of and disqualification for public office under section 609.42, subdivision 2.
Does Minnesota have a three strikes law?
Minnesota's repeat offender law for 'violent crimes' (a list of felonies that includes first-degree murder and other homicide, assault, sexual and serious drug crimes): a person convicted of a violent felony with two or more prior violent felony convictions must receive at least the presumptive Sentencing Guidelines prison term, executed in prison, with no probation, parole, discharge or work release until the full term is served. The judge may also go up to the statutory maximum for a dangerous offender (age 18 or older, two or more prior violent crimes, and found to be a danger to public safety), and for a person with five or more prior felonies whose new felony is part of a pattern of criminal conduct.
Is delta-8 legal in Minnesota?
Minnesota allows hemp-derived THC edibles only as licensed 'lower-potency hemp edibles' sold to people 21 or older. Non-beverage edibles may contain no more than 5 milligrams of delta-9 THC per serving, beverages no more than 10 milligrams per container, with no more than 0.5 milligrams per serving of other cannabinoids; they may not contain artificially derived cannabinoids (cannabinoids chemically converted, for example THC made from CBD) other than delta-9 THC, with a limited exception for by-products when the ratio of delta-9 THC to them is at least 20 to 1. Retailers need a lower-potency hemp edible retailer license, must check that customers are 21 or older, and must keep non-beverage edibles behind the counter or in a locked case.
Are magic mushrooms legal in Minnesota?
Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances in Minnesota. Possessing any amount is a fifth-degree controlled substance crime: up to 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, except that a first offense involving less than 0.25 grams (or one dosage unit or less) is a gross misdemeanor.
Is kratom legal in Minnesota?
Kratom is legal for adults in Minnesota, but not for people under 21. Since August 1, 2026, selling any amount of kratom (or a substance containing mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine) to a person under 21 is a gross misdemeanor, and a person under 21 who possesses it commits a misdemeanor. Before that date the age was 18.
Is CBD legal in Minnesota?
Hemp CBD products are legal in Minnesota under the cannabis and hemp law. CBD edibles and drinks fall within 'lower-potency hemp edibles,' which may contain up to 100 milligrams of CBD (or CBG, CBN or CBC) per serving or container and must meet the THC limits, and they may be sold only by licensed retailers to customers 21 or older. Hemp-derived topical products (applied to the body) are a separate category, and other hemp-derived consumer products are also regulated by the Office of Cannabis Management.
What is the smoking and vaping age in Minnesota?
The minimum age to buy tobacco, tobacco-related devices and electronic delivery devices (e-cigarettes and vapes) in Minnesota is 21. A person 21 or older who sells or furnishes them to someone under 21 commits a petty misdemeanor for a first violation and a misdemeanor for a repeat violation within five years. A person under 21 who buys or tries to buy them with a false or borrowed ID is subject only to alternative civil penalties (such as education, community service, diversion or cessation programs), which may not include fines.
Is elder abuse a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota's crimes protect 'vulnerable adults' (people 18 or older who live in or receive services from care facilities or licensed home care, or who have an infirmity or dysfunction that impairs their ability to care for or protect themselves); there is no separate age-based elder crime in these sections. Criminal abuse by a caregiver carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000 if it causes death, 10 years if great bodily harm, 5 years if substantial bodily harm, and otherwise up to 364 days. Criminal neglect is a gross misdemeanor, and intentional deprivation of food, care or supervision is a felony of up to 10 years (great bodily harm) or 5 years (substantial bodily harm). Financial exploitation is punished like theft, by the amount taken. Assaulting a vulnerable adult and causing demonstrable bodily harm is fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor.
Is voyeurism a felony in Minnesota?
Minnesota's voyeurism crime is called interference with privacy. Peeping into a home, hotel room, tanning booth or other private place, or using a device to watch or record there, or recording someone's intimate parts in a bathroom, locker room or similar place without consent, is a gross misdemeanor. Secretly recording under or around someone's clothing ('upskirting') is a misdemeanor (a gross misdemeanor if repeated or if the victim is a minor). The main offenses become felonies of up to 2 years and/or $5,000 after a prior conviction or when the victim is under 18, and up to 4 years and/or $5,000 for certain recording of a minor with sexual intent by someone more than 36 months older.
Is assaulting a police officer a felony in Minnesota?
Physically assaulting a peace officer who is making a lawful arrest or performing other duties is fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and/or $3,000). It is a felony punishable by up to 3 years and/or $6,000 if the assault causes demonstrable bodily harm or the person intentionally throws bodily fluids or feces at the officer. Similar rules cover firefighters, emergency medical personnel and emergency room staff, and assaults on correctional employees, prosecutors, judges and probation officers are felonies of up to 2 years. By comparison, ordinary fifth-degree assault is a misdemeanor.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.