Minnesota supervised driving
How to fill out Minnesota’s DVS Supervised Driving Log
Minnesota’s DVS log supports two paths to a provisional license: 50 supervised hours, or 40 when a parent completes the supplemental class. Both paths still require 15 night hours. The signature line reads “Primary Driving Supervisor”, and the affirmation above it is more specific: it is signed by the parent or guardian who supervised the majority of the required hours.
Fill the DVS log and pick the right hour path
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Enter the student’s name
Complete the name field before the log is submitted. The form does not need a supervising-driver license number in each row.
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Record each date in minutes
For every practice date, enter daytime and nighttime minutes in their separate columns. If several sessions happened on one date, combine them carefully and retain the correct day/night split.
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Describe the skills practiced
Use the Skills Practiced column to show what the learner worked on during that date’s driving. This detail helps demonstrate varied practice and should be captured while the session is fresh.
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Apply the correct hour path
Use 50 total hours for the standard path. Use 40 only when the supplemental parent class has been completed; the 15-hour night requirement does not change, and the completion certificate must accompany the log.
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Review, sign, and submit the record
Check the totals and required attachment, then have the parent or guardian who supervised the majority of the required hours sign and date the affirmation. Present the completed log at the road test and submit it with the provisional license application.
One date in minutes, and what it does to each path
Minnesota’s columns are in minutes, not decimal hours — worth pinning down before the first entry, because a habit of writing decimals turns 70 minutes of practice into 1 minute on the record. Take a June 6 session: 70 minutes in the afternoon, 35 minutes after dark.
- Date
- 06/06/2026
- Daytime minutes
- 70 — not 1.17
- Nighttime minutes
- 35 — not 0.58
- Total Minutes
- 105 — the row’s own total, which the sheet then rolls into the DAY, NIGHT, and TOTAL MINUTES boxes at the foot of the column
- Skills practiced
- Roundabouts and unprotected left turns — the column is what makes the log a training record rather than a tally
Those 35 night minutes count identically on both paths: 15 night hours are required whether the family is working toward 50 hours or the 40-hour supplemental-class path. Only the overall target moves, which is why the night column is worth watching from the first drive rather than the last month.
What DVS sends back
- Submitting a homemade log or another document—DVS says to use this template and attach additional copies of it when more rows are needed.
- Using the 40-hour path without completing the supplemental parent class and including its certificate.
- Reducing the night requirement to match the shorter path—the minimum remains 15 night hours either way.
How logged drives fill the DVS template
DVS asks families to use its own template rather than a homemade sheet, so the export reproduces that template’s columns exactly:
| On the Supervised Driving Log | Comes from |
|---|---|
| Student name | The student’s name, filled once at the top — there is no per-row supervising-driver license number on this form. |
| Date | The calendar date, with every drive on that date merged onto a single line. |
| Daytime minutes | That date’s daytime minutes, printed as whole minutes to match the column’s unit. |
| Nighttime minutes | That date’s nighttime minutes, kept separate so the fixed 15-hour night minimum stays checkable against either path. |
| Total Minutes | The row’s day and night minutes added together, with the column totals and the decimal TOTAL DRIVING HOURS box at the foot of the sheet computed from the printed rows. |
| Skills practiced | What was worked on during that date’s drives. |
The supplemental-class certificate is not part of the log. If you are using the 40-hour path, that certificate has to travel with the printed log — nothing on the form itself records that you took the class.
Frequently asked questions
Are Minnesota entries recorded in hours or minutes?
The official log’s day and night entry columns use minutes. Writing decimal hours into a minutes column is the quickest way to turn 70 minutes of practice into 1 minute on the record.
Does the 40-hour path also reduce the night requirement?
No — and this is the trap. Both paths require 15 night hours. Only the overall total drops, and only when the supplemental parent class has actually been completed.
What must accompany the 40-hour log?
The supplemental parent class completion certificate must accompany the log when using the reduced-total path. Nothing on the log itself records that the class was taken.
Can I hand in my own spreadsheet instead?
DVS directs families to this template and to attach further copies of it when more rows are needed, rather than substituting a homemade document.
Track your Minnesota hours
Log every supervised drive and Learner Log keeps the totals ready for the Supervised Driving Log.
Still deciding how to keep the record? Compare paper against an app. Not sure where the Supervised Driving Log ends up? See submitting a log versus certifying the hours.
Official sources: Official Supervised Driving Log. This guide was last reviewed against the official form on ; Minnesota can change its form or instructions at any time, so confirm the current version at the links above. Learner Log is an independent tracking tool, not affiliated with any licensing agency.