How to Legally Drive Home a Used Car You Just Bought in Minnesota

You found the car on Facebook Marketplace, you and the seller agree on the price, you hand over the cash and they sign the title — and now you're standing in their driveway looking at a vehicle with no plates. What you do in the next hour determines whether you drive home legally, get pulled over, or end up paying for a tow truck. This guide covers the three legal paths and the order you should do things in.

Quick answer: When you buy a used car privately in Minnesota, the seller signs the title to you and removes their plates. You have 10 business days to register the vehicle (60 days if you just moved to Minnesota). The most common legal way to drive home is to (1) call your insurer and add the car, then (2) drive directly to a deputy registrar to buy a 21-day temporary permit, then (3) drive home with the temporary permit taped in the rear window.

What a private sale actually transfers

In Minnesota, a private vehicle sale legally consists of three things changing hands:

• The title. This is the legal document of ownership. The seller signs it on the back, fills in the buyer's name, the sale price, and the odometer reading, and dates it. You keep the title — there's a perforated section (the "transferable record") that the seller may retain for their records.
• The keys and the vehicle itself.
• A bill of sale. Not legally required in Minnesota for vehicle sales (the title transfer is sufficient), but strongly recommended as proof of the price and date of sale.

What does not transfer:

• The plates. They belong to the seller, not the car. The seller is supposed to remove them at the time of sale. If the seller leaves the plates on, take them off yourself before driving — driving on plates registered to someone else is its own citation.
• The seller's insurance. Their insurance covered them as the owner. The day you take ownership, their policy stops covering the car (and probably stops covering you if anything happens).
• The seller's registration. Minnesota tabs are paid by the owner, not transferred with the vehicle.

The order you actually do this in

The legally cleanest sequence:

Step 1: Get insurance in your name on the car (5–10 minutes)

Before you drive — even before the seller hands you the keys — call your insurer or use their app to add the vehicle to your policy.

• If you already have a Minnesota auto policy: most insurers can add a newly purchased vehicle by phone or app with same-day coverage. You'll need the VIN (on the title and the dashboard near the windshield), the year, make, and model. The agent issues a temporary insurance card by email.
• If you have no existing policy: you can buy a new policy on the spot from State Farm, Geico, Progressive, etc. Doing this on a phone takes 15–25 minutes. Save the digital insurance card to your phone and email a copy to yourself.

You need the insurance card (digital is fine) before you drive away.

Step 2: Take the signed title and your insurance to a deputy registrar

A deputy registrar is a county or city office that handles vehicle title transfers, plates, and tabs. There are dozens across Minnesota — most cities have at least one. Bring:

• The signed-over title.
• A bill of sale (recommended, even though not required).
• Proof of insurance in your name on the vehicle.
• A valid ID (your Minnesota driver's license, or out-of-state license if you just moved).
• Cash, check, or card for fees. Total fees vary based on the vehicle's value but typically run $60–$300 for a standard car (motor vehicle sales tax of 6.875%, title fee, registration fee, plate fees).

The registrar will issue:

• New Minnesota plates (or transfer plates from another vehicle of yours).
• A registration card.
• A new title in your name (this arrives by mail in 4–8 weeks).

If you can drive directly from the seller to the deputy registrar (typically within 30 minutes), most law enforcement will recognize that you're in good faith doing the right thing — but that's a courtesy, not a legal protection. The cleaner play is the next option:

Step 3: If you can't go straight to the registrar, get a 21-day permit

If the deputy registrar is closed (evenings, weekends) or far away, request a 21-day temporary registration permit the next time the registrar is open. The seller can also drive the car to the registrar for you, or you can have the car towed there.

The 21-day permit:

• Costs around $1 plus the title-transfer fees.
• Is a paper permit that you tape in the rear window of the vehicle, not the dashboard.
• Lasts 21 calendar days — enough time for the new plates and registration to come through.
• Lets you drive the car normally while you wait. Police running plates will see the temporary permit and the registration in process.

You can extend it once if there's a delay, but you cannot get a second 21-day permit for the same purchase.

What if I bought from a licensed dealer?

Dealers handle this differently. A licensed Minnesota dealer:

• Issues their own 21-day temporary paper permit at the time of sale.
• Typically files the title transfer with DVS on your behalf — you don't have to visit a deputy registrar at all.
• Collects sales tax and registration fees as part of your purchase.

If you bought from a dealer and they did NOT give you a temporary permit, ask before you drive off — they should have included it.

The "in-transit" option (and why it's risky)

Some buyers skip the deputy registrar and just drive the car directly home, planning to register it the following day. This is technically allowed under Minnesota's "in-transit" practice — you have the signed title and a bill of sale, the sale just happened, and you're transporting the vehicle to its new home.

The risks:

• The car has no plates, which is highly visible to police. Officers may pull you over to verify.
• If you have to stop at a gas station or anywhere else along the way, you're driving an untagged vehicle in public — no good explanation for being parked there for 20 minutes.
• If you crash, your insurer may dispute coverage if they hadn't formally activated the policy yet.
• If the deputy registrar is more than 30 minutes from the seller, the in-transit story gets harder to defend.

In-transit driving works best for: a 15-minute drive directly home or to a registrar, in daylight, with the title and insurance on your phone, ready to show.

In-transit driving fails when: you're driving across the metro, at night, with the family in the car. Under those conditions, get the 21-day permit first.

The flatbed option (when you can't drive at all)

If you bought a non-running car, a project car, or you simply don't want the legal exposure of in-transit driving:

• Rent a U-Haul auto transport — about $50/day plus mileage. Hooks to a truck.
• Hire a flatbed tow — most Twin Cities tow companies will load and transport for $100–$200.
• Use a towing service through your insurance — many policies include a free tow up to a certain distance.

Loaded onto a trailer, the car is technically "cargo" and not a driven vehicle, so plates and registration aren't required for transport.

Insurance is the part that surprises people

Driving without insurance in Minnesota is severe:

• Revocation of plates and registration.
• Revocation of your driver's license for up to 1 year on a first offense.
• Fines up to $1,000.
• Up to 90 days in jail.

If you crash an uninsured vehicle and cause damage, you are personally responsible for every dollar of property damage and medical bills the other party suffers. This is a financial wipeout for most people. The 5 minutes it takes to add a vehicle to your policy is the highest-ROI 5 minutes of the day.

Common mistakes

• Driving home on the seller's plates. They belong to the seller, not the car.
• Forgetting to get insurance before driving away.
• Losing the signed title between the seller's driveway and the registrar — keep it in a folder, not a back pocket.
• Not getting a bill of sale. If anything goes wrong (the seller claims you stole the car, or the title turns out to have a lien), the bill of sale is your evidence.
• Trying to use the seller's tabs/registration. Will not work. The deputy registrar checks the title against state records, not the tabs sitting on the plate.
• Taking too long. The 10-business-day registration deadline starts the day of sale, not the day you remember to deal with it.

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This article is based on the 2025 Minnesota Class D Driver's Manual (May 2025 edition, page 43) and the Minnesota DVS website at dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/motor-vehicle. Sales tax rates, fees, and permit costs change — always confirm at dps.mn.gov before relying on this guide. This article does not provide legal advice; consult an attorney for specific situations.