Minnesota pilot car regulations

Certification: required. Escort drivers need a Minnesota pilot/escort certificate from the Department of Public Safety. You get it by passing an 8-hour course. It lasts 4 years, you can renew it once for 4 more years, and every 8 years you take the full course again. Keep the card with you while escorting.

From Minnesota's own rules and pages, checked 2026-10-24. Rules change: the state's page is the last word.

Certification program

Minnesota State Patrol pilot/escort vehicle driver training and certification (course run by Hennepin Technical College Customized Training Services)Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 4

Other states' cards

Minnesota accepts current certifications from Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington, as long as the driver meets Minnesota insurance, driver, vehicle, sign, lighting and safety equipment rules. A Minnesota resident whose out-of-state card has expired must get Minnesota certification.

Minimum age

18

Escort vehicle

Use a car, light van, two-axle pickup or two-axle single-unit truck with a wheelbase of at least 100 inches. No trailer (except some licensed building moves), no passengers under 16, and no cargo that blocks the driver's view.Source

Sign

A rigid OVERSIZE LOAD sign mounted on top of the vehicle, visible to traffic ahead and behind: at least 5 feet wide, 10 inches of visible height, black letters 8 inches high with a 1-inch brush stroke on solid yellow. Bumper-only signs are not allowed. Cover or remove the sign when not escorting or when doing a route survey.

Lights

At least one flashing yellow or amber light on top, visible all the way around (360 degrees): either two approved amber strobe lights, one on each side of the roof sign, lit at all times and visible from at least 500 feet, or an approved amber light bar with at least two lights in the housing.

Flags

Red/orange 18-inch flags mounted in line with the OVERSIZE LOAD sign, angled about 45 degrees toward the sides. Signs, lights and flags may not stick out more than 6 inches past the widest part of the vehicle.

Height pole

If the permit requires it, the front escort must run a nonconductive, flexible, breakable height pole at all times when the load is over 15 feet 6 inches tall.

Other equipment

Two-way radio in the vehicle with at least a half-mile range, matching the truck and other escorts; company name, USDOT number or city/state and contact number readable from 50 feet. Also: an 18-24 inch reflective STOP/SLOW paddle, class 2 safety vest, flashlight (1.5-inch lens) with spare batteries or charger plus a 6-inch orange/red cone or traffic wand for it, 9 reflective triangles or reflective 18-inch cones, 8 flares or red glow sticks, 3 standard 18-inch orange cones, a spare 7 ft by 18 in vinyl or mesh OVERSIZE LOAD sign, first aid kit, 5-lb ABC fire extinguisher, and a handheld two-way radio (half-mile range) for flagging outside the vehicle.

Insurance

At least $1,000,000 combined single limit (or $1,000,000 per occurrence commercial liability) covering bodily injury and property damage from the escort vehicle and escort duties, kept in force for the whole certification period. The certificate must say on its face that it covers pilot/escort vehicles and duties.Source