# Minnesota law on driving with a mobile phone (the "hands-free" law)

This document is general legal information about Minnesota's law on using a phone or similar device while driving. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover every situation.

## Sources and currency

- Minn. Stat. § 169.475 (use of wireless communications device) and § 169.011, subd. 94 (definition of "wireless communications device"). Text taken from the 2025 Minnesota Statutes, as published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/ and read on 2026-09-20. Laws passed in the 2026 legislative session may not be reflected.
- Session law 2019 c 11 (H.F. 50), which amended § 169.475 and § 169.011, subd. 94. Its effective date is August 1, 2019, for acts committed on or after that date. Section 169.475 was later amended by 2023 c 68 art 4 s 50 and 51.
- Court decisions: United States Supreme Court opinions read on the Cornell Legal Information Institute site (https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/) and Minnesota opinions read in the Harvard Caselaw Access Project (https://case.law/). Every passage placed in quotation marks in the case sections below was checked against the opinion text. The summaries of holdings are my own reading and are short.
- Minnesota House Research Department, "Distracted Driving: Cell Phone Use While Driving", October 2019, https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/pubs/ss/ssdistdrvg.pdf. This is nonpartisan legislative staff analysis, and it is the source for the first-offense fine and the surcharge below. It is dated October 2019, so those two amounts may have changed.

## What the law prohibits

Section 169.475, subd. 2(a): "when a motor vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic, the person operating the vehicle upon a street or highway is prohibited from":

1. "holding a wireless communications device with one or both hands"; or
2. using a wireless communications device to:
   - "initiate, compose, send, retrieve, or read an electronic message";
   - "engage in a cellular phone call, including initiating a call, talking or listening, and participating in video calling"; and
   - "access the following types of content stored on the device: video content, audio content, images, games, or software applications".

## Key definitions

- **Wireless communications device** (§ 169.011, subd. 94): "(1) a cellular phone, or (2) a portable electronic device that is capable of receiving and transmitting data, including but not limited to text messages and email, without an access line for service." It does not include "a device or feature that is permanently physically integrated into the vehicle", "a global positioning system or navigation system that is only capable of being used for navigation purposes", or "a two-way radio, citizens band radio, or amateur radio equipment used in accordance with Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations".
- **Electronic message** (§ 169.475, subd. 1(b)): "a self-contained piece of digital communication that is designed or intended to be transmitted between physical devices." It includes email, a text message, an instant message, "a command or request to access a web page", a voice mail message, a transmitted image, transmitted video content including through video calling, and transmitted gaming data. It does not include "voice or audio data transmitted as a result of making a phone call", data transmitted between a vehicle and a device in the vehicle, two-way, citizens band or amateur radio data, or "data transmitted automatically without direct initiation by a person".
- **Voice-activated or hands-free mode** (subd. 1(c)): a feature, accessory, wireless connection or built-in capability "that allows the person to use verbal or single touch commands to" activate or deactivate the device, and to activate or deactivate a function or software application of the device. It "does not include typing or scrolling on a device."
- **In motion or part of traffic** (subd. 1(d)): a vehicle "is not in motion or a part of traffic if the vehicle is lawfully stopped, is in a location that is not designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, and is not obstructing traffic". House Research explains that a vehicle stopped at a stop sign, at a traffic light or in a traffic jam is still part of traffic.

## What is allowed

Under § 169.475, subd. 3(a), the prohibitions do not apply if a person uses a wireless communications device:

1. "solely in a voice-activated or hands-free mode" to initiate or participate in a cellular phone call, "provided that the person does not hold the device with one or both hands", or to initiate, compose, send or listen to an electronic message;
2. to view or operate a GPS or navigation system without typing while the vehicle is in motion, "provided that the person does not hold the device with one or both hands";
3. to listen to audio-based content without scrolling or typing while the vehicle is in motion, and without holding the device;
4. "to obtain emergency assistance to (i) report a traffic accident, medical emergency, or serious traffic hazard, or (ii) prevent a crime about to be committed";
5. "in the reasonable belief that a person's life or safety is in immediate danger"; or
6. in an authorized emergency vehicle while performing official duties.

Subdivision 3(b) limits the hands-free exception: it "does not apply to accessing nonnavigation video content, engaging in video calling, engaging in live-streaming, accessing gaming data, or reading electronic messages." So a driver can use hands-free mode to dictate or listen to a message, but not to read one.

## Penalties

- **Second or later violation.** Section 169.475, subd. 2(b), provides: "A person who violates paragraph (a) a second or subsequent time must pay a fine of $275."
- **First violation.** The statute itself does not state an amount. House Research (October 2019) says the law lets the Judicial Council set the fine and that "The current fine for a first offense is $50." It also says tickets are "subject to the surcharge on all criminal and traffic offenses, which increases the amount an offender must pay by at least $75." These figures come from 2019 and may have changed.
- **Type of offense.** House Research describes violations as "payable offenses", which are "punished by a fine" like a speeding ticket, are "not technically crimes under Minnesota law" and "do not require a court appearance". It adds that "Failure to pay a fine can result in the suspension of a driver's license."
- **When it can become a crime.** House Research says that if phone use "results in some other dangerous driving conduct, prosecutors can charge a more serious crime", for example careless or reckless driving under Minn. Stat. § 169.13. Careless and reckless driving are misdemeanors, and reckless driving that causes great bodily harm or death is a gross misdemeanor.

## History of the statute

The history line of § 169.475 in the 2025 statutes lists these enactments: 2008 c 350 art 1 s 38, 2015 c 75 art 2 s 22, 2019 c 11 s 2, and 2023 c 68 art 4 s 50 and 51. The 2019 act is the hands-free law. House Research (October 2019) says the Legislature passed a hands free law making it illegal for drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving, and adds: "While it was previously illegal to text while driving, the new law also increased restrictions on using all electronic communication devices." Conduct before August 1, 2019 was governed by the earlier text of the statute, which this document does not set out.

## How the pieces apply (my reading, not a quotation)

| Conduct while the vehicle is moving or part of traffic | Prohibited? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Holding the phone to your ear for a call | Yes | Holding a wireless communications device with one or both hands (subd. 2(a)(1)) |
| Talking on a call through a car's built-in system or a paired earpiece, with the phone in a mount | Generally no | Hands-free mode with no holding (subd. 3(a)(1)) |
| Dictating a text message by voice | No | Voice-activated or hands-free mode allows initiating, composing, sending or listening to an electronic message (subd. 3(a)(1)(ii)) |
| Reading an incoming text on the screen | Yes | Hands-free mode does not extend to "reading electronic messages" (subd. 3(b)) |
| Typing a destination into a navigation app while driving | Yes | The navigation exception requires that the use not "require the driver to type" (subd. 3(a)(2)) |
| Following a map on a phone in a mount, with no typing and no holding | No | Navigation exception (subd. 3(a)(2)) |
| Scrolling through a music or podcast app | Yes | The audio exception requires that the use not require the driver "to scroll or type" (subd. 3(a)(3)) |
| Playing a video or a game, or watching a video call | Yes | Hands-free mode does not extend to "nonnavigation video content", "video calling" or "gaming data" (subd. 3(b)) |
| Stopped at a red light with the engine on, holding the phone | Yes | A vehicle is not "in motion or a part of traffic" only if it is lawfully stopped, in a location not designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, and not obstructing traffic (subd. 1(d)) |
| Calling 911 to report a crash | No | Emergency assistance exception (subd. 3(a)(4)) |

A driver's own phone is not the only concern. A vehicle's built-in screen is "permanently physically integrated into the vehicle" and so is not a "wireless communications device" under § 169.011, subd. 94.

## Related crimes when phone use leads to harm

The hands-free law is a fine-only offense, but phone use can be part of the evidence for more serious crimes. Careless driving under § 169.13, subd. 2(a), applies to a person who operates a vehicle "carelessly or heedlessly in disregard of the rights of others, or in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any property or any person". It is a misdemeanor. The reckless driving crime requires that the driver was "aware of and consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk". Both are covered in the reckless and careless driving document.

If a driver causes the death of a human being as a result of operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner, § 609.2112, subd. 1(a)(1), makes it criminal vehicular homicide, punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten years or a fine of not more than $20,000, or both. Section 609.2113 does the same for great bodily harm (subd. 1, up to five years), substantial bodily harm (subd. 2, up to three years) and bodily harm (subd. 3, up to 364 days). House Research (2019) notes that "Several states, including Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Utah explicitly state that a person who is texting and causes an accident resulting in serious injury or death is guilty of a criminal offense", and that Minnesota's law relies on the existing crimes. The meaning of gross negligence is discussed in the reckless driving document (State v. Meany).

## Court decisions

I searched for published Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions that interpret § 169.475 and did not find one. The search service I used limited how many queries I could make, so this is not proof that none exist. The cases below are general decisions on the Fourth Amendment and traffic stops that apply when a driver is stopped for phone use, and one decision on phones seized at arrest. Unpublished appellate opinions in Minnesota are not precedential and were not reviewed.

**Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996).** "As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred." "Subjective intentions play no role in ordinary, probable-cause Fourth Amendment analysis." My reading is that an officer who sees a driver holding a phone in motion has a lawful basis for a stop, whatever else the officer might also be thinking.

**Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979).** A stop needs "at least articulable and reasonable suspicion" of a violation. My reading is that an officer cannot stop a driver at random to check for phone use.

**Heien v. North Carolina (U.S. 2014).** "Because Darisse's mistake of law was reasonable, there was reasonable suspicion justifying the stop under the Fourth Amendment." Because the hands-free law has several exceptions, an officer may be mistaken about what is prohibited. Under Heien, a reasonable mistake of law does not by itself make a stop unconstitutional. This is a federal rule, and the Minnesota Supreme Court has held in State v. Anderson (2004), discussed in the DWI document, that an officer's mistaken belief about a traffic law did not supply the basis for a stop in that case.

**Rodriguez v. United States (U.S. 2015).** "Authority for the seizure ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are—or reasonably should have been—completed." My reading is that after a stop for holding a phone, the officer may check the license and registration and write the ticket, but may not prolong the stop for unrelated investigation without reasonable suspicion.

**Riley v. California (U.S. 2014).** The Court held that "The police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested." It concluded: "Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple—get a warrant." The case is about a search after an arrest and not about phone use while driving, but it applies when a driver is arrested and the officer wants to look inside the phone. Being ticketed for a violation of § 169.475 does not by itself give an officer the right to look through the phone. My reading is that this limit still applies to the phone of a driver arrested for careless driving or DWI.

**State v. Meany, 262 Minn. 491 (1962), and State v. Kissner, 541 N.W.2d 317 (Minn. App. 1995).** These decisions on gross negligence apply to any driver, including a distracted one, whose conduct causes a death. They are summarized in the reckless driving document.

## How this fits together (my summary)

- The statute prohibits holding a device and prohibits using it for messages, calls and stored content, unless the device is used solely in hands-free mode or fits an exception. Reading a message is never allowed through hands-free mode.
- The statute applies whenever the vehicle is in motion or part of traffic, including at a red light.
- The ticket is a payable, fine-only offense. The second offense in the statute costs $275. The first-offense fine is set outside the statute.
- A stop for phone use is judged like any other traffic stop under the cases above. Searching the phone afterward generally needs a warrant.
- If phone use contributes to a crash, the driver can face careless or reckless driving, or criminal vehicular operation or homicide, which need different proof.

## What this document does not cover

- Whether the current first-offense fine and surcharge are still the 2019 amounts.
- Special rules for commercial drivers, school bus drivers or drivers holding a learner's permit or provisional license. Section 169.475 contains no separate provisions for them, but other laws may apply and were not researched.
- Local ordinances, and how tickets are contested.
- Court decisions not listed above. No published Minnesota appellate decision on § 169.475 was found, and the general cases above are a selection.