How to Find Minnesota DUI Records

The Minnesota DUI is also known as DWI or driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs which are addictive in nature. The Driver and Vehicle Service Department of the state of Minnesota is responsible for outlining the various rules and regulations pertaining to the Minnesota DUI cases.  The drivers operating their vehicles all across Minnesota receive periodic warnings about the deadly consequences of being convicted for drunk driving or DUI offenses. The whole exercise endangers the law abiding innocent citizens of the state and the Minnesota DUI offender gets to spend an enormous amount as penalties not to mention the time spent in incarceration. Suspension of the driving privileges is imposed as an additional penalty that most drivers have to face if found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and certain drugs.

Minnesota DUI Penalties

Statistics reveal that almost 240 deaths occur all across the state of Minnesota on account of alcohol related traffic mishaps. There are also more than 33,000 drivers who fail to pass the sobriety test of the state which requires the blood alcohol concentration level to stay below the limit of 0.08.

The law enforcement officials are authorized to arrest any individual showing signs of intoxication while driving even if the alcohol concentration in the body does not cross the accepted limit.  Drivers entrusted with the responsibility of operating commercial vehicles or driving school children around are expected to remain sober at all times and a much lesser BAC level is set as the standard for them.

Underage DUI cases have been on the rise too and the Minnesota DUI laws deal severely with such incidences in accordance with the zero tolerance law implemented by the judicial system of Minnesota.

DUI penalties are particularly harsh in the state as well. An individual convicted of a DUI offense has to pay a hefty monetary fine as well as serve a mandatory period of jail time. The penalties vary according to the severity of the offenses with a misdemeanor case attracting a smaller amount of fee and a token period of incarceration. Felony offenses, on the other hand, are much more serious in nature and the offender has to spend a long time being incarcerated in the state facilities. Payment to the victim for the damage done also forms a part of the penalties. The driving licenses are revoked by the Driver and Vehicle Service Department of Minnesota and require a fee of $690 for reinstatement.

Minnesota Driving Records

Instances of DUI will be reflected in your driving records and can be accessed by the prospective employers and individuals alike. The procedure of obtaining a driving record is particularly simple and all you have to do is to request the records from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services.

The requests can be made by calling up the department at 651-296-2940 and you may look for additional contact information by accessing the official website of the department from http://www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/DVSContacts.htm. The request form is also available online and can be easily downloaded by accessing it from http://www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/PDFForms/Records/Record%20Request05.pdf.

While it is perfectly legal to go through your own records you need to provide a written consent or prove your entitlement to the records of the other individuals while making the request. The signature on a legal agreement is required by the department before it hands over the records to the commercial entities. Obtaining a record under false pretexts is considered to be a crime and is punishable by law.

The records are not free of charge and you are liable to pay an amount of $9 in order to obtain your own driving record. $9.50 is usually charged for each record if you are looking to obtain information on a number of individuals. An additional fee of $1 is charged for printing out a page of the driving record.

Information in MN Driving Records

While the physical description of the driver, number of convictions, current status of the license as well as the amount of unpaid fines are considered to be public information, certain identifiers as well as the DUI or other vehicle accident details are usually restricted by the DVS. The confidential information includes the social security number as well as the disability parking certificates. This information can only be accessed by the subject of the record or specific individuals authorized to view the records. The law enforcement agencies as well as the Revenue Department may be privy to such records for reasons of security and tax information respectively.

Minnesota Criminal Records

The criminal records do not usually reflect the driving offenses of a person in the state of Minnesota. Nonetheless certain DUI cases are regarded as severe felony offenses particularly those that resulted in grievous bodily harm, permanent disability or vehicular homicide. The records of such cases may be obtained from the local court premises itself.

Another location for obtaining information about the DUI records which are treated as criminal offenses is the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota Justice Information Services (MNJIS) http://www.bca.state.mn.us/CJIS/Documents/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/cjis-intro.html. The Bureau can also be visited at 1430 Maryland Ave. E., St. Paul, MN 55106, 651-793-2400 if you need additional information on the DUI criminal offense records.

DUI and DWI offenses are considered to be enhanceable offenses by the judicial system of the state and hence cannot be expunged from the records under any circumstances whatsoever.