Open containers and controlled substances — Minnesota Permit Test

Open containers and controlled substances on the Minnesota permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

You must not drink or have an open container of any alcoholic beverage inside a motor vehicle on a public street or highway.

An open bottle in the car is an offense on its own, whether or not anybody has been drinking.

You must not drink or have an open container of any alcoholic beverage inside a motor vehicle when it is on a public street or highway.
Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.94

It is also unlawful to allow a passenger to drink or to have an open container of alcohol inside the vehicle.

The driver is responsible for the whole car, which is why allowing it is its own offense.

It is also unlawful to allow a passenger to drink, or to have an open container of, any alcoholic beverage inside a motor vehicle.
Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.94

You must not use, possess or sell controlled substances in a motor vehicle.

All three are named, so possession alone is enough without any driving involved.

You must not use, possess or sell controlled substances in a motor vehicle.
Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.94

On the test

What does Minnesota’s open container law forbid?

An open container of alcohol inside the vehicle. An open bottle in the car is an offense on its own, whether or not anybody has been drinking. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.94: “You must not drink or have an open container of any alcoholic beverage inside a motor vehicle when it is on a public street or highway.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

All Minnesota permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Minnesota Driver’s Manual, published by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-22.