DPS: Customers who miss their road test appointment will owe $20 ‘no-show’ fee

Minnesotans who fail to show up for their driver’s license road test will now face a $20 fee under a new law that takes effect on Nov. 1. The law is in response to a growing number of "no shows," taking away road tests from other people who are waiting for an appointment.

Customers can cancel their appointment more than 24 hours before it begins to avoid the fee, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety. The fee is collected when the customer applies for their driver’s license.

DPS says an average of 15.5% of people failed to show up for their road tests from July to September this year. In that three-month period alone, nearly 6,000 people could have taken their road tests had the appointments been canceled and made available to others. Customers can schedule, cancel or change an appointment online.

The following is a comparison of how many Class D and CDL skill test appointments were made from July through September, and how many no-shows transpired during that timeframe:

• July: 12,249 appointments made; 1,919 no-shows.
• August: 15,034 appointments made; 2,196 no-shows.
• September: 11,402 appointments made; 1,879 no-shows.

"We hope we don’t have to collect any fees. Our preference is to administer every test available," said Pong Xiong, director of the Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services division (DPS-DVS). "There are thousands of customers who could take a test each month if they keep their scheduled appointment or cancel so another customer can make a road test appointment."

The no-show fee applies to any missed skills test appointments on or after Nov. 1. The system alerts customers about the possibility of a no-show fee when they make an appointment. Customers will also be reminded about the fee in a notice sent three business days before their scheduled appointment.

DPS-DVS is willing to understand unforeseen circumstances that can cause a customer to miss an appointment. If that happens, the department can consider refunding the fee on a case-by-case basis after evaluating the situation.