Mudslingers OHV Club

Youth ATV Hands-on Safety Training Class is set for April 26, 2025 at 10:00am at Ada Fire Hall, Ada, MN. For information or to get signed up contact Glen Visser at 218-415-0190.


ATV Safety Training

ATV Safety Training Requirements

Anyone born after July 1, 1987, and who is 16 years or older can complete the ATV Safety online course at ATVcourse.com (https://www.atvcourse.com/usa/minnesota/)(and pay all necessary fees online) to meet certification requirements. You are not required to attend the ATV safety Hands-On class. 


Students age 10 through 15 must complete the ATV Safety online course before signing up for a Hands On ATV class.  This certification is required for all ATV operators age 12 and older who were born after July 1, 1987.


First, complete the ATV Safety Online Course at ATVcourse.com:

go to: https://www.atvcourse.com/usa/minnesota/ and complete the ATV Safety Online Course.  There is a course fee.


Second, attend a Hands-On ATV Safety Class:

Students ages 10-15 must register for a Hands-On ATV Safety Training Class.

The Hands-On training includes: Basic ATV operation; protecting the environment; common ATV parts and controls; MN rules and laws; responsible ATV riding skills for trail riding, and practicing/demonstrating skills on an ATV course.


Students can print their ATV Safety Certificate at the DNR website after passing both the online and Hands-On class. Instructions are provided during class. DNR fee is $10.00. The ATV Certificate becomes valid at age 12.


Alternate ATV Safety training

Proof of completion of the ATV Rider Course offered by the All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute is adequate to meet the safety certificate requirements.  The fee for the course is $55.00.  Go to https://atvsafety.org/ to do the course.


Are you a parent of a child 6-9 years old?

Youth ages 6-9 years of age may complete the free study guide at ATV Free Study Guide (https://www.atvcourse.com/usa/minnesota/youth/).

  • Free course designed to provide 6-9 year olds with introductory and basic ATV safety information.
  • No riding performance course offered with this course.
  • No certification upon completion of the study guide course.


ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV) OPERATIONS FOR CLASS 1 AND 2

Safety First-Helmets

Operators and passengers under age 18 are required to wear a helmet when operating on public lands, frozen waters, and road rights-of-way.

Safety First-seat belts

The U.S. Product Safety Commission and the Minnesota DNR recommends all riders use seat belts if equipped by the manufacturer. Potential for severe injury and death are greatly reduced with wearing seat belts.

Under Minnesota Law: A person less than 18 years of age shall not ride as a passenger or as an operator of an all-terrain vehicle without wearing a seat belt when provided by the manufacturer.

A person may not drive or operate an all-terrain vehicle:

  • at a rate of speed greater than reasonable or proper under the surrounding circumstances;
  • in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner so as to endanger or to cause injury or damage to the person or property of another
  • without headlight and taillight lighted at all times if the vehicle is equipped with headlight and taillight;
  • without a functioning stoplight if so equipped
  • without a brake operational by either hand or foot;
  • with more than one person on the vehicle, see Passenger sections under Class 1 or Class 2 ATV;
  • at a speed exceeding 10-miles per hour on the frozen surface of public waters within 100 feet of a person not on an all-terrain vehicle or within 100 feet of a fishing shelter;
  • across a bridge that is part of the traveled lanes of an interstate highway; or
  • on a grant-in-aid snowmobile and non-motorized trails closed to ATV's unless specifically allowed.

​

Age Requirements

Class 1 ATV operation for youth

* Under age 10

  • May operate an ATV only on private property with permission of the owner.

*Age 10 and 11 year olds

  • May operate an ATV only on private property with permission of the owner, except an ATV with a straddle seat up to 110cc or up to 170cc with side-by-side seating on public lands and frozen waters if accompanied by parent or legal guardian.

*Age 12 to 15 year olds

  • Must have permission from their parent or guardian to operate an ATV.
  • May not operate an ATV on public lands or water, or on state or grand-in-aid trails, if the person cannot properly reach and control the handlebars and reach the foot pegs while sitting upright on the seat.
  • May make a direct crossing of a public road right-of-way of a trunk, county state-aid, or county highway or operate on public lands and waters or state or grand-in-aid trails, only if that person possesses a valid all-terrain vehicle safety certificate issued by the commissioner and is accompanied on another ATV by a person 18 years of age or older who holds a valid driver's license.
  • May operate on the bank, slope, ditch of a public road right-of-way or roadway open by local ordinance with a valid ATV Safety Certificate when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian on a separate ATV.

*Age 16 & 17

  • Must have a valid driver's license and ATV Safety Certificate to make a direct crossing of a roadway or operate on road right-of-way or roadway open by local ordinance.

​A person shall not operate an all-terrain vehicle at any time within the right-of-way of an interstate highway or freeway within this state.


​Passengers on a Class 1 ATV

  • A person 12 to 17 years of age may operate a Class 1 all-terrain vehicle carrying only one passenger and the passenger must be the person's parent or legal guardian.
  • A person 18 years of age or older may operate a Class 1 all-terrain vehicle carrying only one passenger.​


A person with a valid driver's license may operate a Class 1 ATV:

  • In the ditch or the outside bank or slope of a trunk, county state-aid, or county highway unless prohibited under local road authority.
  • Registered for private use and being used for agricultural purposes on a public right-of-way of a trunk, county, state-aid, or county highway, if the ATV is on the extreme right side of the road.  A left turn may be made if it is safe to do so.
  • On the far right side of a township road, unless prohibited by local regulations.  If traveling at a slower speed than other traffic on the township road, the ATV should be driven as close as practical to the right edge of the road.
  • On a bridge, a roadway shoulder, or the inside bank of a public road right-a-way if necessary to avoid obstructions to travel or environmentally sensitive areas. You must remain in the farthest right lane, enter the roadway within 100 feet of the bridge, obstacle, or area, and make the crossing without delay.

​Class 1 ATV with steering wheel

A person may operate a Class 1 all-terrain vehicle designed by the manufacturer for off-road use to be driven by a steering wheel and equipped with operator and passenger seat belts and a roll-over protective structure within the public road right-of-way of a county state-aid or county highway on the right shoulder or the extreme right-hand side of the road and left turns may be made from any part of the road if it is safe to do so under the prevailing conditions, unless prohibited by the local ordinance.


Class 2 ATV Operation

Anyone under the age of 15 may NOT operate a Class 2 ATV.

In addition to the information listed above, a class 2 all-terrain vehicle may be operated:

  • within the public road right-a-way of a county state-aid or county highway on the right shoulder or the extreme right-hand side of the road and left turns may be made from any part of the road if it is safe to do so under the prevailing conditions;
  • on the bank, slope, or ditch of a public road right-a-way of a trunk, county state-aid, or the county highway but only to access businesses or make trail connections, and left turns may be made from any part of the road if it is safe to do so under the prevailing conditions;
  • on the bank or ditch of a public road right-a-way on a designated class 2 all-terrain vehicle trail.

​Note: A road authority as defined under Minnesota statute 160.02, subdivision 25, may after a public hearing restrict the use of all-terrain vehicles in the public road right-a-way under its jurisdiction.

Age 16-17​

  • Must have a valid driver's license and a ATV safety certificate to make a direct crossing of a roadway or operate on road rights-of-way.
  • Must wear a DOT rated helmet and seat belt (if equipped).(Required under Minnesota law.)

​A person with a valid drivers license may operate a Class 2 ATV:

  • on frozen lake surfaces;
  • on state forest roads; or
  • within the public road right-of-way of a county state-aid or county highway on the right shoulder or the extreme right-hand side of the road and left turns may be made from any part of the road if it is safe to do so under the prevailing conditions, unless prohibited by the road authority or other local laws.

​Passengers on Class 2 ATV's

A person 18 years of age or older may operate a Class 2 all-terrain vehicle while carrying only one passenger, or up to the number of passengers for which the vehicle was designed, whichever is greater.

A person shall not operate an all-terrain vehicle at any time within the right-of-way of an interstate highway or freeway within this state.