Minnesota Credit Card Surcharge Law
Minnesota credit card surcharge law allows surcharging, capped at 5 percent of the purchase price under state statute, with disclosure required before the customer pays. Both card networks cap their own surcharges below that state figure.
Minnesota Allows Credit Card Surcharging
Capped at 5 percent by state law, with signage required at the counter.
Minnesota allows credit card surcharges. State law caps a surcharge at 5 percent of the purchase price. That 5 percent ceiling sits above what the card networks allow, Visa at 3 percent and Mastercard at 4 percent, so in practice the network caps, not the state figure, are what limit a Minnesota surcharge.
As of July 2026 that law is in force and unchanged. Minnesota also requires the surcharge be disclosed before the customer pays, spoken out loud at the counter and posted on a sign.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Status | Allowed with limits |
| Cap | 5 percent of the purchase price (state law) |
| Where the rule lives | Minn. Stat. 325G.051 |
| Disclosure | Oral notice plus a posted sign, before the customer pays |
Minnesota is one of 47 states where surcharging is legal. See the full table at credit card surcharge laws by state.
Minnesota's Cap, The Networks Bind First
The state's 5 percent ceiling sits above both card network caps.
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Visa: 3% Cap
Visa caps credit card surcharges at 3 percent nationwide.
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Mastercard: 4% Cap
Mastercard caps credit card surcharges at 4 percent nationwide.
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Debit Never Surcharges
Debit, prepaid, and gift cards can never carry a surcharge, in Minnesota or anywhere else.
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Disclosure Is Mandatory
The customer learns about the surcharge before they pay, every channel, every time.
The Network Caps Bind First
Minnesota's 5 percent ceiling is looser than either card network's own limit. Visa caps surcharges at 3 percent and Mastercard at 4 percent, and each of those is itself only a backstop above what card acceptance actually costs a store. Two ceilings apply at once, and the lower one always wins.
There is no federal cap on surcharges, whatever some processing guides claim; the 3 and 4 percent ceilings are card network rules, not government limits.
Minn. Stat. 325G.051, On the Books Since 1987
A real statute with a modest, specific penalty behind it, not agency guidance.
Minnesota's surcharge rule lives at Minn. Stat. 325G.051. The 5 percent cap has been on the books since 1987; the statute was last updated in 2023 to add disclosure rules for online, mobile, and phone sales and to cover lessors. The 2023 update did not touch the 5 percent cap itself, which remains unchanged as of July 2026.
The disclosure detail is a real Minnesota strength. In person, the seller must give oral notice at the time of sale and post a conspicuous sign. For website and mobile checkout, the law requires a conspicuous surcharge notice at the point of sale. For telephone sales, oral notice is required. In every case, the customer learns about the surcharge before paying.
Enforcement is modest and specific. The statute carries a civil penalty of up to $500, plus a refund of the surcharge to the customer. That is far short of the treble-damages, consumer-fraud exposure some other states attach to a surcharge violation.
No Minnesota bill to change the surcharge cap or add new limits is pending as of July 2026.
The Junk Fee Law Does Not Restrict Surcharging
A 2025 price-display rule, and why a disclosed surcharge sits outside it.
Since January 2025, Minnesota's price transparency law, sometimes called the junk fee law (Minn. Stat. 325D.44), has barred advertising a price that leaves out a mandatory fee. It is a price-display rule, not a surcharge limit.
The state Attorney General's published guidance says a credit card surcharge a customer can avoid by paying cash is not a mandatory fee, so it does not have to be folded into advertised prices. A disclosed, avoidable surcharge stays outside the rule.
The program posts disclosure everywhere as standard practice, not only where a state requires it, so a Minnesota dealership already meets this rule today and stays covered if disclosure requirements ever tighten.
What This Means at the Counter
Three things right at the counter, and none of them need a lawyer on standby.
Disclose the amount before the customer pays: post a sign at the door and the cashier window, show it on screen for online sales and text-to-pay links, and say it out loud on the phone. Debit never carries a surcharge, no exceptions and no workarounds. Stay within the network caps, Visa at 3 percent and Mastercard at 4 percent, which bind before the state's 5 percent figure does. Card-not-present payments run through the program with the same required disclosure. We track the state, not your front desk.
As of July 2026, Minnesota treats a credit card surcharge as part of the taxable sale, so state and local sales tax applies to it, at a state rate of 6.875 percent.
Payments post straight to the repair order in CDK Drive, so the surcharge line shows up where your advisors already work. See the full mechanics on the surcharge program page, or walk through exactly what happens at the terminal on the how it works page.
Straight Answers on Minnesota Rules
Yes. Minnesota state law allows credit card surcharges and caps them at 5 percent of the purchase price, with disclosure required before payment.
State law caps it at 5 percent of the purchase price, but Visa's 3 percent and Mastercard's 4 percent network ceilings are lower and bind first.
Oral notice plus a posted sign in person, a conspicuous on-screen notice online and on mobile checkout, and a verbal notice on phone sales, always before the card is run.
No. It is a price-display rule. The state says a surcharge a customer can avoid by paying cash is not a mandatory fee, so a disclosed, avoidable surcharge is fine.
Yes. Minnesota treats the surcharge as part of the taxable sale, so sales tax applies. For pricing and program questions beyond state law, see the FAQ page.
Straight Answers on Minnesota
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