North Dakota Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in North Dakota.
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Types of Probate in North Dakota
North Dakota runs probate in the district court of each of its 53 counties, so there is no separate probate court to find, and in an uncontested informal case the clerk of district court can sign the papers without a judge once 120 hours have passed since the death. What changes is the route, not the courthouse. One affidavit stays out of court entirely: under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01, thirty days after the death a successor collects personal property from whoever holds it where the whole estate, wherever located, is worth $100,000 or less after liens, for deaths on or after August 1, 2025 ($50,000 before). A house counts toward that $100,000 but cannot pass through the affidavit. Inside the court sit informal probate, formal testacy proceedings before a judge, supervised administration, and summary administration under § 30.1-23-03, which has no dollar figure. Opening an estate costs $160 in every county.
See the full comparison of North Dakota probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
North Dakota Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 53 counties have detailed data.
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North Dakota Probate Guides
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Browse North Dakota guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse North Dakota guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
3Executor Duties
4Taxes & Deadlines
8Planning Documents
6Property Transfer
3North Dakota Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
North Dakota probate resource map by source type
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
All North Dakota self-help resources (10 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
North Dakota probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which North Dakota probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general North Dakota probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- North Dakota Century Code Title 30.1, Uniform Probate Code (North Dakota Legislative Council)
The official text of North Dakota's probate code, chapter by chapter, including the $100,000 small estate affidavit (30.1-23-01) and the informal probate sections (chapter 30.1-14).
- North Dakota Health and Human Services, Vital Records: death records
Who may order each kind of North Dakota death record, the $15 first copy and $10 additional copy fees, and how to order online, by mail or by appointment.
- North Dakota Health and Human Services, Medicaid Estate Recovery
How Health and Human Services recovers Medicaid costs from an estate. N.D.C.C. 50-24.1-07(3) separately requires every personal representative, on the grant of letters, to send the department a copy of the probate petition or application.
- NDDOT Motor Vehicle locations
The 18 motor vehicle sites that take title work for a deceased owner's vehicle, with which ones issue titles.
- NDDOT SFN 2916, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent
The Department of Transportation's version of the 30.1-23-01 small estate affidavit, used to transfer a vehicle when the whole estate is $100,000 or less after liens.
- North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, Estate Tax
The Tax Commissioner's estate tax page: no estate tax is paid to North Dakota for deaths after January 1, 2005, there is no inheritance or gift tax, and the page explains when Form 54-91 is still requested.
- North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, Fiduciary Income Tax
Income tax returns for estates and trusts, which are separate from any estate tax.
County filing-office sources
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
- North Dakota Association of Counties, County Officials Directory (clerk of district court and recorder by county)
An association of counties, not the court. Its directory lists each county's clerk of district court, who takes the probate filing for an estate of a decedent domiciled in that county, and each county recorder, who records deeds and transfer on death deeds.
- N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03, fees charged by the clerk (North Dakota Legislative Council)
The statutory filing fee: $160 for filing a case for decision on or after July 1, 2025, the same in all 53 counties.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- Legal Services of North Dakota
Statewide nonprofit civil legal aid for low-income and elderly North Dakotans. Apply Monday through Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm Central: 1-800-634-5263 under age 60, 1-866-621-9886 age 60 and over, or online.
Settled pairs these North Dakota source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
North Dakota Estate Law Overview
North Dakota Estate Tax Info
North Dakota collects no estate tax for deaths after 2004, has had no inheritance tax since 1927, has no gift tax, and has no probate tax. Opening an estate costs a flat court filing fee of $160.
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession decides who inherits the property of a person who dies without a valid will, or the part of an estate a will does not effectively dispose of.
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
North Dakota Homestead Protection
North Dakota's homestead is the land on which the claimant resides and the dwelling house on it, with appurtenances and improvements, up to $150,000 in value over liens and encumbrances. It is exempt from judgment lien and from execution or forced sale except as chapter 47-18 provides. It exists whether or not a declaration is recorded.
Exempt Property
North Dakota gives a surviving spouse, and in some cases minor or dependent children, three protections at death: the homestead and the homestead estate (the right to live in the home), up to $15,000 of exempt household goods, vehicles and personal effects, and a reasonable family allowance during administration.