Plates: impounded for a second incident in ten years, a 0.16 or higher, a child in the car, or driving on a licence cancelled for safety — and no regular plates for at least a year. Car: forfeiture applies to first-degree DWI or a third incident in ten years, and you have 60 days from the notice to demand a court hearing.
Plate impoundment
An officer can impound your plates on the spot. Under § 169A.60, subd. 1, a "plate impoundment violation" includes a DWI or licence revocation within ten years of a prior incident, a commercial-licence disqualification under the same circumstances, an alcohol concentration of "twice the legal limit or more" (0.16), a DWI with a child under 16 in the vehicle, and driving after a cancellation for public safety.
The impoundment covers every vehicle registered to the offender, not just the one stopped. Regular plates cannot be issued for "at least one year from the date of the impoundment order." In the meantime you — or a family member who needs the car — can apply for special registration plates carrying a distinctive series, which is what everyone calls whiskey plates. The fee is $50, or $100 for interlock participants (§ 169A.60, subd. 13). The 2025 law amended the rescission and reissue rules (subds. 4–6), so read the notice you are given rather than an older summary.
Vehicle forfeiture
Forfeiture is reserved for the serious end. Under § 169A.63, subd. 1, a "designated offense" is a first-degree DWI, or a DWI within ten years of two or more qualified prior incidents. The vehicle used in the offense can be seized, and the state keeps it unless you act.
"Within 60 days following service of a notice of seizure and forfeiture under this subdivision, a claimant may file a demand for a judicial determination of the forfeiture."
Minn. Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 8(e)
Miss the 60 days and the forfeiture is administrative — final without a hearing. Two exceptions worth knowing: an innocent owner (someone who owns the vehicle and did not know it would be used unlawfully) can assert their interest within the same 60 days (subd. 7a); and if the driver enters the ignition interlock program before the forfeiture is complete, the proceeding is stayed and the vehicle returned, subject to staying in compliance (subd. 13).
What to do
- Keep every piece of paper the officer gives you. The notice starts the clocks.
- Tell the attorney immediately if the car belongs to someone else, or is financed.
- Do not sell or transfer a vehicle under a forfeiture notice without advice.
Sources
- Minn. Stat. § 169A.60 — plate impoundment; special registration plates
- Minn. Stat. § 169A.63 — vehicle forfeiture; judicial determination; innocent owner; interlock stay
Checked against the sources above on 2026-09-04. This is general information about Minnesota law, not legal advice, and it can't account for your situation. Laws change — several of these did on August 1, 2025. Talk to an attorney.