diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
index dd5d239a8e5f..fb54c83d2e3e 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -72,6 +73,12 @@ var RootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			out.WarningT("User name '{{.username}}' is not valid", out.V{"username": userName})
 			exit.Message(reason.Usage, "User name must be 60 chars or less.")
 		}
+		// viper maps $MINIKUBE_ROOTLESS to --rootless automatically, but it does not do vice versa,
+		// so we map --rootless to $MINIKUBE_ROOTLESS expliclity here.
+		// $MINIKUBE_ROOTLESS is referred by KIC runner, which isn't aware of the *cobra.Command object.
+		if cmd.Flag(config.RootlessFlag).Changed {
+			os.Setenv(constants.MinikubeRootlessEnv, strconv.FormatBool(viper.GetBool(config.RootlessFlag)))
+		}
 	},
 }
 
@@ -206,6 +213,7 @@ func init() {
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(config.ProfileName, "p", constants.DefaultClusterName, `The name of the minikube VM being used. This can be set to allow having multiple instances of minikube independently.`)
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(configCmd.Bootstrapper, "b", "kubeadm", "The name of the cluster bootstrapper that will set up the Kubernetes cluster.")
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().String(config.UserFlag, "", "Specifies the user executing the operation. Useful for auditing operations executed by 3rd party tools. Defaults to the operating system username.")
+	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().Bool(config.RootlessFlag, false, "Force to use rootless driver (docker and podman driver only)")
 
 	groups := templates.CommandGroups{
 		{
diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start_flags.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start_flags.go
index fa25e9cd5312..42126aae3f5d 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start_flags.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start_flags.go
@@ -552,12 +552,22 @@ func generateNewConfigFromFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, k8sVersion string, rtime str
 			exit.Message(reason.Usage, "Ensure your {{.driver_name}} is running and is healthy.", out.V{"driver_name": driver.FullName(drvName)})
 		}
 		if si.Rootless {
+			out.Styled(style.Notice, "Using rootless {{.driver_name}} driver", out.V{"driver_name": driver.FullName(drvName)})
 			if cc.KubernetesConfig.ContainerRuntime == constants.Docker {
 				exit.Message(reason.Usage, "--container-runtime must be set to \"containerd\" or \"cri-o\" for rootless")
 			}
 			// KubeletInUserNamespace feature gate is essential for rootless driver.
 			// See https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/kubelet-in-userns/
 			cc.KubernetesConfig.FeatureGates = addFeatureGate(cc.KubernetesConfig.FeatureGates, "KubeletInUserNamespace=true")
+		} else {
+			if oci.IsRootlessForced() {
+				if driver.IsDocker(drvName) {
+					exit.Message(reason.Usage, "Using rootless Docker driver was required, but the current Docker does not seem rootless. Try 'docker context use rootless' .")
+				} else {
+					exit.Message(reason.Usage, "Using rootless driver was required, but the current driver does not seem rootless")
+				}
+			}
+			out.Styled(style.Notice, "Using {{.driver_name}} driver with the root privilege", out.V{"driver_name": driver.FullName(drvName)})
 		}
 		if si.StorageDriver == "btrfs" {
 			klog.Info("auto-setting LocalStorageCapacityIsolation to false because using btrfs storage driver")
diff --git a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/cli_runner.go b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/cli_runner.go
index 9294eaeb5995..9c39d6168204 100644
--- a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/cli_runner.go
+++ b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/cli_runner.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/style"
 )
@@ -72,10 +73,40 @@ func (rr RunResult) Output() string {
 	return sb.String()
 }
 
+// IsRootlessForced returns whether rootless mode is explicitly required.
+func IsRootlessForced() bool {
+	s := os.Getenv(constants.MinikubeRootlessEnv)
+	if s == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	v, err := strconv.ParseBool(s)
+	if err != nil {
+		klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to parse", "env", constants.MinikubeRootlessEnv, "value", s)
+		return false
+	}
+	return v
+}
+
+type prefixCmdOptions struct {
+	sudoFlags []string
+}
+
+type PrefixCmdOption func(*prefixCmdOptions)
+
+func WithSudoFlags(ss ...string) PrefixCmdOption {
+	return func(o *prefixCmdOptions) {
+		o.sudoFlags = ss
+	}
+}
+
 // PrefixCmd adds any needed prefix (such as sudo) to the command
-func PrefixCmd(cmd *exec.Cmd) *exec.Cmd {
-	if cmd.Args[0] == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" { // want sudo when not running podman-remote
-		cmdWithSudo := exec.Command("sudo", append([]string{"-n"}, cmd.Args...)...)
+func PrefixCmd(cmd *exec.Cmd, opt ...PrefixCmdOption) *exec.Cmd {
+	var o prefixCmdOptions
+	for _, f := range opt {
+		f(&o)
+	}
+	if cmd.Args[0] == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" && !IsRootlessForced() { // want sudo when not running podman-remote
+		cmdWithSudo := exec.Command("sudo", append(append([]string{"-n"}, o.sudoFlags...), cmd.Args...)...)
 		cmdWithSudo.Env = cmd.Env
 		cmdWithSudo.Dir = cmd.Dir
 		cmdWithSudo.Stdin = cmd.Stdin
diff --git a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/info.go b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/info.go
index 23aff7296a34..b8c7cf33cae2 100644
--- a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/info.go
+++ b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/info.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func CachedDaemonInfo(ociBin string) (SysInfo, error) {
 func DaemonInfo(ociBin string) (SysInfo, error) {
 	if ociBin == Podman {
 		p, err := podmanSystemInfo()
-		cachedSysInfo = &SysInfo{CPUs: p.Host.Cpus, TotalMemory: p.Host.MemTotal, OSType: p.Host.Os, Swarm: false, StorageDriver: p.Store.GraphDriverName}
+		cachedSysInfo = &SysInfo{CPUs: p.Host.Cpus, TotalMemory: p.Host.MemTotal, OSType: p.Host.Os, Swarm: false, Rootless: p.Host.Security.Rootless, StorageDriver: p.Store.GraphDriverName}
 		return *cachedSysInfo, err
 	}
 	d, err := dockerSystemInfo()
@@ -213,8 +213,10 @@ type podmanSysInfo struct {
 		Hostname    string `json:"hostname"`
 		Kernel      string `json:"kernel"`
 		Os          string `json:"os"`
-		Rootless    bool   `json:"rootless"`
-		Uptime      string `json:"uptime"`
+		Security    struct {
+			Rootless bool `json:"rootless"`
+		} `json:"security"`
+		Uptime string `json:"uptime"`
 	} `json:"host"`
 	Registries struct {
 		Search []string `json:"search"`
diff --git a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/oci.go b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/oci.go
index 5f5a84ce8da1..5c5653d5f10e 100644
--- a/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/oci.go
+++ b/pkg/drivers/kic/oci/oci.go
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ func createContainer(ociBin string, image string, opts ...createOpt) error {
 
 	// to run nested container from privileged container in podman https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1687713
 	// only add when running locally (linux), when running remotely it needs to be configured on server in libpod.conf
-	if ociBin == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
+	if ociBin == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" && !IsRootlessForced() {
 		args = append(args, "--cgroup-manager", "cgroupfs")
 	}
 
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ func StartContainer(ociBin string, container string) error {
 
 	// to run nested container from privileged container in podman https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1687713
 	// only add when running locally (linux), when running remotely it needs to be configured on server in libpod.conf
-	if ociBin == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
+	if ociBin == Podman && runtime.GOOS == "linux" && !IsRootlessForced() {
 		args = append(args, "--cgroup-manager", "cgroupfs")
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/config/config.go b/pkg/minikube/config/config.go
index aba63f0b9772..965af388f65a 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/config/config.go
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ const (
 	ProfileName = "profile"
 	// UserFlag is the key for the global user flag (ex. --user=user1)
 	UserFlag = "user"
+	// RootlessFlag is the key for the global rootless flag (ex. --rootless=true)
+	RootlessFlag = "rootless"
 	// AddonImages stores custom addon images config
 	AddonImages = "addon-images"
 	// AddonRegistries stores custom addon images config
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go b/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
index b0a041339786..cbb0fdb8a9a0 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ const (
 	TestDiskUsedEnv = "MINIKUBE_TEST_STORAGE_CAPACITY"
 	// TestDiskAvailableEnv is used in integration tests for insufficient storage with 'minikube status' (in GiB)
 	TestDiskAvailableEnv = "MINIKUBE_TEST_AVAILABLE_STORAGE"
+	// MinikubeRootlessEnv is used to force Rootless Docker/Podman driver
+	MinikubeRootlessEnv = "MINIKUBE_ROOTLESS"
 
 	// scheduled stop constants
 
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/podman/podman.go b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/podman/podman.go
index f92220db87c9..18218b2bce67 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/podman/podman.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/podman/podman.go
@@ -112,7 +112,8 @@ func status() registry.State {
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, oci.Podman, "version", "--format", "{{.Server.Version}}")
 	// Run with sudo on linux (local), otherwise podman-remote (as podman)
 	if runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
-		cmd = exec.CommandContext(ctx, "sudo", "-k", "-n", oci.Podman, "version", "--format", "{{.Version}}")
+		cmd = exec.CommandContext(ctx, oci.Podman, "version", "--format", "{{.Version}}")
+		cmd = oci.PrefixCmd(cmd, oci.WithSudoFlags("-k"))
 		cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "LANG=C", "LC_ALL=C") // sudo is localized
 	}
 	o, err := cmd.Output()
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ func status() registry.State {
 		newErr := fmt.Errorf(`%q %v: %s`, strings.Join(cmd.Args, " "), exitErr, stderr)
 
 		if strings.Contains(stderr, "a password is required") && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
-			return registry.State{Error: newErr, Installed: true, Healthy: false, Fix: fmt.Sprintf("Add your user to the 'sudoers' file: '%s ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: %s'", username, podman), Doc: "https://podman.io"}
+			return registry.State{Error: newErr, Installed: true, Healthy: false, Fix: fmt.Sprintf("Add your user to the 'sudoers' file: '%s ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: %s' , or specify '--rootless' to enable rootless mode", username, podman), Doc: "https://podman.io"}
 		}
 
 		// Typical low-level errors from running podman-remote:
diff --git a/site/content/en/docs/drivers/docker.md b/site/content/en/docs/drivers/docker.md
index 9b4bfd63fd53..8804a30df1c2 100644
--- a/site/content/en/docs/drivers/docker.md
+++ b/site/content/en/docs/drivers/docker.md
@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ docker context use rootless
 minikube start --driver=docker --container-runtime=containerd
 ```
 
+Unlike Podman driver, it is not necessary to supply the `--rootless` flag to the `minikube` command.
+When the `--rootless` flag is explicitly specified but the current Docker host is not rootless, minikube fails.
+
 The `--container-runtime` flag must be set to "containerd" or "cri-o".
 {{% /tab %}}
 {{% /tabs %}}
diff --git a/site/content/en/docs/drivers/includes/podman_usage.inc b/site/content/en/docs/drivers/includes/podman_usage.inc
index 309044c44888..d900cf804737 100644
--- a/site/content/en/docs/drivers/includes/podman_usage.inc
+++ b/site/content/en/docs/drivers/includes/podman_usage.inc
@@ -21,3 +21,18 @@ To make podman the default driver:
 ```shell
 minikube config set driver podman
 ```
+
+## Rootless Podman
+
+By default, minikube executes Podman with `sudo`.
+To use Podman without `sudo` (i.e., Rootless Podman), run `minikube` with `--rootless` flag:
+
+```shell
+minikube --rootless start --driver=podman --container-runtime=cri-o
+```
+
+```shell
+minikube --rootless delete
+```
+
+See the [Rootless Docker](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/#rootless-docker) section for the list of supported `--container-runtime` values and restrictions.