States
Jury duty in Minnesota: pay, employer rules and excuses
Independent site, not a court. Answer your summons and ask for an excuse only through the court that summoned you.
Calculate Minnesota's $20 daily juror fee with 54 cent mileage, see how county size sets your term, and check the automatic age 70 excuse.
What jury duty in Minnesota will pay you
You receive for 3 days
$60
| Court fee | $60 |
| Employer, by law | No duty to keep paying wages under this law |
| A normal 3 days of work | $600 |
| Income lost | $540 |
| Age rule | 70 and over, may ask to be excused |
Minnesota: Rates are set statewide by the Judicial Branch (statute delegates to the supreme court); paid only for days you must report. Child care and parking can be reimbursed, parking is deducted from the daily rate. Before tax. No wage obligation, but the employer must release the employee and may not force an alternative shift on reporting days.
All jury rules in MinnesotaMinnesota pays jurors $20 for each day they must report, plus 54 cents a mile for the round trip from home to the courthouse; the rates are set statewide by the Judicial Branch under the authority of Minn. Stat. § 593.48. Child care and parking can be reimbursed, with parking deducted from the daily rate. Employers have no wage obligation, but under § 593.50 they must release you and cannot force you onto another shift on reporting days. Anyone 70 or older who asks is excused automatically, with no proof needed (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 808(e)). The term depends on county population, from two weeks in the largest counties to up to four months in the smallest, and service ends after 10 days actually reported. You are not qualified again for four years after state or federal service, or two years if your county runs short of jurors. Failing to appear without good cause is a misdemeanor: up to $1,000, 90 days in jail, or both.
Statutes and court pages read by Radif Partners on October 29, 2026 · Method and sources
How county size sets a Minnesota jury term
Minnesota ties the length of your term to the population of the county that summons you. Counties of 100,000 or more use a two-week term. Those between 50,000 and 100,000 can run terms of up to two months, and counties of 50,000 or less up to four months. Whatever the term, your service ends after you have actually reported on 10 days, so a long term in a small county does not mean months of daily attendance. The $20 fee is paid only for the days you must report, which keeps the total modest even over a long term.
Minnesota's four-year gap and its approach to excuses
Minnesota gives one of the longest breaks after service: four years before you can be qualified again, counting state and federal juries, cut to two years only when a county lacks enough prospective jurors. The court rules have abolished automatic excuses except those in Rule 808. Beyond the age 70 request, you can be excused for a continuing hardship to yourself or the public, a disability with medical documentation if required, or an impaired ability to receive and evaluate information, which a judge decides. Legislators and their staff during session, and candidates for elected office, are deferred rather than excused. Ask the jury commissioner, who will usually prefer a deferral.
The rules in Minnesota, law by law
| Rule | What the law or court says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Juror pay | $20 a day | Minn. Stat. § 593.48 |
| Mileage | 54 cents per mile, round trip from home to the courthouse | Minn. Stat. § 593.48 |
| Employer must keep paying | No | Minn. Stat. § 593.50 |
| Job protected | Yes | Minn. Stat. § 593.50 |
| Age | 70 and over: may ask to be excused | Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 808(e) |
| Length of service | Term set by county size: 2 weeks in counties of 100,000+, up to 2 months (50,000-100,000), up to 4 months (50,000 or less); service ends after 10 days actually reported. | house.mn.gov |
| Before another summons | 48 months | revisor.mn.gov |
| Postponing | Ask the jury commissioner; deferral is for a reasonable time set by the county jury plan and is preferred to an excuse. | revisor.mn.gov |
| Not showing up | Failing to appear without good cause is a misdemeanor (up to $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail under the general misdemeanor penalty, Minn. Stat. § 609.03). | Minn. Stat. § 593.42 subd. 4; § 609.03 |
Excuses and postponement in Minnesota
Request an excuse from the jury commissioner; automatic excuses are abolished except those in Rule 808. Ask the jury commissioner; deferral is for a reasonable time set by the county jury plan and is preferred to an excuse.
Can I be excused or postpone?
Minnesota
No ground named: ask to postpone
| Age rule | 70+, on request |
Request an excuse from the jury commissioner; automatic excuses are abolished except those in Rule 808. Ask the jury commissioner; deferral is for a reasonable time set by the county jury plan and is preferred to an excuse.
A request is decided by the court, often with proof (a doctor's note, a school schedule). Ignoring a summons is not an excuse.
Official juror page: mncourts.gov. Answer your summons and file any request there or as your summons says.