Light Bars & LED Lighting in Minnesota
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.
Verified against primary sources · August 2026
What the law says
Minnesota also permits one spot lamp aimed no more than 100 feet and two fog lamps mounted 12 to 30 inches. A cover is required only for lamps mounted outside the legal height window. Mounting a light bar is legal everywhere; what states regulate is using it on public roads, and the usual constraint is a mounting-height ceiling plus a per-type lamp count — a roof-mounted bar often falls outside the permitted category entirely.
Specific Limits
- Max lamps
- 2 auxiliary driving lamps (16-42 in), 2 auxiliary low-beam lamps (24-42 in), 1 spot lamp aimed no more than 100 ft, 2 fog lamps (12-30 in)
- Roof mounted
- must be completely covered with opaque material on a public highway
- Cover required
- only for lamps mounted outside the 16-42 in window
Frequently Asked Questions
Are light bars & led lighting legal in Minnesota?
What are the exact light bars & led lighting limits in Minnesota?
Street-legal light bars & led lighting picks
Gear that helps you mod without a ticket in Minnesota.
Required on the road in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Virginia — but check your state first: Illinois and Kentucky prohibit tinted lens covers.
Shop on AmazonHousings with SAE/DOT markings are what inspectors look for.
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