Minnesota’s 2026 Sentencing Guidelines changed how prior records and custody status affect felony sentencing, revised several offense rankings, added ranges to stayed-sentence cells, and created a departure factor for some people with no prior convictions. The changes generally apply when the current felony was committed on or after August 1, 2026. They do not automatically change a sentence for an older offense.
Minnesota’s 2026 Sentencing Guidelines changed how prior records and custody status affect felony sentencing, revised several offense rankings, added ranges to stayed-sentence cells, and created a departure factor for some people with no prior convictions. The changes generally apply when the current felony was committed on or after August 1, 2026. They do not automatically change a sentence for an older offense.
The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission adopted the final package after a multiyear review. The Guidelines provide presumptive sentences for felony cases, but they remain advisory to the court. The conviction offense, offense date, criminal-history calculation, and any lawful departure all matter.
Why the 2026 changes matter
Minnesota’s sentencing grids use two main inputs. The vertical axis reflects the severity level of the conviction offense. The horizontal axis reflects the person’s criminal-history score. Their intersection identifies the presumptive disposition and duration.
The 2026 package changes both inputs in important ways. It revises which prior matters enter the criminal-history score, how long some prior convictions remain countable, and where several offenses sit on the standard grid. It also changes how custody status affects the presumptive duration.
The Minnesota Legislature authorizes the Sentencing Guidelines Commission under Minn. Stat. § 244.09. The Commission’s 2026 Guidelines and Commentary state that the edition took effect August 1, 2026, for felony offenses committed on or after that date.
Some older convictions stop counting sooner
The felony “decay” period is shorter under the 2026 Guidelines. A prior felony generally stops contributing to the criminal-history score after ten years, rather than fifteen, when the conditions in Guidelines section 2.B.1.c are met. If the earlier sentence was executed, the rule also looks to when that sentence expired.
The decay period for prior misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors is now seven years rather than ten. The Commission also simplified how misdemeanor and gross-misdemeanor priors are counted and removed the special counting rules that had applied to prior misdemeanor and gross-misdemeanor DWI offenses.
“Older than ten years” is not a complete test by itself. The sentencing date, discharge or expiration date, whether a prison sentence was executed, and the date of the current offense can change the calculation.
Juvenile history and custody status now work differently
The 2026 Guidelines remove prior juvenile adjudications from the criminal-history score. Extended-jurisdiction juvenile convictions remain addressed separately in the Guidelines, so the change should not be read as saying every juvenile-court matter is irrelevant in every sentencing analysis.
Custody status also moved out of the criminal-history score. Under section 2.G.13, qualifying custody status can instead add time to the presumptive duration. The increase depends on the severity of the current offense and whether the presumptive disposition is a stayed sentence or a commitment.
This structural change can affect more than a number on a worksheet. Removing custody-status points may place a case in a different grid column, while the separate modifier may then add months to the duration. Both steps must be calculated.
Several assault and vehicular-offense rankings changed
The comprehensive review moved several offenses to different severity levels. Second-degree assault involving a dangerous weapon and substantial bodily harm moved from severity level 6 to 7. Third-degree assault involving substantial bodily harm and domestic assault by strangulation moved from level 4 to 5. Fourth-degree assault moved from level 1 to 3.
First-degree assault involving great bodily harm moved in the other direction, from severity level 9 to 8. Criminal vehicular operation involving great bodily harm, gross negligence, or impairment moved from level 5 to 6. Criminal vehicular homicide with a qualifying prior conviction moved from level 8 to 9, replacing the former sentencing modifier for that provision.
A severity-level change does not, by itself, reveal the final presumptive sentence. The criminal-history score, the applicable grid, statutory limits, modifiers, and departure questions still have to be considered.
The grids now show ranges in stayed-sentence cells
Before the 2026 edition, the Guidelines displayed ranges around the fixed duration in presumptive-commitment cells. The 2026 grids also provide discretionary ranges for cells that recommend a stayed sentence.
A stayed disposition means the prison term is not executed if the court stays the sentence and the person complies with the court’s order. It does not mean there are no consequences. A court may impose local confinement and other probation conditions, subject to the law and the facts of the case.
The new ranges do not turn a presumptive stay into a presumptive prison commitment. Disposition and duration are separate parts of the grid analysis.
A new “true first offender” departure factor is available
The 2026 Guidelines add a mitigating departure factor for a person with no prior misdemeanor, gross-misdemeanor, felony, or juvenile adjudication, when the current offense is not on the Sex Offender Grid. The factor permits consideration of a durational or dispositional departure.
The factor does not guarantee a departure. Minnesota’s Guidelines state that departures require substantial and compelling circumstances, and the sentencing court must decide whether the record supports one. Other departure factors and legal limits may also apply.
The phrase “first offense” can be misleading in ordinary conversation. The guideline uses defined categories, and the complete record must be reviewed before anyone assumes the factor applies.
Which version applies to a case?
The key date is generally the date of the current offense, not the date of arrest, charging, plea, or sentencing. The 2026 edition states that it determines presumptive sentences for felony offenses committed on or after August 1, 2026.
If alleged conduct spans more than one date, or if an offense is charged as continuing or aggregated conduct, identifying the governing edition may require a closer legal analysis. A later guideline cannot simply be assumed to apply because sentencing happens after August 1.
For a case-specific calculation, useful questions include: Which guideline edition controls? What is the correct severity level? Which prior convictions still count? Does a custody-status modifier apply? Is there a lawful basis for departure?
Questions people ask about what changed in minnesota’s 2026 sentencing guidelines?
Do the 2026 Guidelines automatically shorten existing sentences?
No. The 2026 edition generally applies to felony offenses committed on or after August 1, 2026. It does not automatically reopen an older sentence or change the guideline edition that governed an earlier offense.
Do juvenile adjudications still add criminal-history points?
The 2026 Guidelines remove prior juvenile adjudications from the criminal-history score. Extended-jurisdiction juvenile convictions are treated separately, and the complete record still needs review.
Does being on probation still affect a new felony sentence?
It can. Qualifying custody status no longer adds points to the criminal-history score, but section 2.G.13 can add time to the presumptive duration. The amount and operation of the modifier depend on the current offense and grid cell.
Does having no record guarantee probation?
No. The new true-first-offender factor may support consideration of a departure in an eligible case, but it does not require one. The offense, grid recommendation, statutory requirements, and individual record all matter.
Where can I read more about Minnesota sentencing?
See Keil Defense’s guides to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines , criminal-history scores , and sentencing departures .
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