Vehicle Mod Laws in Minnesota

Replacing the exhaust system is legal in Minnesota, but a muffler in good working order is required and cutouts or bypasses are prohibited.

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Minnesota makes it unlawful to violate the state pollution agency's motor-vehicle noise rules, which put passenger cars at roughly 75 dBA measured 50 feet from the center of the lane.

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Smoked or tinted film on headlights and taillights is illegal in Minnesota. Headlights must emit white light and taillights must show red at the required visibility distance, and tint that dims or discolors them violates those requirements.

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License plate frames are legal in Minnesota as long as nothing required stays hidden. It is unlawful to cover the assigned letters and numbers OR the state-of-origin name with any material — including clear material that affects visibility or reflectivity.

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Minnesota caps bumper height at 20 inches on passenger automobiles and station wagons and 25 inches on four-wheel-drive multipurpose vehicles, vans, and pickup trucks.

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Minnesota's cover rule is real but conditional on height: auxiliary driving lamps mounted 16 to 42 inches may be used on the road, but any lamp outside that window — a roof-mounted bar, for instance — must be completely covered with opaque material on a public highway.

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Minnesota limits vehicle and bumper height to within 6 inches of the original manufactured height, with bumpers capped at 20 inches on cars and 25 inches on four-wheel-drive MPVs, vans, and pickups.

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Underglow may not be used on public roads in Minnesota. A vehicle may not be driven displaying any lamp showing red or any colored light other than those required or permitted, flashing is banned, blue is restricted, and lamps are capped at 300 candlepower aimed within 75 feet — so colored underglow lit in motion is illegal.

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Minnesota's wheel-flap requirement applies to trucks, truck-tractors, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, and rear-end dump trucks — not passenger cars.

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Minnesota allows no aftermarket windshield strip — any material that reduces windshield light transmittance is prohibited. A printed windshield banner is not legal in Minnesota.

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Front side windows: minimum 50% VLT. Rear side and back windows: minimum 50% VLT. Darker limits apply behind the driver on some larger vehicles.

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