Identification for testing — Minnesota Permit Test

To take the written and road tests you must show identification proving your full name and date of birth.

The test result is filed against a person, not a face. Without proof of who you are the record could belong to anyone.

To take the written and road tests, you must present proper identification that verifies your first, middle and last name, and your date of birth.

Where the names on your documents do not match, you must also show proof of each legal name change.

Two names with nothing joining them look like two people. A marriage certificate or court order is the join.

If the names on your identification documents do not match, you must also provide proof of your legal name changes, such as your certified marriage certificates, certified divorce decrees or other certified court orders that specify the name change.

DVS cannot accept photocopies of identification documents and may confiscate fraudulent ones.

A copy proves nothing about the original. A fake one is evidence, so it does not come back.

We cannot accept photocopies of identification documents, and we may confiscate fraudulent documents.

DVS verifies your documents and may refuse them if they are laminated or altered.

Lamination hides the security features a clerk checks. A document nobody can check is a document nobody can trust.

DVS will verify your documents and may not accept them if they are laminated or altered.

What must your identification prove before you can take the written or road test?

Your first, middle and last name and your date of birth. The test result is filed against a person, not a face. Without proof of who you are the record could belong to anyone. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.9: “To take the written and road tests, you must present proper identification that verifies your first, middle and last name, and your date of birth.”