Driving in Minnesota After a Seizure¶

This is the question people search for first. Minnesota does have a written answer, and it is short enough to read yourself. This chapter walks through the rule, who applies it, and what to do while you wait.

Read this first

This is general information, not medical or legal advice. Only Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) decides whether a person may drive in Minnesota, and only a clinician can judge a prognosis. This page was written by students from public sources and has not yet been reviewed by a clinician or the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota. We are seeking that review. Rules change. Check the linked state pages before you rely on anything here. In an emergency, call 911.

Do this in the first 30 days¶

Report the seizure to DVS in writing. Minnesota rules give you a deadline:

A person shall report an episode of loss of consciousness or voluntary control, in writing, to the department: A. at the time of applying for a driver's license, if an applicant has experienced an episode; or B. within 30 days after the episode, if a driver experiences an episode. (Minn. R. 7410.2500, subp. 2)

The report has to say the date of the episode. It also has to come with a statement from a physician on the form DVS prescribes. That form is called Loss of Consciousness or Voluntary Control (PS31015). You fill in the top. Your doctor fills in the rest. It goes to Driver and Vehicle Services, Driver Evaluation Unit, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-5170, or by fax to 651-282-2463.

There is a penalty for silence. If you had reason to know the requirement and did not report, DVS cancels or denies your driving privilege for six months from the day the department finds out. If the episode was caused by alcohol or controlled substance abuse, it is one year (subp. 2a).

Minnesota uses a broader phrase than "seizure." The rule covers any "loss of consciousness or voluntary control," which it defines as the inability to hold an upright posture without support, or the inability to respond rationally to what is going on around you. It applies whether or not you get a warning, and whether or not your seizures only happen at night (subp. 1 and 1a).

What the Minnesota rule actually says¶

There is a published number, and it is three months. Here is the rule in its own words:

...the commissioner shall cancel or deny the person's driving privileges until three months have elapsed since the episode or diagnosis and until the person submits a physician's report that indicates a favorable prognosis for episode free control of the person's condition, indicates that the person is cooperating in the treatment of the condition, and indicates that the person is medically qualified to exercise reasonable and proper control over a motor vehicle on the public roads, except as provided in items A to D. (Minn. R. 7410.2500, subp. 3)

Read the last five words. The three months is the default, not a wall that everyone hits. The rule writes down four situations where it works differently:

Your doctor states the episode happened because they changed or removed a medication, and does not recommend that you stop driving. DVS does not cancel (item A).
Your doctor states this was your first episode, and does not recommend that you stop driving. DVS does not cancel (item B).
Your doctor states all three of these: it was your first episode in four or more years, it was caused by a short temporary illness treated by a physician or by forgetting a dose, and the short-term and long-term outlook are both good. DVS does not cancel (item C).
The episode came from alcohol or controlled substance abuse and was not your first. DVS cancels for one year (item D).

So the honest version is this. Minnesota publishes a three-month seizure-free period, and it governs most cases. What your doctor writes on the form decides whether one of the four exceptions applies to you instead.

Who decides¶

DVS decides, not your neurologist. The form says so on its face:

Note to Reporting Physician: Your report is advisory. Driver and Vehicle Services is responsible for determining eligibility to drive. (DVS form PS31015)

The legal authority sits with the commissioner of public safety, who may refuse a license to a person with a physical or mental condition "that will affect the person in a manner as to prevent the person from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle" (Minn. Stat. 171.04, subd. 1). Day to day, the work is done by the DVS Driver Evaluation Unit, 651-296-2025.

Does your doctor report you?¶

Minnesota does not make doctors report. The reporting duty is yours. What the law gives doctors is permission and protection:

Any physician who diagnoses a physical or mental condition which in the physician's judgment will significantly impair the person's ability to operate safely a motor vehicle may voluntarily report the person's name and other information relevant to the condition to the commissioner. (Minn. Stat. 171.131, subd. 1)

A doctor who reports in good faith cannot be sued for it, and a doctor who does not report cannot be sued either: "No cause of action may be brought against any physician for not making a report pursuant to this section" (subd. 2).

Family members and other people can also ask DVS to look at a driver. If you are related to the driver, DVS keeps your name confidential unless a court orders otherwise (DVS at-risk drivers).

What the medical review looks like¶

Expect paperwork first, and possibly an appointment. DVS describes the sequence this way:

DVS may schedule you with a driver evaluator and mail you a letter with the date and time.
If you do not answer the letter or do not show up, your driving privileges may be canceled.
The evaluator may instead decide on the documents alone, with no interview.
After the interview or the document review, the evaluator may require a written physician's statement, a vision statement, and a passing score on the knowledge and skills tests.

(Medical conditions and your driver's license, August 2023; DVS at-risk drivers)

Return the requested paperwork. The form warns that failing to send it back within 30 days "will result in the denial of your license request and cancelation of your driving privileges" (PS31015 instructions).

What happens to the license while this is going on¶

Plan for the license to be canceled. That is the word the rule uses, and it means something different from a suspension for a traffic ticket. You keep your identity, though. DVS says a driver who has to give up the driving privilege can keep the license card for identification or apply for a Minnesota identification card (Medical conditions and your driver's license).

How to get it back¶

Reinstatement takes two documents:

For reinstatement, the commissioner shall require (1) a physician's statement that indicates a favorable prognosis for episode free control of the person's condition, indicates that the person is cooperating in the treatment of the condition, and that indicates the person is medically qualified to exercise reasonable and proper control over a motor vehicle on the public roads, and (2) a satisfactory statement from the driver or applicant stating the date of the last loss of consciousness or voluntary control. (Minn. R. 7410.2500, subp. 4)

Both are on the same PS31015 form. You sign the driver's half. Your clinic sends the rest.

How often you have to keep proving it¶

Reinstatement is not the end of it. The default is a physician's statement once a year. The rule then sets shorter and longer cycles depending on your history (subp. 5):

Every six months for a year, if the episode followed a doctor-ordered medication change, or was your first episode, or met the item C exception above.
Every six months, if DVS has good cause to believe the condition is not controlled.
Every four years, once you have been four years free of episodes, unless your doctor asks for more frequent reports.

The rule also now has two ways out of reporting altogether. One covers a driver whose episode came from a single non-epileptic seizure, who has been five years free of episodes, has not been prescribed or taken antiseizure medication for those five years, and whose physician says no further review is needed. The other covers ten years free of episodes with ten years off antiseizure medication and the same physician statement. Those two paths were added by a recent rule amendment, so the printed PS31015 form, which dates from 2016, still lists only the older options.

Commercial licenses¶

A commercial license is a separate and much stricter world, and it is federal. Interstate commercial drivers must have:

no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV (49 CFR 391.41(b)(8), quoted in 91 FR 2420, January 20, 2026)

FMCSA runs an exemption program for individual interstate drivers who have had seizures. It publishes the eligibility criteria, including the seizure-free period it wants to see, on its seizure exemption page. An exemption lasts two years, to line up with the medical certificate, and it comes with conditions: stay seizure free, keep treatment stable, report any seizure to FMCSA within 24 hours, send in annual reports from the treating physician, and take an annual exam by a certified medical examiner (91 FR 2420, January 20, 2026).

For driving only inside Minnesota, MnDOT can waive some federal physical standards under Minn. Stat. 221.0314. Its waivers page lists four: hearing, insulin-treated diabetes, physical or limb impairment, and vision. Seizures are not on that list, so ask MnDOT directly before you assume anything. The DVS form adds that "Additional waivers are required for commercial driving privileges."

If you are told you cannot drive¶

Line up rides before the first morning you need one. Waiting until the day it matters is how people miss appointments and school.

Metro Mobility is shared-ride public transportation in the seven-county metro for people who cannot use regular buses because of a disability or health condition. You have to be certified first. Call 651-602-1111 or start at metrocouncil.org.
Transit Link is curb-to-curb dial-a-ride for anyone in the seven-county metro, on weekdays, where regular routes do not run. Base fare is $3.50 one way. Book up to five days ahead, or at least two hours ahead for the same day. Call 651-602-5465.
Outside the metro, MnDOT keeps a county-by-county directory of transit providers with phone numbers and service types at find your transit provider.
If you are on Medical Assistance, it covers rides to covered appointments. Minnesota law puts "transportation services to and from medical, surgical, dental, and mental health treatment facilities" in the benefit set (Minn. Stat. 256B.0625, subd. 17). Ask your county or your health plan how to arrange it.
Rideshare and taxis work anywhere there is coverage, and they add up fast. Price a month of them before you build a plan around them.

Students who cannot drive to school¶

Ask the school in writing, and ask for it in the plan rather than as a favor. Under federal special education rules, transportation counts as a related service, which covers "travel to and from school and between schools" and specialized equipment where it is needed (34 CFR 300.34). Minnesota districts also have general authority to transport students (Minn. Stat. 123B.88).

A student with epilepsy is almost always covered by Section 504, even when seizures are controlled. Your child's rights explains how to request a 504 plan or an IEP, and what to ask for in it. A transportation accommodation usually also says that whoever drives the student can recognize a seizure and knows what to do.

What we could not confirm¶

The exact seizure-free interval FMCSA requires of exemption applicants. The FMCSA criteria page refused our requests, so we link it rather than quote a number. Ask FMCSA or a certified medical examiner.
Whether MnDOT will consider an intrastate commercial waiver for a seizure disorder at all. Its published list does not include one.
How long DVS takes to process a reinstatement. We found no published processing time.
Whether the PS31015 form can be filed online. DVS describes mail and fax for the form, and a separate online upload route at drive.mn.gov for at-risk driver referrals.
Whether a Minnesota instruction permit follows exactly the same path as a full license. The rule covers "drivers and applicants for driving privileges," which reads as though it does, but we found no DVS page stating it for permits specifically.

Sources: Minn. R. 7410.2500 (loss of consciousness or voluntary control); Minn. Stat. 171.04, 171.131, 123B.88, 221.0314 and 256B.0625; Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services, form PS31015, Medical conditions and your driver's license (August 2023) and driver compliance, at-risk drivers; FMCSA, seizure exemption application and 91 FR 2420 (January 20, 2026); MnDOT commercial vehicle waivers and find your transit provider; Metro Mobility and Transit Link; 34 CFR 300.34. Terms are defined in the glossary. See also Resources & Support.