Minnesota's nonpayment notice is not just a deadline — it is a form with six required elements, three of which the statute prescribes word for word. Section 504B.321 also tells the court what to do if the notice is missing or defective: dismiss the action and expunge the file. That consequence is why the content of the notice deserves more attention here than the day count.
Start an MN Notice — $49.99 See all 50 statesThe table paraphrases commonly cited residential notice periods. It is background information, not a determination that any of these applies to your tenancy.
| Situation | Notice the statute describes | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent or other unpaid financial obligation under the lease | Written pre-eviction notice with 14 days to correct the delinquency or vacate — longer if a local government's notice period is longer | § 504B.321, subd. 1a |
| Ending a tenancy at will (including month-to-month) | Written notice at least as long as the interval between rent due dates, or three months, whichever is less | § 504B.135 |
| Breach of lease other than nonpayment | No separate statutory pre-eviction notice period is prescribed; the complaint must identify the lease clause, the conduct, and the dates | § 504B.321, subd. 3(3) |
| Holding over after the term ends or after termination | Any notice to vacate or notice to quit must be attached to the complaint | §§ 504B.285, 504B.321, subd. 3(5) |
| Conduct seriously endangering others, or intentional serious damage to property | Expedited hearing procedure on an affidavit of specific facts; hearing set 5–7 days after the summons issues | § 504B.321, subd. 2 |
This is the part most templates get wrong. As published, the notice must include all of the following:
Items 4, 5, and 6 are set out in the statute in quotation marks — the statute supplies the sentences. Because the exact wording is fixed by statute and has been amended since 2023, a Minnesota notice should be prepared against the current text of subdivision 1a rather than from a saved copy. Read the statute before you send.
Paragraph (b) states that the landlord or an agent of the landlord must deliver the notice personally or by first class mail to the residential tenant at the address of the leased premises. Paragraph (c) then runs the 14 days "from the delivery or mailing of the notice" — so, unlike some states, the clock is tied to the mailing date rather than to proven receipt, and a longer local notice period displaces the 14 days where one exists.
Minnesota does not leave this to argument. Subdivision 1(d) provides that a landlord filing a complaint must attach a copy of the subdivision 1a notice where applicable, and that the court shall dismiss an action without prejudice for failure to provide a notice as described in subdivision 1a — and grant an expungement of the eviction case court file. Subdivision 5 goes further: the court must dismiss and expunge the record of any action where the filer fails to comply with the section.
Practically, that means a defective notice does not merely delay the case; it erases the filing from the tenant's record and sends the landlord back to the beginning. It also means the notice, the accounting behind it, and the record of how it was sent are the documents that carry the matter.
Subdivision 1b provides that a county or other agency requiring verification of an emergency must treat receipt of the subdivision 1a notice as sufficient demonstration of an emergency situation for certain assistance programs, and must not require the tenant to provide additional verification. In other words, the notice you send is also the document a tenant may use to apply for rental assistance — which is sometimes the fastest route to being paid.
For nonpayment of rent or another unpaid financial obligation under the lease, § 504B.321, subd. 1a describes a written notice giving the tenant 14 days from delivery or mailing to correct the delinquency or vacate — or longer, where a local government has adopted a longer notice period. For ending a tenancy at will, § 504B.135 requires written notice at least as long as the interval between rent due dates, capped at three months.
Yes. The requirement in its current form dates to legislation effective January 1, 2024, and the notice requirement now lives in § 504B.321, subd. 1a. The paragraph that previously allowed a landlord to terminate a tenancy at will on 14 days' notice for unpaid rent was removed from § 504B.135. Subdivision 2 of § 504B.321 was also amended during the 2026 session. Guides and templates that predate these changes should be treated with suspicion.
Section 504B.135 does not use the number 30. It ties the notice to the rent interval — one month for a month-to-month tenancy, one week for week-to-week — with a three-month cap. A tenant at will who pays annually is owed three months, not twelve. Many summaries round this to "30 days," which is a serviceable approximation for the common case and wrong for the others.
Subdivision 1a is written for nonpayment of rent or other unpaid financial obligations. For a breach-of-lease action, § 504B.321, subd. 3 requires the complaint to identify the lease clause relied on, the nature of the conduct, the dates it occurred, and the clause granting the right to evict. Whether your lease or a subsidy program independently requires notice first is a question for counsel.
The statute expressly contemplates local notice periods longer than 14 days and requires the notice itself to say so. Minnesota cities have been active in this area. Check your city's ordinance before you calculate a date.
Subdivision 6 provides that an eviction action is not accessible to the public until the court enters a final judgment, with access for the parties and attorneys assisting a party. That, combined with the mandatory expungement for a defective filing, is a meaningful shift in how these records work.
In Minnesota, once the 14 days (or the longer local period) have run without correction and the tenant has not vacated, the landlord may file a complaint under § 504B.321, subd. 1, attaching the lease, the itemized accounting, and a copy of the notice. The statute sets the appearance not less than seven nor more than 14 days from issuance of the summons, with a separate expedited track under subdivision 2. A record of what was sent, when, and to what address is a form of delivery documentation commonly referenced in landlord-tenant filings — and here the statute makes the notice an attachment to the complaint, so the copy matters. Whether any particular court accepts a given record, and whether your notice satisfies subdivision 1a, are matters for the landlord and the landlord's attorney to evaluate.
EvictServe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. We provide a self-service document-and-mail tool. Because Minnesota prescribes specific notice language and directs dismissal and expungement when it is missing, we strongly suggest having a Minnesota-licensed attorney review your notice template against the current statute.
Minn. Stat. § 504B.321 (Complaint and summons; subd. 1a written notice for nonpayment of rent) — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (official)
Minn. Stat. § 504B.135 (Terminating tenancy at will) — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (official)
Minn. Stat. § 504B.291 (Eviction action for nonpayment; redemption) — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (official)
2023 landlord-tenant amendments, overview — Felhaber Larson
Eviction process overview — HousingLink · Minnesota Attorney General, Landlords & Tenants handbook
Month-to-month notice math under § 504B.135 — Madgett Law
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