Does your Minnesota menu or price list add a fee at the end?

Laws 2024, ch. 111 added subd. 1a–1b to Minn. Stat. 325D.44. It states: “This section is effective January 1, 2025, except that this section is effective June 1, 2025, for industries where the prices are regulated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission.” The Attorney General’s FAQ adds that the law is not retroactive to contracts signed before January 1, 2025.

Yes. The law does not cap or ban fees; it governs how they are shown. Under Minn. Stat. 325D.44, subd. 1a(a), a business engages in a deceptive trade practice when it “advertises, displays, or offers a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges.” The AG FAQ says a mandatory “health and wellness” fee would need to be included in the total price, and that the law does not prohibit also itemizing the fee in addition to showing the total price. This kit does not decide whether a particular fee of yours is mandatory.

Subd. 1a(b): “mandatory fee” includes but is not limited to a fee or surcharge that “(1) must be paid in order to purchase the goods or services being advertised; (2) is not reasonably avoidable by the consumer; or (3) a reasonable person would expect to be included in the purchase of the goods or services being advertised.” Government taxes on the sale (such as sales tax) are excluded, so they can still be added at checkout.

No, but the percentage must be disclosed. Subd. 1a(h): a food or beverage service establishment, including a hotel, is compliant if, “in every offer or advertisement for the purchase of a good or service that includes pricing information,” the total price includes “a clear and conspicuous disclosure of the percentage of any automatic and mandatory gratuities charged.” Under Minn. Stat. 177.24, subd. 3, a gratuity is the sole property of the employee.

Under Minn. Stat. 177.23, subd. 9, “gratuities” include an obligatory charge that might reasonably be construed as payment for personal services by an employee “and for which no clear and conspicuous notice is given by the employer to the customer, guest, or patron that the charge is not the property of the employee.” Minn. R. 5200.0080, subp. 4b sets that notice: bold type on the menu, placard, front of the statement of charges or other printed material, at least 18 point on the placard or 9 point on other notices. A mandatory charge the business keeps is also a mandatory fee that belongs inside the shown price.

The AG FAQ says a credit card surcharge that a consumer could reasonably avoid by paying with cash is not a “mandatory fee” and need not be in the advertised price (other consumer protection laws still apply). For services priced by selections, distance or time, subd. 1a(g) is met by clearly and conspicuously disclosing “(1) the factors that determine the total price, (2) any mandatory fees associated with the transaction, and (3) that the total cost of the services may vary.”

Under Minn. Stat. 8.31, subd. 3, the Attorney General may recover for the state “a civil penalty, in an amount to be determined by the court, not in excess of $25,000.” The AG FAQ says that if a business refuses to comply, the office can file a civil action in district court and seek “injunctive relief, restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, costs and disbursements, including costs of investigation and any reasonable attorneys’ fees.” The FAQ also says the office is focused first on voluntary compliance. A person likely to be damaged may also seek an injunction under Minn. Stat. 325D.45. This kit does not decide whether a particular practice is a violation.

No. This page and the kit are general information and blank templates built from the public law. They are not legal advice, are not tailored to your business, and buying a kit does not create a lawyer-client relationship. For your own situation, ask a Minnesota licensed attorney.