Minnesota snow removal laws require property owners to clear snow and ice from the public sidewalks next to their property, usually within 24 hours after a snowfall ends. The exact deadline is set by your city, not the state. If you miss it, the city can send a crew, bill you, and attach the unpaid charge to your property taxes as a special assessment. You can also be sued if someone slips.
How Long You Have to Shovel
The clock starts when the snow stops falling, and the deadline depends on where you live and what kind of property you own.
Minneapolis gives residential owners 24 hours after a snowfall ends. Commercial and other non-residential properties have to clear within four daytime hours, counted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.1City of Minneapolis. Sidewalk Snow Clearing Rules St. Paul applies a flat 24-hour deadline to every property owner and manager after a winter weather event.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling Duluth also uses 24 hours for all property owners under City Ordinance Chapter 45, Article VI.3City of Duluth, MN. Snow FAQs
If your city has not adopted a specific ordinance, you still have a duty. Minnesota’s general premises liability standard requires property owners to exercise reasonable care, which includes addressing snow and ice hazards within a reasonable time after a storm ends.
What Counts as Properly Cleared
A narrow footpath down the middle is not enough. St. Paul requires the full width of the sidewalk to be cleared, along with any hard boulevard area between the sidewalk and the street where there is on-street parking.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling Most cities expect the same.
Other areas that fall on the property owner:
- Corner curb ramps next to your property. St. Paul and Duluth both require this.3City of Duluth, MN. Snow FAQs
- Fire hydrants along your frontage. St. Paul requires it, and many other cities have similar rules.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling
- The approach and exit for curbside mailboxes, plus steps and walkways leading to your door. The U.S. Postal Service asks that these be kept clear so carriers can deliver safely.4About.usps.com. Postal Service Asks Customers to Clear Walkways and Areas Around Mailboxes of Snow and Ice
When ice makes full removal impossible within the deadline, most ordinances treat you as compliant if you spread sand, grit, or another traction material so the sidewalk is safe to walk on.
Where You Cannot Put the Snow
Pushing or blowing snow from your driveway into the street is illegal, even if you expect a plow to come through later. Minnesota Statute 160.2715 makes it a misdemeanor to obstruct any highway or deposit snow or ice on one.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 160.2715 – Right-of-Way Use; Misdemeanors Cities layer their own rules on top. St. Paul makes it unlawful to shovel snow into streets, alleys, parking spaces, or in front of other properties.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling Duluth’s Ordinance Section 45-73 similarly prohibits depositing snow on public sidewalks, roads, or public grounds.3City of Duluth, MN. Snow FAQs
Snow belongs on your own yard or boulevard. If you hire a plowing service, confirm they know this. You can be held liable if a contractor dumps your snow into the road and it causes a crash.
What Happens If You Don’t Shovel
The main enforcement tool is not a traditional fine. If you miss the deadline, the city sends a crew to clear the sidewalk and bills you for the work.
In Minneapolis, if you do not pay that bill, the charge gets added to your property taxes.1City of Minneapolis. Sidewalk Snow Clearing Rules St. Paul’s Department of Safety and Inspections sends a letter first, then inspects about 48 hours later. If the sidewalk still is not cleared, the city sends a crew at your expense.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling
Minnesota Statute 429.101 authorizes municipalities to collect unpaid snow and ice removal charges as special assessments against the property. The unpaid amount becomes a lien on your property, similar to delinquent property taxes, and assessments can be paid in a single installment or spread over up to ten annual payments at the city’s discretion.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 429.101 – Unpaid Special Charges May Be Special Assessments Liens of this kind complicate selling or refinancing the property. Separately, depositing snow on a public highway is a misdemeanor under state law and carries potential criminal consequences.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 160.2715 – Right-of-Way Use; Misdemeanors
If Someone Slips and Falls
City fines are only part of the exposure. If someone is hurt on an icy sidewalk you were supposed to clear, they can sue. Minnesota courts apply a reasonable care standard, so you do not have to keep the walk perfectly dry during a blizzard, but you do need to act within a reasonable time once conditions allow.
Storm in Progress
In Mattson v. St. Luke’s Hospital (1958), the Minnesota Supreme Court held that a property owner may wait until a storm ends and a reasonable time passes before clearing snow and ice from exterior walkways. The court described it as unreasonable to expect property owners “to engage in an unending and impractical, if not useless, contest with the uncontrollable forces of nature while a storm is in progress.”7Justia. Mattson v. St. Lukes Hospital, 252 Minn. 230 Once the storm stops, the clock starts, and the 24-hour municipal deadline roughly tracks what courts treat as reasonable.
Natural vs. Unnatural Ice
Courts separate natural accumulation (snow that fell and stayed where it landed) from unnatural conditions that a property owner created or made worse. A gutter downspout that dumps water across a sidewalk where it refreezes is the classic unnatural hazard, and that kind of condition can produce liability even if you met the shoveling deadline. Ruts in fresh snow and ice that forms during a storm generally are not the property owner’s fault. The practical point is to check for drainage problems and leaky gutters, because those hazards sit on your property between storms and are harder to defend.
Landlord or Tenant: Who Shovels?
Leases often assign snow removal to the tenant, especially in single-family rentals and duplexes where the tenant also handles the yard. That allocation works between landlord and tenant, but it does not shift the city’s view.
Under most municipal ordinances, the property owner remains legally responsible for sidewalk clearing no matter what the lease says. If a tenant fails to shovel and the city sends a crew, the bill goes to the owner. The same is true for slip-and-fall claims: a pedestrian injured on the sidewalk can sue the landlord, because the ordinance duty runs with the property. In multi-unit buildings, the landlord is almost always responsible for common walkways and parking areas. Many landlords find it simpler to hire a snow service directly and treat it as an operating cost. Tenants with disabilities may also request snow removal as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act, even where the lease assigns the task to them.8HUD Exchange. Reasonable Accommodations
Snow Emergency Parking
Shoveling is one duty. Moving your car is another. When a city declares a snow emergency, special parking rules take effect so plows can clear the streets. Minneapolis uses a three-day rotating system, with no parking on snow emergency routes starting at 9 p.m. on Day 1, then rotating off even-side and odd-side streets on Days 2 and 3.9City of Minneapolis. Snow Emergency Parking Rules Violations mean tickets and towing. Property owners who rent should make sure tenants know when an emergency is declared.
If You Can’t Shovel Yourself
Not every property owner can safely clear a sidewalk after a Minnesota storm. Minneapolis runs two pilot programs through Public Works: the Mobile Team Sidewalk Snow Clearing Pilot, which contracts crews to clear sidewalks for eligible owners facing age or disability barriers, and the Senior Snow Clearing Assistance Program, which works through neighborhood organizations. Both have limited capacity and can be reached by calling 311 or contacting the city’s Snow and Ice Coordinator.10Minneapolis. Public Works Snow and Ice Pilots – Sidewalk Clearing Assistance Programs In other Minnesota cities, contact the public works department to ask what assistance or volunteer-matching exists locally.
Salt, Sand, and New Concrete
Rock salt handles ice but carries environmental costs. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has noted that pavement deicing chemicals adversely affect surface water and groundwater, and restoring contaminated water can be extremely difficult and costly.11Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Chloride Reduction Model Ordinance Language Apply salt sparingly, sweep up excess once ice melts, and consider sand or calcium magnesium acetate near gardens and waterways.
One compliance trap worth flagging: new concrete should not be exposed to salt during its first winter. St. Paul specifically warns owners to use only sand or grit on new concrete sidewalks and driveway aprons.2City of Saint Paul. Sidewalk Snow Shoveling If your sidewalk was poured recently, confirm the material you use will not damage it, and keep clearing on schedule either way.