COVID-19 News: Minnesota Judicial Branch Late Penalties, Collections Referrals, and Drivers’ License Suspensions Temporarily Stopped to Reduce Courthouse Visits

The Minnesota Judicial Branch is discouraging the public from making any non-essential visits to court facilities during the outbreak of COVID-19. In an effort to reduce foot-traffic in courthouses, the State Court Administrator has taken the following temporary administrative actions, effective Monday, March 16, for the next 30 days.

• The Judicial Branch will stop sending out late penalty notices and assessing the late penalties for all citations.
• For offenses eligible for drivers’ license suspension, the Judicial Branch will halt the automated process by which a person’s license is suspended for failure to appear.
• The Judicial Branch will stop referring past-due payment cases to the Department of Revenue for collections.

These temporary changes made to the automated financial collection processes will not adversely affect a defendant’s case. Related financially-connected processing, such as drivers’ license reinstatement and web-based and phone-based payments made through the Court Payment Center, will continue to be processed while these procedures are in effect.