Jury Duty in Minnesota: Pay, Exemptions, Excuses and What to Expect (2026)

Minnesota draws jurors at random from a statewide list that combines voter registrations with driver's license and state ID records. If you are an adult U.S. citizen who lives in the county, can communicate in English, and haven't served on a jury in the past four years, you are probably qualified.

Jurors who report to the courthouse are paid $20 a day plus $0.54 a mile for the round trip, and can ask for help with child care and parking. Your employer doesn't have to pay you, but it can't fire, threaten or coerce you for serving, and it must release you from your regular schedule, shift work included. Ignoring a summons is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. If you are 70 or older, you can be excused simply by asking.

Unusually, most of Minnesota's jury law lives in court rules rather than statutes: Title IX of the General Rules of Practice (Rules 801 to 814) covers qualifications, excuses and terms of service, while chapter 593 of Minnesota Statutes covers pay, penalties and job protection. Everything below is current as of November 2026.

Minnesota jury duty at a glance

Who can serve

Rule 808(b) of the General Rules of Practice lists the qualifications. You must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• at least 18;
• a resident of the county that summoned you;
• able to communicate in English;
• able to serve, with reasonable disability accommodations if you need them;
• if you were convicted of a felony, someone whose civil right to vote has been restored; and
• someone who hasn't served on a state or federal grand or trial jury in the past four years. If a county runs short of jurors, the state court administrator can approve a two-year limit instead.

Felony records. Since July 1, 2025, the rule ties eligibility to voting rights. The Minnesota House Research Department notes that before that date, people on probation or other supervision for a felony couldn't serve, but most people serving a felony sentence in the community can now vote and serve on a jury.

Judges. Sitting Minnesota district court, court of appeals and supreme court judges are disqualified. Federal and tribal judges, referees and magistrates are not (Rule 808(c)).

Disability. No one may be excluded from jury service because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, or a physical or sensory disability (Minn. Stat. § 593.32; Rule 809). A party can still challenge a juror whose disability would impair their ability to try a particular case. If you ask to be excused because of a disability, the judge may ask for medical documentation and may offer accommodations instead (Rule 808(d)).

Answer the questionnaire. Your summons comes with a juror qualification questionnaire you must complete within ten days (Rule 807). Failing to return it, and then failing to show good cause when the court orders you to explain, is a misdemeanor. So is willfully misrepresenting a material fact to get on or off a jury (Minn. Stat. § 593.40, subds. 4-5).

Exemptions and excuses

Minnesota has almost none. Rule 810(a) eliminates every automatic excuse or disqualification except those in Rule 808. Your occupation, by itself, won't get you out.

Age 70. The one automatic excuse is for older Minnesotans. Rule 808(e):

(e) If a qualified prospective juror is 70 years of age or older and requests to be excused from jury service, the person shall be automatically excused from service without having to submit evidence of an inability to serve.

You don't have to use it. The rule only applies if you ask.

The two other excuses. Under Rule 810(b), an eligible person may be excused only if:

1. their ability to receive and evaluate information is so impaired that they can't do a juror's job, and a judge excuses them for that reason; or
2. serving would be a continuing hardship to them or to the public, they ask to be excused for that reason, and the jury commissioner agrees.

The court must document the reason for every excuse or deferral (Rule 810(d)). Medical, financial and other hardship information you give the court to show you can't serve stays confidential; the court may not release it (Rule 814(a)(4)).

Caregivers and parents. Minnesota has no excuse just for caring for children or others, but the law lets jurors be reimbursed for added day care costs (Minn. Stat. § 593.48). If care truly can't be arranged, a continuing-hardship request or a deferral is the route.

Legislators and candidates. Members, officers and employees of the state or federal legislature get a deferral on request while the legislature is in session. A candidate who has filed for elected office can be deferred until the day after the election (Rule 810(e)-(f)).

How to ask. Follow the instructions on your summons and questionnaire. The statewide summons explains how and when to respond (Rule 807(c)).

Postponing jury duty

Minnesota calls a postponement a deferral, and the rules prefer it: "Deferral of jury service is encouraged as an alternative to excuse from service" (Rule 810(c)). On your request, the jury commissioner decides whether you meet the conditions for deferral in the State Jury Administration Plan. A deferral lasts a reasonable time, after which you must be available to serve. The House Research Department says counties may let people delay service for personal conflicts.

The rules don't cap the number of deferrals; the statewide plan sets the conditions. Ask through the method your summons describes, and ask early.

Juror pay

The Legislature leaves the amount to the Supreme Court. Minn. Stat. § 593.48 begins:

A juror shall be reimbursed for round-trip travel between the juror's residence and the place of holding court and compensated for required attendance at sessions of court and may be reimbursed for additional day care expenses incurred as a result of jury duty at rates determined by the supreme court.

As of November 2026, the rates are:

• $20 a day for each day you are required to come to the courthouse;
• $0.54 a mile for the round trip from home to the courthouse;
• child care, on request, at the court's set rates; and
• parking, on request, but the parking money comes out of your $20 daily pay.

The House Research Department confirmed the $20 and $0.54 figures in November 2025. In January 2025, the Judicial Branch asked the Legislature to raise the daily rate from $20 to $100 and the mileage rate from $0.54 to $0.67, saying jurors had raised concerns about the financial hardship of serving. The 2025 judiciary budget (Laws 2025, ch. 35) didn't fund that increase, and we found no later change.

Counties issue the payments (the state pays directly in the Eighth Judicial District) and the Supreme Court reimburses them (§ 593.48). Members of a grand jury drawn from more than one county are paid under § 593.48 too, and those who live more than 50 miles from where it sits can also get up to $35 a day for meals and lodging (Minn. Stat. § 628.41).

Your job is protected

Minn. Stat. § 593.50, subd. 1 begins:

An employer shall not deprive an employee of employment, or threaten or otherwise coerce the employee with respect to employment status, because the employee receives a summons, responds thereto, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service. An employer must release an employee from the employee's regular work schedule, including any shift work, to permit the employee to attend court for prospective jury service.

What that means for you:

• No double shifts. Your employer can't require you to work an alternative shift on any day you must report to the courthouse. You may volunteer to work a different schedule that day, but only if your employer doesn't encourage, prompt or ask you to (subd. 1). These shift rules were added in 2024.
• Criminal penalty. An employer who violates subdivision 1 is guilty of criminal contempt and can be fined up to $700, jailed up to six months, or both (subd. 2).
• Your lawsuit. If you are fired in violation of the law, you have 30 days to sue for lost wages and reinstatement. Damages are capped at six weeks of lost wages, and a winning employee gets a reasonable attorney's fee (subd. 3).

Pay is up to your employer. Minnesota law doesn't require employers to pay you while you serve, the House Research Department notes, so check your workplace policy.

What happens if you don't show up

Minn. Stat. § 593.42, subd. 4:

Any person summoned for jury service who fails to appear as directed shall be ordered by the court to appear and show cause for failure to comply with the summons. Absent a showing of good cause for noncompliance with the summons, the juror is guilty of a misdemeanor.

So you get a chance to explain first. If you can't show good cause, a misdemeanor in Minnesota carries up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both (Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 3). The same applies if you ignore the qualification questionnaire and then the court's order to explain (§ 593.40, subd. 4). If you missed your date, contact the court administrator's jury office right away.

Your first day

Read your summons carefully; it tells you where to go and how to check in. A few things the rules and the Legislature's researchers say about how service works:

• Call before you go. The House Research Department says most people summoned can call a phone number to learn whether they actually need to come in.
• Your term. In counties of 100,000 people or more, a term of service lasts two weeks. In counties of 50,000 to 100,000, it can last up to two months, and in smaller counties up to four. Once you have reported to the courthouse for ten days, you're done, unless you are in the middle of a trial, in which case you stay until it ends (Rule 811).
• Most people never sit on a trial. In 2024, about 5 percent of people summoned in Minnesota actually served on a trial jury, because most cases settle.
• One trial may be enough. If the county has enough jurors, you must be excused after you finish one trial (Rule 811(e)).
• Jury selection. You'll be assigned to a panel at random (Rule 805), then questioned in a process called voir dire, which screens for bias. Either side can also strike a limited number of jurors without giving a reason, but never because of race or gender (House Research).
• What the parties see. Once you are on a panel, the parties get your name, city, occupation, education, birth date, gender, marital status, reported race, and your spouse's occupation and children's ages from your questionnaire. Your mailing address, email and phone can go only to the attorneys, only with the judge's permission, and only for surveying the jury afterward (Rule 814(a)(2)).

For parking, dress, what to bring, and a letter for your employer, check the Minnesota Judicial Branch jury pages and your county's instructions. We could not read those pages for this guide, so we haven't summarized them.

Grand jury service

Grand juries decide whether to indict, and in Minnesota indictments are rare: prosecutors charge most crimes by complaint, but offenses punishable by life imprisonment, including first-degree murder, must be indicted (House Research). A grand jury has 16 to 23 members, chosen by lot, and can't do business unless at least 16 are present (Minn. Stat. § 628.41; Minn. R. Crim. P. 18.01). The House Research Department says grand jury service lasts four to 12 months, depending on the county. Grand jury service counts toward the four-year limit in Rule 808(b)(7).

Jury duty scams

Scammers call, email and text people claiming they failed to report for jury duty, threaten fines or jail, and press for personal or financial information. Don't give it. Minnesota summonses come with the official questionnaire, and the rules leave enforcement to the court, which first orders you to appear and explain. If you are contacted, hang up and call your county's court administrator at the number on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website. The federal courts' juror scam warning describes the same schemes and notes that most real court contact comes by mail.

Recent and pending changes

• Gen. R. Prac. 808, amended effective July 1, 2025. A felony conviction now disqualifies you only if your right to vote hasn't been restored. Before, being on probation or supervision for a felony kept you off juries.
• Laws 2024, ch. 123 (H.F. 5216), art. 13, § 6, signed May 24, 2024. Required employers to release jurors from their regular schedule, including shift work, and barred employers from requiring an alternative shift on court days.
• Laws 2024, ch. 123, art. 1. Funded increased costs of jury programs and $25,000 a year for vicarious trauma services for jurors.
• Gen. R. Prac. 801-814, amended effective November 22, 2023. Reflected the move to a single statewide jury system, with one summons and questionnaire for every county and term lengths set in the State Jury Administration Plan.
• Pending: juror pay. The Judicial Branch has asked the Legislature to raise pay to $100 a day; as of November 2026 the rate is still $20.

Frequently asked questions

How much does jury duty pay in Minnesota?

Jurors get $20 for each day they must report to the courthouse, plus $0.54 a mile for the round trip. You can also ask to be reimbursed for added child care costs and for parking, though parking money is subtracted from your daily pay. The Supreme Court sets these rates under Minn. Stat. § 593.48.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty in Minnesota?

No. Your employer can't fire, threaten or coerce you for being summoned or serving, and it must release you from your regular schedule, including shift work. It also can't make you work another shift on a court day. If you are fired, you have 30 days to sue for up to six weeks of lost wages, reinstatement and attorney's fees. Your employer doesn't have to pay you while you serve.

How do I get out of jury duty in Minnesota?

It's hard. If you are 70 or older, ask and you will be excused. Otherwise, the only excuses are an impairment that keeps you from evaluating information, which a judge decides, and a continuing hardship to you or the public, which the jury commissioner decides. A deferral to a better time is usually easier to get, and the rules encourage it.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Minnesota?

The court will order you to appear and explain why you didn't come. If you can't show good cause, you are guilty of a misdemeanor, which can bring up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Contact the jury office as soon as you realize you missed your date.

How often can you be called for jury duty in Minnesota?

After you serve on a state or federal grand or trial jury, you aren't qualified again for four years. If a county runs short of jurors, the state court administrator can shorten that to two years. Selection is random, so some people are called more often than others.

Is there an age limit for jury duty in Minnesota?

There's no upper age limit, but anyone 70 or older who asks to be excused is excused automatically, without proving they can't serve. You must be at least 18 to serve.

Where these rules live

• Gen. R. Prac. 808 — qualifications and the age-70 excuse
• Gen. R. Prac. 810 — excuses and deferrals
• Gen. R. Prac. 811 — term of service
• Gen. R. Prac. 814 — juror records
• Minn. Stat. § 593.40 — questionnaire penalties
• Minn. Stat. § 593.42 — failure to appear
• Minn. Stat. § 593.48 — juror pay and mileage
• Minn. Stat. § 593.50 — employment protection
• Minn. Stat. § 628.41 — grand juries
• Minnesota House Research: State Jury Service

For the rules that govern Minnesota civil trials themselves, see the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure. Other Minnesota guides: Minnesota law schools. To compare states, visit the jury duty hub.