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North Dakota public records: who holds what

In North Dakota, deeds are recorded by the County Recorder, birth and death certificates come from the ND HHS Vital Records Unit and requests for other government records fall under the North Dakota open records law. Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in North Dakota
  2. Public records law in North Dakota
  3. Probate records and wills in North Dakota
  4. How North Dakota organizes its records
  5. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  6. Counties in North Dakota
  7. Warnings from official sources
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Official directories
  10. Sources

Who holds what in North Dakota

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsCounty Recorder in each of North Dakota's 53 counties.1Noncertified copy: not more than $1 per instrument page. Electronic data extracted from a recorded instrument: not more than 50 cents per instrument.2
Property recordsValuation is local. A county director of tax equalization is appointed in every county; township and city assessors value property in their districts (some cities run their own assessment office, and some cities and townships contract with the county).3—
Court recordsState district courts, with clerk of district court services in each county provided by the Supreme Court and funded by the state, through judicial-system employees or service agreements. Clerks are the custodians. Municipal courts are listed separately.4Certified copy $20, additional copies of the same document $10; no per-page charge; electronic copies free; record search $10 per name.5
Marriage recordsCounty official who issued the license. By default the Recorder, but the county commission may designate another office, so custodians include Clerk of Court, County Treasurer (Cass), Tax Equalization (Grand Forks) and County Auditor (Williams).6—
Divorce recordsClerk of court or recorder in the county where the decree was granted, as listed by HHS.7Court schedule: certified copy $20, additional copies of the same document $10. HHS does not state a divorce-copy fee on this page.5
Birth certificatesND HHS Vital Records Unit, Bismarck.8$15.00 per copy. No uncertified copies.9
Death certificatesND HHS Vital Records Unit (State Registrar).10$15.00 first copy; $10.00 each additional copy ordered at the same time. No uncertified copies.10
Probate and willsDistrict court, through the Clerk of District Court in the county of the case. Case information is in the free NDCRI search.11—

Public records law in North Dakota

North Dakota open records law (N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 (definitions at § 44-04-17.1); N.D. Const. art. XI, § 6) Read the law12

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
Anyone, regardless of residence. The request need not be in person or in writing, and the entity may not ask the motive or identity.12
Response time
No fixed number of days: a public entity must respond within a reasonable time. Denial or unreasonable delay violates § 44-04-18(8).13
Copy fees
Up to 25 cents per impression for a paper copy up to 8.5x14; actual cost for other copies; postage; up to $25 per hour (after the first hour) to locate records and up to $25 per hour (after the first hour) to excise confidential or closed material. A different fee set by law overrides.12
If a request is refused
Any interested person may request an Attorney General's opinion within 30 days of the alleged violation (90 days for a meeting held without notice), or use the remedies in § 44-04-21.2.12
What is exempt
Records stay open unless a specific statute closes them. Exempt = entity may choose to release; confidential = may not be released or must be redacted. Courts are outside the law (they follow Admin. Rule 41).13
Official guide
attorneygeneral.nd.gov/… Attorney General Open Records guide (PDF) and Open Records & Meetings page.13

How to write a public records request

Probate records and wills in North Dakota

Who holds it
District court, through the Clerk of District Court in the county of the case. Case information is in the free NDCRI search.11
Fees
Filing a probate case $160; certified copy $20, additional copies of the same document $10.5
Wills on deposit
A testator may deposit a will with a county Recorder for safekeeping; sealed and confidential during the testator's lifetime.14

How this works in other states: probate records and wills by state.

How North Dakota organizes its records

  • Marriage records office varies by county. Marriage custodian is not uniform: state law lets each county commission move the duty away from the Recorder.15
  • No voter registration. North Dakota has no voter registration, so there are no county voter registration records.16
  • Courts outside the open records law. Courts are not under the open records law; their access rule is Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 41.17
  • Combined county offices. County offices may be combined: Williams County lists one Treasurer/Recorder department head.1
  • Clerk may cover several counties. Clerks serve a whole court district in some places: Williams County's clerk holds records for Williams, McKenzie and Divide Counties.18

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Office of Attorney General, Bismarck. Only BCI can supply a ND criminal history record check.19
Fee
$15. $5 for an eligible nonprofit organization after approval of its fee-reduction application (statute: nonprofit operated in ND exclusively for charitable purposes for the benefit of minors). Mail: check or money order payable to "ND Attorney General", no cash; drop-off at the Bismarck office: check, money order or exact cash.20
Who may order
A written request naming the requester with the required identifiers, subject to § 12-60-16.6: release covers non-purged, non-sealed convictions and reportable events within the three years before the request. Without a signed authorization, BCI mails the subject a notice.20
How to request
attorneygeneral.nd.gov/… Mail the signed form SFN 50744 with the fee to BCI, or drop off at the Bismarck office. About 7-10 business days. ND records only; FBI checks go through BCI where the law requires it, otherwise to the FBI.20

Sex offender registry

Official registry
sexoffender.nd.gov/offender/search North Dakota Sex Offender Website, linked by the Attorney General.21

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup DOCR Resident Lookup: people currently held in a ND correctional facility. Excludes those sentenced to DOCR but held out of state, and those sentenced out of state.22
County jails
vinelink.vineapps.com/state/ND ND SAVIN (VINE) provides free custody status and notification, including many county jails.23

Voter records

Court system
North Dakota has no voter registration. Voters show ID at the polls. A central voter file is kept by the Secretary of State with county auditors as chief custodians.16
Public or restricted
Restricted. Central voter file is an exempt record, except that listed fields may go to candidates, parties and political committees for election-related purposes. Precinct pollbooks are open records with birth date, ID numbers and secured-active voters withheld.24
How to access
vip.sos.nd.gov/WhereToVote.aspx Own polling place, sample ballot, districts and county auditor through the SOS My Voting Information Portal. Pollbook copies (redacted) come from the election official administering the election. Voter lists from the central voter file are made available only to candidates, political parties and political committees for election-related purposes.25

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)
Trade names (DBAs) are registered with the Secretary of State, $25, renew every 5 years. Partnerships file a fictitious name certificate with the SOS, $25 plus $3 per extra member.26
Search
firststop.sos.nd.gov/search/business FirstStop Portal Business Search.27

Liens and UCC filings

Who holds it
cis.sos.nd.gov Secretary of State via the North Dakota Central Indexing System (NDCIS): UCC, transmitting utilities, farm products (CNS), miscellaneous and agricultural statutory liens, state tax liens, federal liens. Fixture filings and as-extracted or timber collateral go to the mortgage-record office; construction liens are recorded with the county Recorder.28
Search
cis.sos.nd.gov NDCIS Public Search needs no login. Login searches: UCC search and UCC-11 search listed with "No Fee"; secured party search $500.29
Fees
UCC initial filing $40, amendment $40, assignment $40, continuation $30, termination no fee, information statement $40.30
Judgments
Civil judgments searchable in NDCRI (Judgments Search).31

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
gis.nd.gov ND GIS Hub Data Portal and Statewide Parcel Dataset, operated by the State Geospatial Committee and ND Information Technology.32

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
history.nd.gov/archives State Archives, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck: official repository of historical local government records for all 53 counties; open 8-4:30 M-F and the 2nd Saturday, appointment recommended. Phone 701.328.2091, [email protected].33
Fees
Genealogical item reproduction (marriage, obituary, naturalization searches) $5 per search.34
Naturalization
Naturalization records formerly held by state district court clerks, up to 1955, plus US District Court records, on microfilm.35
Interlibrary
Most newspapers, state censuses and early atlases circulate on microfilm by Interlibrary Loan.36

Counties in North Dakota

2 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 53 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.37

Warnings from official sources

  • Misleading business filing letters. Secretary of State warns of misleading third-party letters offering to file annual reports, which may look like a bill.38
  • Fake websites. Attorney General warns about phony websites posing as real businesses.39
  • Recording fraud alerts. Property fraud alerts: Williams County points to its free Document Alert; Stutsman County links Property Fraud Alert.1

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any North Dakota office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 41 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Williams County RecorderWilliams County, ND
  2. N.D.C.C. ch. 11-18 RecorderNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  3. N.D.C.C. ch. 11-10.1 County Director of Tax EqualizationNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  4. N.D.C.C. ch. 27-05.2 Clerk of District Court Funding and FeesNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  5. North Dakota Court Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2025North Dakota Supreme Court / ND Court System
  6. Certified Copies of Marriage RecordsND Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
  7. Certified Copies of Divorce RecordsND Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
  8. Vital RecordsND Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
  9. Certified Copies of Birth RecordsND Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
  10. Certified Copies of Death RecordsND Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
  11. Case search Help - FAQNorth Dakota Supreme Court / ND Court System
  12. N.D.C.C. ch. 44-04 Duties, Records, and MeetingsNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  13. Open Records guide (OR-Guide.pdf)North Dakota Attorney General
  14. N.D.C.C. ch. 30.1-11 Custody and Deposit of WillsNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  15. N.D.C.C. ch. 14-03 Marriage ContractNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  16. Voting in North DakotaNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  17. Open Records & MeetingsNorth Dakota Attorney General
  18. Clerk of District CourtWilliams County, ND
  19. Background Check v. ND Criminal History Record CheckNorth Dakota Attorney General
  20. Requesting a Criminal History Record CheckNorth Dakota Attorney General
  21. North Dakota Sex Offender Website searchNorth Dakota Attorney General
  22. Resident LookupND Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
  23. ND SAVIN Service Provider InformationNorth Dakota Attorney General
  24. N.D.C.C. ch. 16.1-02 Central Voter FileNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  25. Where Do I VoteNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  26. N.D.C.C. ch. 47-25 Trade NamesNorth Dakota Legislative Assembly
  27. Register a BusinessNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  28. Lien Filings / Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)North Dakota Secretary of State
  29. Lien SearchesNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  30. Lien Types and FeesNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  31. North Dakota Courts Records InquiryNorth Dakota Supreme Court / ND Court System
  32. ND GIS Hub homeNorth Dakota GIS (State Geospatial Committee / NDIT)
  33. Archives - Local GovernmentState Historical Society of North Dakota, State Archives
  34. Fees and Conditions of UseState Historical Society of North Dakota, State Archives
  35. Archives - Research SourcesState Historical Society of North Dakota, State Archives
  36. GenealogyState Historical Society of North Dakota, State Archives
  37. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  38. Secretary of State Warns of Misleading Annual Report Letters from Third PartiesNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  39. Fake Website ScamsNorth Dakota Attorney General
  40. County Election OfficialsNorth Dakota Secretary of State
  41. NDRIN county pages (compiled)North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN), consortium of county recorders